Symbolism In White Elephants

Symbolism- The man and girl are at a crossroads waiting for their train to arrive. This symbolizes their relationship and that are at a crossroads on what to do next. They are trying to decide whether to take the same path or go in different directions. In other words, they cannot decide if should they make a unanimous decision or make their own choices.
Foreshadowing- When the girl says "I don't care about me" it shows she has no true self-confidence. This and other degrading quotes such as "I don't feel anyway” foreshadows the girl eventually giving in to what the man wants because she seems not to care about her own wants.
The Iceberg Principle- In the story we are only told one part, not the whole story. Through analysis, we are able to …show more content…
We as readers can interpret our own ending by what was said in the story.
Allusion- When the girl references White Elephants it is an allusion to the story about the King. White Elephants were known to be precious and rare. If you were given a White Elephant it was meant to be either a blessing or a curse. If you were given everything to take care White Elephant it was a blessing, because you’d keep it alive and well. If you had nothing and could no care for the creature it was a curse because you’d let such a rare and important animal die. This can be reflected on having a baby it can be either a blessing or a curse if you have the means to take care of …show more content…
It makes sense that they juxtapose between using “the man” and “the girl” to show her naive mindset versus his grown and mature mindset, but Hemingway still could’ve given them names. He might have done it to make the characters more relatable, but even the story could be relatable with names. Hemingway must not have given them names to emphasize their gender roles in the story. By naming them “the man” and “the girl” he ensures the reader perceives their personalities and maturity level, not just what their names