Alice Munro Imagery

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Throughout Alice Munro’s short story, “Wild Swans”, bird imagery reflects Rose’s metamorphosis from an innocent, insecure child into a desirable young woman, like a guarded young chick taking flight for the first time, becoming a beautiful wild swan. In this story Rose is a sheltered young girl who desires independence, beauty, and excitement. Through repetitive bird imagery, Munro shows Rose’s personal growth and the struggle between her innocence and wild, animal desires. Bird imagery was used in the beginning of the story by the worried Aunt Flow to warn Rose of the dangers of the world. Intense moral upbringing was ingrained in Rose’s head by Flow, who is portrayed as an over protective mother bird. Like a mother bird, flow is afraid …show more content…

Rose uses bird imagery to describe this momentous trip to Toronto as a way to free herself. Being her first time traveling across country, she expresses fascination and joy as she watches the seasons change like a bird during migration, even noting the excitement of feeling “West Hanratty flying away from her” (Munro 189). Rose is intrigued by beauty, independence and transformation. She feels the need to groom herself into something lovely and desirable. This desire for change is shown by her list of items she wants to buy to make her lovely. She feels that these items could “transform her, make her calm and slender, take the frizz out of her hair, dry her underarms and turn her complexion to pearl” (Munro 189). In a sense, Rose wants to make herself a “swan amongst geese” (Munro …show more content…

“The gates and tours of the Exhibition Grounds came into view, painted domes and pillows floated marvelously against her eyelids ‘ rosy sky. Then flew apart in celebration. You could have had such a flock of birds, wild swans, even, wakened under one big dome together, exploding from it, taking to the sky” (Munro 193). The imagery was used here to reflect on her desire for freedom, the imagery of birds bursting into the sky when she orgasms shows the freedom she feels as she begins to set her fears aside, gives into her wild animal instincts, and become a woman. In this scene Rose throws aside all Flows teachings and her moral hangups as she finds pleasure in disgusting things, and gives into her carnal desire to be touched. After the experience passes, Rose doesn't regret her actions. Although the reality sets in and she sees the man without rose colored glasses, she shows excitement, and joy that she had transformed in her mind, becoming a different woman in the same

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