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Essays on symbolism in literature
Importance of symbolism in literature
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Coming of Age in First Part Last First Part Last was filled with a lot of things symbols. First Part Last was a book written by Angela Johnson. It was a book about Bobby having a kid at 16 years old, and how he handled it and grew up to be a good Father. Johnson did an excellent job with the symbols in the story. The next three paragraphs will talk about how specific things symbolize coming of age in the story. First of all, the red balloon in the beginning chapters symbolizes the idea of kids. We know this because in the story, on Bobby’s 16th birthday, Nia gave Bobby a red balloon to symbolize she’s pregnant, then of course she told him she was. This red balloon symbolizes the idea of kids, because little kids love balloons. They always
The piece “The Old Man Isn 't There Anymore” by Kellie Schmitt is a passage showing that nobody really knows any other culture. In the passage Schmitt response to not seeing the old man anymore is to call the cleaning-lady to see what has happened to him and why all the neighbors were sobbing. “The old man isn 't there anymore” she replied, which I guessed it was her baby Chinese way of telling me he died” (Schmitt 107). Ceremonies can be very informational about the family member and their traditions, people should get more information about who the ceremony is for. The piece uses description, style, and support through out.
Nia gives Bobby a red balloon. It’s a symbol because it is representing the life of their soon to come baby. The color red represents blood, death, life, and love. The balloon itself could represent kids, baby, birthday, freedom, and innocent. Angela Johnson could have been foreshadowing Nias coma with her handing the balloon (Feather) to Bobby because she won’t be able to take care of it. This symbol is in between growing up and not being mature. I say this because Bobby has to grow up to take care of Feather but the balloon represents childhood and fun.
In this autobiography of Anne Moody a.k.a. Essie Mae as she is often called in the book, is the struggles for rights that poor black Americans had in Mississippi. Things in her life lead her to be such an activist in the fight for black equality during this time. She had to go through a lot of adversity growing up like being beat, house being burned down, moving to different school, and being abuse by her mom's boyfriend. One incident that would make Anne Moody curious about racism in the south was the incident in the Movie Theater with the first white friends she had made. The other was the death of Emmett Tillman and other racial incidents that would involve harsh and deadly circumstances. These this would make Miss Moody realize that this should not be tolerated in a free world.
After reading Allison Baker's " Better Be Ready 'Bout Half Past Eight" it made me realize that discovering one's self is a situation our world is going through right now. In her short story one of Allison Baker's main characters, Zach tells his best friend of thirty-eight years that he is going to have a sex change. Zach tells Byron that he feels trapped in the wrong body and that he is going to become a woman. Byron is shocked about what he is hearing and can't seem to deal with the news. He's known Zach for some time now and he didn't pick up any of the signs about Zach's sexuality. Through the rest of the story you see Byron coping with the news. He talks to his baby boy about the situation and tells him that he will grow up to a man. He also starts to think about his own sexuality and even goes as far as applying makeup to his face. Byron watches the transformation of his best friend Zach into a woman named Zoe. As the story comes to an end Byron, his wife Emily, and their son Toby are at Zoe's shower. Byron squeezes Zoe's hand and I think, right then and there, he finally comes to terms with Zach's decision and is happy for his friend. As his friend walks away, he says that his son Toby Glass could grow up to be anything.
In the young life of Essie Mae, she had a rough childhood. She went through beatings from her cousin, George Lee, and was blamed for burning down her house. Finally Essie Mae got the nerve to stand up for herself and her baby sister, Adline as her parents were coming in from their work. Her dad put a stop to the mistreatment by having her and her sister watched by their Uncle Ed. One day while Essie Mae's parents were having an argument, she noticed that her mothers belly was getting bigger and bigger and her mom kept crying more and more. Then her mother had a baby, Junior, while the kids were out with their Uncle Ed. Her uncle took her to meet her other two uncles and she was stunned to learn that they were white. She was confused by this but when she asked her mom, Toosweet, about it her mom would not give her an answer one way or the other. Once her mom had the baby, her father started staying out late more often. Toosweet found out that her dad was seeing a woman named Florence. Not long after this, her mother was left to support her and her siblings when her father left. Her mother ended up having to move in with family until she could obtain a better paying job in the city. As her childhood went on she started school and was very good at her studies. When she was in the fourth grade, her mom started seeing a soldier named Raymond. Not too long after this, her mother got pregnant and had James. Her mother and Raymond had a rocky relationship. When James was born, Raymond's mother came and took the baby to raise because she said that raising four children was too much of a burden for a single parent to handle. Raymond went back to the service for a while but then when he came back he and Toosweet had another baby. Raymond's brothers helped him build a new house for them to live in and they brought James back to live with them. During this time Essie Mae was working for the Claiborne family and she was starting to see a different point of view on a lot of things in life. The Claiborne's treated her almost as an equal and encouraged her to better herself.
Lauren Alleyne uses the rigid form of the sonnet to navigate through the healing process after being sexually assaulted. Ten years after that night, she writes the sonnet sequence Eighteen, which deviates from the typical sonnet form in the aspects of the speaker, subject, and format. Playing off of the standard sonnet form, Alleyne is able to recount the emotions of that night during the first sonnet in the sequence. The typical sonnet tends to objectify the female body or one’s lover; in this sequence, the sonnets address what happens when an individual acts on these objectifications and assaults Alleyne. Alleyne deviates from the standard subject and speaker of the typical sonnet form to begin the healing process; the process begins
The United States of America, the land of the free. Mostly free if the skin tone matches with the approval of society. The never ending war on racism, equality, and segregation is a huge part of American culture. Prior to the Civil Rights Movement equality was laughed at. People of color were highly discriminated and hated for existing. During the years nineteen fifty to nineteen seventy, racism began to extinguish its mighty flames. Through the lives of numerous people equality would soon be a reality. Through the Autobiography “Coming of Age in Mississippi” by Anne Moody first person accounts of all the racism, social prejudice and violence shows how different America used to be. The autobiography holds nothing back, allowing the author to give insight on all the appalling events and tragedies. The Re-telling of actual events through Anne Moody’s eyes, reveal a connection to how wrong segregation was. The “Coming of Age in Mississippi” is an accurate representation of life in the south before and during the Civil Rights Movement.
The book Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life published in 2003, takes a close look into the lives of different families in the United States and how they are affected by race and social class and how their family lives differ. The Author, Annette Lareau, discusses how social class affects the parenting styles and how these parenting styles are affecting the children. Although Lareau’s book could use a few changes, it is well written and it is a good read to help better understand how social class and parenting styles can affect the lives of different children on a personal level. In
In the essay “Getting Started” by Anne Lamott. The author reaches out to her students and other fellow writers who struggle to overcome the infamous writer’s block. Thought out her paper she gives us hints and tips to train and prep us for our future papers. Her tips range from training you mind to prepare for a long and often strenuous essay, learning to take information in slowly to not overwork your brain and the last one always tell the truth in your essay. She threads through her essay that writing may be hard and seems like there is no silver lining but it’s not impossible to do. When done reading this essay I widely agree with Lamott’s writing ideas and tips they can be helpful for many struggling students. As one myself I found
This article is a good example of how life would be like for a foreigner in a different country. Because the author talks about the Chinese culture, living space and funeral. The author uses a humorous tone to talk about her living in China. This story has great balance between humor and emotions. “The Old Man Isn’t There Anymore”, by Kellie Schmitt tells a beautiful tale of her experience of life in China.
The Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody is an autobiography in which she discusses growing up amidst segregation and race wars. During her growth, she realizes that the world is not as simple as she would like. Her life is split into four different parts: childhood, high school, college, and the movement. Each one had a significant impact on how she behaved in the next one. When she was a child, her father left her mother with three small children and no money.
Lucy Elizabeth was Russell’s symbol of strength, a pillar of confidence. She was a fierce woman who was not afraid to speak her mind, and when she did she spoke it in an educated manner. He may have been bothered by her strict ways, but in reality she was his idol. Her strength brought Russell and his sister Doris through many hard times, and her will to succeed and be the best was instilled in him for life. There are many examples of such strength in the text of Growing Up to fill fifty pages, but I will only list what I feel are the most important ones. One of the biggest struggles Lucy Elizabeth had to endure was the fact that she conceived Russell out of wedlock. Unlike the present day, in 1925 this was sternly looked upon, especially for schoolteachers such as herself. Her pregnancy cost her, her job and forced her into marrying an alcoholic with an overbearing mother. Lucy’s life changed abruptly a few years after Russell’s birth when her h...
Growing up I thought that the only way to make my parents happy and to notice me was to follow the expectations they had for my older brother. I thought their expectations were supposed to be my goals, but as I got older I started to realize that meeting their expectation wasn't good for me. I wasn't supposed to just have goals to make them happy. I was supposed to have goals that I wanted, goals that were supposed to benefit me. After reading "Only Daughter" by Sandra Cisneros it helped me confirm this feelings I was having. You don't always have to meet up with your parents standards to be acknowledged or for them to be proud of you. You shouldn't let that stop you from accomplishing your goals and that one day the people that love you will be proud that you achieved your goals.
In the artwork, As I Am (2017) by Deborah Roberts, what is presented is a collage of mixed media on paper. In whole the depictions are of a little girl but there are fragments that come together to make this little girl. Beginning on a macro view it is a little girl in a shirt and skirt posing in a sitting position. When examining more carefully, visual aspects can be seen within the art. The first aspect that is clear is the use of chiaroscuro in a way. The collage depicts a grayscale girl with important flashes of color for example in the shirt and in the barrettes in the girl's hair. This use of light and color draws the audience in closer in. The color brings a sense of mood in the artwork giving light to either rough times or old times. Another aspect that struck was for a collage this artwork
About a boy is a novel which follows the lives of two people: Marcus and Will. Marcus is a strange kid who struggles with growing up, he is in need for acceptance outside of his own family, he is searching for his own identity, he is a victim of constant bullying and is suffering with his lack of parental care. Will is the complete opposite to Marcus. He is a 36 year old who is in his own extended childhood, he is searching for his identity not wanting to lose his youth, he ‘prides himself on his cool’ and simply can’t find a way to grow up. It is when these two opposing characters meet that they soon act as catalysts for each other. From their dependence on others they find independence for themselves within one another.