Glossary

Ebro ("the valley of the Ebro")—a river in north-central Spain, about 150 miles north of Madrid.

a girl ("the American and the girl with him")—at the time this story was written, "girl" was commonly used to refer to any female who was not distinctly elderly.

a white elephant ("Hills Like White Elephants")—an expression used to describe something that is useless and expensive to keep but seems too valuable to throw away.

a real ("Four reales.")—a Spanish coin.

Anis del Того ("We want two Anis del Того.")—a brand of Span­ish liqueur flavored with anise seed, which has a slightly bitter, slightly sweet taste. Anise seed is also the flavoring in licorice, a chewy black candy.

absinthe ("all the things you've waited so long for, like absinthe")—a French liqueur also flavored with anise seed. Since 1915, it has been illegal to produce absinthe in France because another ingredient, wormwood, has been found to cause delirium, hallucinations, and ultimately death.

bright ("I said the mountains looked like white elephants. Wasn't that bright?")—clever, original.

to cut (something) out ("Oh, cut it out.")— (idiom) to stop doing or saying (something that is annoying).

awfully ("an awfully simple operation")—very.

to let... in—("It's just to let the air in.")—to allow something to enter.

Questions

1. Early in the story, the young woman says , "That's all we do—look at things and try new drinks." Close to the end of the story, the young man looks at their suitcases, which had "labels from all the hotels where they had spent nights". What do the quoted words tell the reader about the nature of the couple's travels? In Spain, how might it make a differ­ence to them that the young man speaks Spanish but Jig doesn't?

2. In the following exchange, what tone do you think each person uses? Is it a friendly or unfriendly exchange?

"They look like white elephants," she said.

"I've never seen one," the man drank his beer.

"No, you wouldn't have."

"I might have," the man said. "Just because you say I wouldn't have doesn't prove anything."

3. "Everything tastes of licorice," the young woman says. "Especially all the things you've waited so long for, like absinthe'.

a. How does licorice taste?

b. What "things" beside tasting absinthe might she have been waiting to experience?

4. What is the "operation" that they keep referring to?

a. Why are they speaking about it so indirectly?

b. What is the basis for the man's certainly that the oper­ation is "perfectly simple"?

c. Why does he think that she is hesitant to have it? Is he right? How do you know?

5. The action of the story turns when the young man starts to say that Jig must realize something and she interrupts him.

1. How did the young man intend to finish his sentence?

2. What has Jig realized?

6. What tone do you think each person uses in the exchange that begins with the young man resuming his thought and ends with Jig's dramatic string of "pleases"?

7. Whose point of view is reflected in the comment, "They were all waiting reasonably for the train"? From the same point of view, who, by implica­tion, was acting unreasonably?

8. What answer does the young man expect to his final question ? What does Jig suggest by her three-sentence response?

9. The title is a simile (a direct comparison) implying that a range of hills looks like a herd of white elephants.

a. What is the literal reference of the title? That is, where in the story are specific hills compared to white elephants?

b. What is the metaphorical sense (the implied or suggested comparison) of hills and white elephants? What besides the hills is white and rounded? What “white elephant” – a valuable but unwanted possession – do the young man and woman have?

UNIT 6