In Elena Ferrante’s first chapter of Childhood in My Brilliant Friend, Elena and Lila head up to Don Achille’s apartment to retrieve their dolls. Lila leads Elena out of the safety of the “violet light” (27) of the courtyard to the black door of the “ogre of fairy tales” (27). Elena is scared because she can’t see what will happen without light on the staircase. Yet, the girls persevere up the stairs to Don Achille’s fairytale apartment to get their dolls. Climbing up the staircase symbolizes Elena’s and Lila’s growth and their strife to reach a higher social class. Their departure from the safety of the courtyard represents their attempt to leave the neighborhood. Every step they take represents their actions to getting a better life. They don’t know what might happen, but they climb up the stairs. They’re afraid, but they become closer to reaching their goal of retrieving their dolls. The darkness of the staircase represents the shadiness that higher class people express, which can be seen in the corrupt Carraccis and Solaras. Throughout the book, Lila finds out people’s association with the Camorra. She becomes very upset by this, because she hates the crimes of the neighborhood, but she can’t seem to avoid them as she tries to make her way out of the …show more content…
She expresses how scary the unknown future is with the symbol of the staircase. She also indicates that going through life is better with a friend. Ferrante also expresses that aims for wealth and higher social class aren’t always positive things. For example, no matter how high Elena and Lila climb up the stairs, Don Achille is at the very top, and reaching their destination doesn’t always give the results they expect. When Elena and Lila confront Don Achille, their dolls – the items that are so valuable to them – are not there. This shows that Elena and Lila cannot escape their origins of
First, the elevator is presented as an alive object through Lila Mae’s interpretation and its narration. When she recalls her
In the small, desolate town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, Ethan Frome lives a life of poverty. Not only does he live hopelessly, but “he was a prisoner for life” to the economy (Ammons 2). A young engineer from outside of town narrates the beginning of the story. He develops a curiosity towards Ethan Frome and the smash-up that he hears about in bits and pieces. Later, due to a terrible winter storm that caused the snow itself to seem like “a part of the thickening darkness, to be the winter night itself descending on us layer by layer” (Wharton 20), the narrator is forced to stay the night at Frome’s. As he enters the unfamiliar house, the story flashes back twenty-four years to Ethan Frome’s young life. Living out his life with Zenobia Frome, his hypochondriac of a wife whom he does not love, Ethan has nowhere to turn for a glance at happiness. But when Zenobia’s, or Zeena’s, young cousin, Mattie Silver, comes to care for her, Ethan falls in love with the young aid. Mattie is Ethan’s sole light in life and “she is in contrast to everything in Starkfield; her feelings bubble near the surface” (Bernard 2). All through the novella, the two young lovers hide their feelings towards each other. When they finally let out their true emotions to each other in the end, the consequence is an unforeseen one. Throughout Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton portrays a twisted fairy tale similar to the story of Snow White with the traditional characters, but without a happy ending to show that in a bleak and stark reality, the beautiful and enchanting maiden could become the witch.
Jeannette and her siblings learn to provide for themselves and try to avoid the continuous problems caused by their parents and others around them. The effects of poverty, as witnessed through The Glass Castle, are still felt throughout America today.
Whether it is an object in the room or action she performs, each symbol has a deep and intricate meaning that helps depict Mattie’s true character. Every subtle detail of Mattie’s character relates back to her, such as the light shining from her room. Her natural ambiance of luminosity and brightness is vividly portrayed when Ethan is trying to sleep. “As he lay there he could hear Mattie moving about in her room, and her candle, sending its small ray across the landing, drew a scarcely perceptible line of light under his door. He kept his eyes fixed on the light till it vanished. Then the room grew perfectly black, and not a sound was audible but Zeena 's asthmatic breathing” (50). When Ethan is surrounded by darkness, Mattie provided the light he needs as a symbol of hope. Staring at the pool of soft light makes him realize how much of a positive effect Mattie has on people because of her natural rays of sunshine. Even her last name relates back to her. Silver means feminine, calming, mysterious, soothing, and purifying - which are all incorporated into Mattie’s personality. The small details that are hidden deep inside the book can make the story more complex and clever, such as Mattie being able to play ‘The Lost Chord’ and a pot-pourri from ‘Carmen’” (51). “The Lost Chord,” written by Arthur Sullivan, was composed at the deathbed of the composer’s sickly brother,
First, the author uses Figurative language to develop the theme by the mother uses a metaphor to describe her life and how difficult it was. It says, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters. And boards were torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor—Bare.“This shows the author use Figurative language to develop the theme of You have to rise above the obstacles because life is going to throw obstacles at you and you have to try to avoid them. This shows the theme because instead of going back down the staircase where there are no problems you have to push through to get over the problem. Second, the author uses Symbol to develop the theme by using the staircase that represents life and life is hard and there will be a ton of thing that try to push us down and just try to stop us It says, “ I’ve been a-climbing’ on, And reachin’ landings, And turnin’ corners, And sometimes goin’ in the dark Where there ain’t been no light. “This shows the author used Symbol to develop the theme of You have to rise above the obstacles because the mother kept going non-stop. This is important to notice because there will be a ton of thing that try to push us down and just try to stop us. To, sum up, the author of “Mother to Son” revealed the theme through Figurative language and
Minnie’s right foot led the way and paused on each step. Like a young child first learning to master the staircase she would wait for her left foot to catch up before leading again with her right. Her feet glided lightly across the wooden steps and only the dust particles felt her movement. She seemed to have a pillow of air floating underneath her. Quite ironically, with each descending stride her body took, her hand would tightly grip the banister until her veins were crushed against her tightened skin with no way out.
There are many things that someone can experience over the course of a lifetime that can determine who you do and do not want to be. Though there are many things that can stand in the way of you finding your direct path to happiness, you learn a few life lessons along the way. Jeannette Walls was a young girl whom had many of those experiences thrown her way from the age she was three, and now into her adult life. Having a father, who promised the world and really tried to catch it, was enabled by alcohol and other misfortunes that lead his life. She also had a mother, who followed the lifestyle of her father by enabling him and continuing with a life that was fickle trying to raise four children and becoming established at one place for more than a few days at a time. By taking a look at the summary of The Glass Castle, it is evident that the Walls’ conformed to an inconsistent way of living because of lack of confidence, neglect of their children, and some
In “Mother to Son,” Hughes uses a worn staircase as an extended metaphor to parallel its flaws to the struggles of African Americans. The poem begins with a mother speaking to her son about the pressures of reality and telling him not to succumb. She tells her son, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair,” (Mother to Son “MS” line 2) to portray that her life is far from perfect like the stair of a white person. She describes her life as having “tacks and splinters….with boards torn up” (Hughes lines 3-5). These defects symbolize the problems in her life whether they were caused by her race or gender.
What is symbolism? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary symbolism: is the use of symbols to express or represent ideas or qualities in literature, art. What is the writer or artistes trying to intemperate in their work? William Faulkner and Edgar Allan Poe were literary geniuses in their use of dark and subdued writing styles, but in my opinion no one takes the time to look in depth into the real meanings of there works . This paper will elaborate on the use of symbolism in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.
The parallel between Alicia’s dependence on Devlin and Alex’s on his mother is prominent in the final scene. The scene takes place on the grand staircase of Alex’s mansion. Influenced by German Expressionism, stairs serve an integral role in this and subsequent films. Alicia, propped up by Devlin, and Alex, shadowed by his over-bearing mother, all descend the grand staircase in the mansion under the eyes of the Nazi party. Outside of the house, Alicia and Devlin make their escape to freedom while Alex reluctantly returns up the stairs to his fate with the Nazis. Ending the film on the stairs attests to Hitchcock’s style.
Many define drama to be a literary work that is to be performed in front of an audience. But to truly define drama one must comply with its themes in order to understand it fully. Drama is a form of art that is visually presented. It displays key characteristics of human emotions to give deeper meaning to what is being presented. Sometimes drama brings out what a person is truly feeling through a tragedy play or a play portraying good fortune. Drama plays are sometimes taken out of real life instances to extend the controversy of the event or elevate the excitement of the situation. Much like in Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles”, where a woman is being put on trial for killing her husband. Trifles are small insignificant things that can be ignored. Women are being ridiculed in this drama due to their lack of voice in society; however their superiority is shown through their keen eye for evidence. Symbolism in this play acts as a precursor to predestined events that take place. It can be observed by looking at anything that has specific significance to a scene, which Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters methodically point out. The unfinished quilt, the strangled bird, and fruit are the symbols that give insight what really happened between Mr. and Mrs. Wright, and what went wrong during their marriage to result in such a dreadful end.
In the short story “The Story of an Hour,” written by Kate Chopin, there are many symbols that point to one main emotion. Like every symbol in a well written story, a symbol can be very easy to miss during the first reading. This is why the story must be read many times to truly understand and comprehend the symbolism involved in the plot. Symbolism is a key element in great works. Like Mrs. Mallard’s hidden emotions and feelings, it is often entwined in the reading through objects, people, and places. In this story, there are three important symbols that, if recognized, will allow a reader to enjoy the plot to the fullest extent. These three symbols are the open window, the nature outside, and the features of Mrs. Mallard herself.
In this story by Kate Chopin, the heart trouble is both a symbolic and physical malady that stands for her ambivalence towards her unhappiness and marriage conjoined inability to be free. The first thing we qauire in the book is that Louise is suffering from a heart problem;additionally we learn that her heart problem is also the reason why the announcement of the death of Brently seems so threatening now. It is also clear that an individual with a heart problem would certainly not deal with such terrible news. In any instance where Louise tries to go through the idea of her renewed independence, her heart races as the blood in her veins pumps to the extremes. As the story ends, Louise dies. The diagnosis of her heart disease looks appropriate to her disease but it seems even more appropriate since she experienced shock once she saw Brently. Surely, such shock is enough to drive her to her deathbed. It is however ironic that the doctor concludes that the main reason as to the death of Louiseis overwhelming joy. It is ironic because it is not joy that had led to her death but rather loss of joy, which had killed her. Louise had certainly died because of a broken heart that was caused by the idea of suddenly losing her much loved independence (Chopin, The Story of an Hour)
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is a classic example of a story with its themes being expressed in the form of a heavy symbolism influence. Each member of the Wingfield family, including Amanda, Laura and Tom, has their individual internal and emotional struggles. These problems are represented with symbols that are strongly emphasized throughout the story as they relate to the family. It is apparent that Tom and Laura’s symbols are some of the most important. These symbols include the fire escape, the nickname “Blue Roses” given to Laura, and the unicorn figurine in Laura’s glass menagerie.
Chapters nineteen through twenty-two detail Christ’s final victory over sin. Over the course of the final chapters of Revelation, the process of Christ’s ultimate victory is detailed using an abundance of powerful images and symbolism. Some examples of symbols used are referring to Christ as “the Lamb,” and to His church as His “Bride.” Though symbols play an important part of these final chapters contained within Revelation, imagery is by far the most prevalent. At multiple points during Revelation imagery and symbolism are used in conjunction with each other, to complement and strengthen their respective ideas. Throughout the final chapters of revelation, both imagery and symbolism are used in abundance in order to show the glory and power