After every death of a caterpillar, there is a birth of a butterfly. But have you ever considered how caterpillars are aware of their nearing death, yet they accept their fate and live within the butterfly with an alternative perspective and values, isn’t that what you call ‘discovery’? Discoveries can be confronting and thus lead an individual to form a new perception of themselves, hence is able to guide another individual to the right path. This aspect of the ‘discovery’ is explored trough the play ‘Away’ by Michael Gow as three families go away on holidays and experience their own individual discoveries. The 17 years old protagonist Tom; who confronts and acknowledges his approaching premature death due to leukaemia and enables healing…
War: Kills from the Inside Out Lars Fredrik Händler Svendsen, a famous Norwegian philosopher once stated that “self-identity is inextricably bound up with the identity of the surroundings.” Svendsen is arriving at the conclusion that one’s own identity is directly connected to their surroundings and so a change in environment would consequently alter one’s self-identity. Therefore, the violent and gruesome acts that are a product of war will alter the identity of those who are surrounded by such acts. Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road expresses how war consumes one’s identity through the utilization of symbolism.…
In the Catcher in the Rye, the author J.D. Salinger uses a variety of symbols to represent the struggles and challenges the main characters and narrator Holden Caulfield faces throughout the novel. Through the use of symbolism, Salinger is able to give additional meaning to the plot beyond what is being described by Holden. Through Holden 's desire to be a catcher in the rye, his goal of protecting the innocence of children is conveyed, but the golden rings on the carousel represents his realization that this is an unrealistic goal and also unfair to the children. Holden’s reaction to the profanity he sees on the walls at Phoebe’s school and at the museum also represents his desire to protect the innocence of children. The symbol of the…
In the novel, “The Spectacular Now” the author Tim Tharp uses symbolism through inanimate objects including a purple coat, a flask, and suits to develop various themes such as respect and reputation, drugs and alcohol, and youth. Set in modern day Oklahoma, High school senior Sutter Keely is charming, kind-hearted, self-possessed, and a budding alcoholic. He can be described as being the life of the party and he loves his job at a men's clothing store. After a night of hard-partying and being dumped by his girlfriend, Sutter wakes up on a lawn with Aimee Finecky, his bookish and unpopular classmate, hovering over him. While Aimee has dreams and plans of a future, Sutter lives in the impressive delusion of a spectacular now and has no plans…
Symbolism is a poetic movement or style using symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express strong emotion and/or ideas. Brontë uses a bird, a cage, and nature to symbolize her longing for personal freedom. “The caged bird” is symbolic because it 's representing her, the caged bird, she 's stuck and trapped, she 's in deep despair, and longing to be released to freedom. Secondly, “How gladly would I watch it soar, and never regret, never complain” when she refers to “it” she is referring to her soul. She is speaking of ending her life and letting her soul free.…
Symbolism Within “The Veldt” Within literature, symbolism is used by assigning symbolic meanings to objects, settings, or actions to represent an idea or characteristic. In the short story “The Veldt,” Ray Bradbury uses various symbols within the text that allow the readers to identify what the author is trying to tell them. The symbols allow the readers to define the character of Wendy and Peter and the relationship they have with their parents and the house, a broader understanding of the setting and to understand the story’s theme. Wendy and Peter are the children of George and Lydia. The relationship they have isn’t as affectionate as it should be, since George installed machinery that would take care of them all, the children grew up learning that they would have everything handed to them and wouldn’t…
Kurt Vonnegut, in his novel, “Slaughterhouse Five” recounts his experiences of World War II through Billy Pilgrim, the main character. Vonnegut’s purpose is to describe his wartime experiences and antiwar view. He adopts a complex and elusive tone in order to successfully engage and entertain his readers. Vonnegut begins his novel in the first person. We are given a first-person point of view in the sections embedded in the first and last chapters of the book.…
In the short story, The Tell Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe, an unnamed narrator tells the story of how he aspires to convince the readers of his sanity, while delineating a murder he 's committed. In this short story, the victim of the murder was an old man who had done nothing wrong; however, the narrator was convinced that he needed to eliminate the old man and his ‘vulture - eye’ as the narrator refers to it. There are many literary devices that Poe uses throughout this short story, including symbolism. The old man’s eye, the lantern, and the heartbeat are all examples of symbolism. These three examples all tie together to represent the theme of the story, which is guilt.…
In Hansen’s story the dog died, revealing the theme of death with a hint of humor. In Poe’s stories the theme of death is presented along with suspense and irony. Hansen purposefully included this reference in order for the reader to understand the themes he is presenting in the…
Symbolism in the works of literature refers to the use of objects, people, animals, and situations that have other meaning than the literal one used in the story. It creates a certain emotion or mood in the story making the reader understand it better. Symbolism is widely applied in the story Everyday Use by Alice Walker. This paper will explore symbolism in the story Everyday Use which includes the house, quilt, yard and characteristics of some characters.…
Every 100 minutes a teen commits suicide, suicide is the the second leading cause of death in teens. Twenty percent of teens have gone through depression by the time they reach adulthood. This depression can be caused by bullying or not having friends. In the book Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character is a girl named Melinda who is going through depression because she called the cops on a party, lost all of her friends and is getting bullied for it. The theme in this book is loneliness and the symbol is a tree as it represents friendship and growing as a person.…
Symbolism is the use of a symbol to represent an idea, and it is used by many authors to help convey a message. Thanhha Lai is one of these authors. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai is a work of historical fiction. First, Ha, her mother, and her three brothers were forced to flee their home country of Vietnam due to war. They had to face this hardship, and many to come, without the support of their loving father, who was kidnapped by Communists and disappeared.…
Symbolism is a key element in the story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty. By implementing certain things into the story that contributes to the journey of Old Phoenix, the reader is able to better comprehend and make sense of why Phoenix goes on her adventures. After reading, the reader will get to know the purpose of her trips, and the kind of character Old Phoenix is. There are many different obstacles Phoenix faces, and many objects within her trip that symbolize her journey of life. One of the main symbols in this story is the worn path itself.…
When reading 1984 by George Orwell, the first thing that becomes apparent is the near-omnipresent use of symbolism. By using symbolism throughout the novel, George Orwell paints a bleak future that could very well become a reality. From a totalitarian corrupt government to brainwashed citizens and surveillance that blankets the world, the dystopian future depicted in 1984 could easily become our future if we are not careful, and George Orwell wants to make sure that it doesn’t. By placing symbols throughout the book that warn of the perils of a dystopian future, Orwell did all he could to warn us of an unfortunate, yet possible reality.…
Many people have something sentimental to them that acts more than just an object because it develops a meaning in their lives. These objects can be described as symbols. A symbol is a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract. Often writers use a technique called symbolism which is the use of symbols in literature that gives a deeper meaning in context to an object, person, situation, or event. Symbols can be used as a strong tool to help drive a plot in a novel.…