Personification And Symbolism In Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Milk Glass

Carolyn Howard-Johnson uses literary devices such as personification and imagery, in the passage Milk Glass, to convey the narrator values Christmas time and the milk glass.

Johnson used personification in Milk Glass, to help the reader understand how special and eye catching the milk glass is to her. The passage starts off with the narrator and her mother shopping. The narrator immediately sees the glass and describes it as, “It had the shine of ice in the moonlight, a depth that consumed the light”(Johnson Line 5). The moonlight often associates to dark or clear. It is when the sky is dark and the moon stand out shadowing a light. Ice is often referred to as clear or pure, and reflects very easily. The milk glass this reflecting off the

While going shopping the narrator spots a shiny milk glass that stands out to her. While paying for the bowl she describes the scene perfectly with great description. “I finished paying for the bowl just about the time that red and green lights and star motifs were strung across Main Street. It was dark by five and the colors reflected in the black ice on the street”(Johnson Line 22). The narrator remembers the moment she bought the glass bowl. She remembers how consequently Christmas decorations were being put up as she bought the bowl. Symbolism is shown when she specifically describes the lights and the stars. The narrator not only values having the bowl but also the purchase of the bowl. She symbolises the bowl as Christmas. Johnson used imagery in this case to show the reader that the narrator values Christmas and the bowl is one of the centerpieces of Christmas. Another example is shown when the narrator describes another year. Her house is decorated from head to toe with her favorite decorations. Christmas time for the narrator is time for giving and celebration. Its warmth and joy. “Packages were toted hme so as not to crush the bows. Lights were strung in merriment across Main Street and the department store windows were so beautiful that people went downtown just to see them” (Johnson Line 49). Christmas time is the time for lights and joy. People go and exchange presents and decorate their houses in lights as they sing with glee. Johnson wanted the reader to infer that this is how the narrator references Christmas with. Imagery is used to show how Christmas looked like in her perspective. The reader can infer that the narrator does not only value Christmas but she also values joy and