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Symbolism in alice walker's everyday use
Symbolism in alice walker's everyday use
Themes about innocence and experience
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In this passage, The Flowers by Alice Walker employs several literary devices that serve as elements that correspond with the innocence of a child and her adventure to peripeteia that builds into an impactful allegorical short story. With the intricate style of the writer and through the uses of diction, tone, imagery, and symbolism; Alice accentuates her symbolic definition of the term "the flowers" and adequately prepares readers for a horrid conclusion of the novel.
As the story begins, a little girl named Myop with sincerity and lightness enters into the frame. Walker initially starts by using diction to establishes an atmosphere and mise en scene of positivity and joyfulness of childhood life. A life where kids can skip "lightly" and expect to have "a golden surprise" each day that supplies "little tremors." Diction continues into the second paragraph as well, as the writer remains to apply words to detail the type of world Myop currently lives.
Then, as paragraph three comes, a sudden shift of diction occurs. The paragraph's first sentence is a
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primary key to the transition, as the author uses the words "turning her back... [from] her family," This serves as what will lead to the surprise element. Continuing, Alice finally introduces "the flower," which Myop collected as she ventures into what seems like an abandoned woodland area. Within the fourth paragraph, the author uses vocabulary that gives a sense of insecurity such as "vaguely" and "strange." Next, in paragraph five, with the use of imagery and diction; the story began to change in tone significantly. The once happy and insouciant girl is now isolated and agonized over how to go back to her world. By producing a view of a young child being "a mile or more away from home," unsure of the "strangeness of the land," and the feel of dark/dampness of the meadows; this foreshadows of what Myop will soon encounter. Belatedly, into the main paragraph, the little girl is returning to the "peacefulness of the morning." As the author assumingly transitions back to what seems like a happy ending, with little to no preparation, both Myop and the readers discover an unpleasant surprise, a deadman. Within the sixth paragraph, Alice went out of her way and included a descriptive detail about the man's "cracked or broken" teeth. Subsequently, this leads to the very last paragraph which with enough disturbance mentioned above, the author chooses to have the little girl continue to strive into an area where a dead man lies on the floor.
What makes this so significant is as Myop explores the field, the author inputs vivid imagery and symbolic representation of something greater. During her discovery, she finds a noose, which is a symbolic object that represents the torture and cruelty. And as a child, you have never experienced anything negative and graphically horrendous. When the girl "laid down her flowers," this displayed a depiction of her being once carfree to one who now realizes reality. The once flower-gathering for fun is now for giving sympathy to the dead. With all of this, the passage ends with "and the summer was over," a short sentence that serves as more than the end of the story, but the end of the child's childhood joyous
life. In addition, the way the author writes helps give the story a foundation. She uses medium sentences to describe small setting details, long sentences to depict features of an essential event, and short sentences to emphasize a statement. And the arrangement of her sentences is relatively balanced sentences as the she wants to be thoroughly descriptive in describing the little girl's experience. Within the balanced sentences, there was syntactical shifts as the passage progressed. A shift of mood occurs in order to transition into the climax which changed the way in this case narrator's language from being playful into bewilderment. In conclusion, Alice Walker communicates the meaning of "The Flowers" and prepares the readers for the ending of this short story via diction, tone, imagery, and symbolism. With the combination of literary devices, an element of surprise, and writer's literary style; constructs into an abridged moral story.
The narcissus in the woman’s garden release petals in one clump (Otsuka 15). Furthermore, the narcissus is a sign of bad luck to the family and their survival. Otsuka (103) uses another flower to represent both hope and sorrow. However, for our theme of the tragedy, a man in the camp dies and an unfamiliar and rare flower was spotted on the other side of the fence”. The man was purportedly shot while reaching for the flower, symbolizing the struggle for freedom and a better life (Otsuka 101) In the end, the death of the man represents persona tragedy from an innocent action, an action with a deadly
The narrator has two daughters, Dee and Maggie. Dee was this cute girl who was super intelligent and sophisticated. She often saw herself as being above her mother and sister and would often make them feel stupid and bad about themselves. "She used to read to us without pity, forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice". She shows that Dee enjoyed making her mother and younger sister feel dumb about themselves because it made her feel superior. Her whole life Dee detested her family and where she came from and couldn’t wait to get away. But, still her mother worked her booty off to provide her with high education and a good life. Dee goes away to college and when she returns she is a completely different person, suddenly interested in her family; photographing them upon arrival. With her guest, new "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo", invades her mothers house taking everything in like it’s a cute display for her. Finally, when Wangero (Dee) demands that her mother give her some quilts, her mum can not take anymore. She tells Dee that Maggie, not her, will be receiving the quilts and she snaps. "I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero's hands, and dumped them into Maggie's lap. Maggie just sat
...ots her memory, the blossoms her dreams, and the branches her vision. After each unsuccessful marriage, she waits for the springtime pollen to be sprinkled over her life once again. Even after Tea Cake's death, she has a garden of her own to sit and revel in.
Sandra's tale brought back much nostalgia for my younger days. Those days when everything was much more simple and happiness came with almost no effort. Cisneros reminds the reader of infantile glee by repeating words, just like a kid would do. She writes, "please, please, please," and "and there! And there!, And there!…" making almost an alliteration of words that realistically depicts the speech of a child ...
Paragraph 2: This paragraph consists of learning how some parts of the play/book may of been influenced by Lorraine’s childhood. By Lorraine’s childhood giving her a different perspective in life. Also how Lorraine and her family had a case involving her neighborhood and winning the case, which lead to extreme chaos in the community.
Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V Roberts and Robert Zweig. 10th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. 416-422. Print.
In contrast, syntax provides a new perspective to the narrator s behavior as sentence structure draws attention to her erratic behavior. By her last entry, the narrator s sentences have become short and simple. Paragraphs 227 through 238 contain few adjectives resulting in limited descriptions yet her short sentences emphasize her actions providing plenty of imagery. The syntax quickly pulls the reader through the end as the narrator reaches an end to her madness.
Eugenia Collier’s “Marigolds” is a memoir of a colored girl living in the Great Depression. The story does not focus on the troubles society presents to the narrator (Elizabeth), but rather is focused on the conflict within her. Collier uses marigolds to show that the changes from childhood to adulthood cause fear in Elizabeth, which is the enemy of compassion and hope.
Although imagery and symbolism does little to help prepare an expected ending in “The Flowers” by Alice Walker, setting is the singular element that clearly reasons out an ending that correlates with the predominant theme of how innocence disappears as a result of facing a grim realism from the cruel world. Despite the joyous atmosphere of an apparently beautiful world of abundant corn and cotton, death and hatred lies on in the woods just beyond the sharecropper cabin. Myop’s flowers are laid down as she blooms into maturity in the face of her fallen kinsman, and the life of summer dies along with her innocence. Grim realism has never been so cruel to the innocent children.
Author Alice Walker, displays the importance of personal identity and the significance of one’s heritage. These subjects are being addressed through the characterization of each character. In the story “Everyday Use”, the mother shows how their daughters are in completely two different worlds. One of her daughter, Maggie, is shy and jealous of her sister Dee and thought her sister had it easy with her life. She is the type that would stay around with her mother and be excluded from the outside world. Dee on the other hand, grew to be more outgoing and exposed to the real, modern world. The story shows how the two girls from different views of life co-exist and have a relationship with each other in the family. Maggie had always felt that Mama, her mother, showed more love and care to Dee over her. It is until the end of the story where we find out Mama cares more about Maggie through the quilt her mother gave to her. Showing that even though Dee is successful and have a more modern life, Maggie herself is just as successful in her own way through her love for her traditions and old w...
“Apparently with no surprise” by Emily Dickinson presents the trials and tribulations that a flower must overcome if it is to survive. Dickinson creates a microcosm of the real world and a deep ecological study of human kind. Her word choice betrays a hidden disdain for human beings egotistical aims.
"She skipped lightly from hen house to pigpen". This shows how happy Myop is in this setting, we know she feels safe here, "She felt light and good in the warm sun" Her innocence produces an excitement to the reader as it gives the character and the text somewhere to go. We learn that Myop is ten and is African American, however Walker does not present the reader with clear facts but instead reveals it to us. " The stick clutched in her dark brown hand", from the information given she allows the reader to form a visual image of Myop. Walker also highlights the setting around Myop, playing on the character's senses.
In "Kew Gardens," the narrator follows different visitors to the gardens, giving the reader brief snapshots of their lives through small descriptions as they reach the same flowerbed. The story begins with a description of the oval-shaped flowerbed. The flowers are red, yellow, and blue. They have petals that are heart or tongue shaped. As the petals fall to the ground, they stain the earth with these colors for a moment. Petals from the flowers soar through the sky in the summer breeze. The flowers' colors flash in the air. On this July day, men, women, and children walk through the gardens. As the people move through the gardens, their movements resemble butterflies. They zigzag in all directions to get a better view of the flowers.
The speaker begins by using descriptive diction to illustrate the Rhodora and its effect on its surroundings. The Rhodora is seen not only as a flower, but as a focal point on the entire scene. The Rhodora is described s fresh in line 2. In lines 3 and 4, the speaker is awestruck at the Rhodora’s solitude. It spreads its leafless blooms in a damp nook, or lonely crevice of the woods. The Rhodora pleases the desert, which is a metaphor of a pla...
The author used symbolism in his writing by describing the sweet day and the rose. He uses these two seemingly different things to help the reader see his point of view of the Earth. By reading his portrayal of a sweet day, being brought forth with a positive tone and then en...