diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 4152bc17..770ea702 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -130,6 +130,8 @@ for opt do
   ;;
   --with-libgcc) use_libgcc="yes"
   ;;
+  --help|-h) show_help="yes"
+  ;;
   esac
 done
 
@@ -203,7 +205,7 @@ if $cc -o $TMPO $TMPC 2> /dev/null ; then
     gcc_major="4"
 fi
 
-if test x"$1" = x"-h" -o x"$1" = x"--help" ; then
+if test x"$show_help" = "xyes" ; then
 cat << EOF
 
 Usage: configure [options]