Each person is a quilt. Aspects of our lives are stitched together into a unique patchwork masterpiece. When tribulation causes tears in our quilts, we can mend ourselves with any fabric or thread of our choosing. Some people’s quilts are a combination of colorful patterns and elaborate stitch work, others live in black and white. Every unique characteristic that makes us ourselves is sewn into our quilts. The people that surround me have woven themselves into the pattern of my life. When envisioning my quilt, I picture how each of my experiences and decisions have been stitched together to form my life. I see the parts I’ve chosen to patch over rather than stitch back together and the tears that have not been mended. At times I look back on the changes I have made and a bittersweet feeling washes over me. It is not the place or the people I have moved away from; it is the feelings and memories I will never regain. Seeing the weather change from summer to fall lately has reminded me of my childhood. Coming home from school to my mom’s cooking and my dog’s wagging tail was an everyday occurrence I took for granted. I remember the flutter of excitement in my chest as I walked into my house to the sweet smell of pumpkin …show more content…
For me, these holes were torn by the words and actions of others… gaps where confidence, security, and sureness belonged. Everyone who has ever spent a winter in New England knows a quilt with holes does not suffice. I was faced with the decision to mend the spaces with thread or patch them. Patching the holes of my quilt meant adding a layer of cloth which provided added strength in these aspects of my life. The thick fabrics I added were made of wool and flannel, warm and comforting; these contributed to my sense of certainty and security. I picture the thread as a smooth, silky material, to represent the way I gracefully removed myself from toxic
Quilt making in the African American community has a long history dating back to the 18th century and has been important for ways of communicating social and political conditions. During the time when African Americans were enslaved, quilting became a popular way of communicating safety to African Americans escaping their way to freedom, up north. The tradition of Quilting was past down form generation to generation, by mother’s to daughter’s as a way of teaching the daughter about the past and giving them a valuable skill that could add to their lives. In the series Bitter Nest by Faith Ringgold, Ringgold’s communicates her life experiences with her daughters though using the art of story telling, traditional African materials, the art of quilting, and elements of art to make a unique story-quilt that appeals to African Americans of all ages.
Acosta portrays the quilt as a memoir type deal and makes it into a precious piece of herself for her kids to have with them. Walker signifies the quilts as being special to her and her family heritage and refused to give them to someone who won't respect their meaning, even if it is her own daughter. Anything has what it takes to be of some significance and it doesn’t matter what that thing is. What means the most is how valued that significance is and how well the heritage is kept
In the depiction of the century quilt, the author touches upon how each quilt square “holds a sweet gum leaf,” before furthering the description by relating the leaves as having fingers that would “caress [me] into silence.” Such description of the quilt’s embroidery further reiterates the quilt’s metaphorical representation of familial bonds. When constructing a family tree, the grouping is divvied up into differentiating sides known as branches, upon which each individual can be considered a leaf. Though each leaf is relatively small in relation to the tree as a whole, it is the entirety of the leaves that provide a tree with a structure and shape. In this same vein, the characterization of each quilt square in possession of a leaf parallels each leaf to a member of the lineage. However, the author chooses particular words to describe the quilt squares and the leaves, noting that the squares are not the leaves themselves, but merely holders of them. This particularity in language indicates that while each square belongs to an individual, the leaf itself is not a part of that being—merely a placeholder. The leaves prove to be the common entity bonding the differing squares together, and their function is analogous to that of a common ancestor; though family members differs in origin and history, they are united under the visage of a particular individual. As was mentioned earlier, the
Symbols are displayed in both stories; the quilts in “Everyday Use” symbolize the memories of Mama’s family. The quilts are made of pieces of old clothing from Mama’s family. Each piece of the quilt represents that person and who they were. They are passed on to future generations along with stories of the ancestors’ past. The quilts represent pride of their ancestors’ struggles, where they came from and the fight to preserve their individuality. Unlike Dee, Mama and Maggie acknowledge their heritage from memories of their family members. Dee bases her heritage off ...
“Every part of my body hurts. Except my heart. I saw no one, but, strange as it was, I missed no one” (Strayed 70). This takes a turn of events. “Every part of my body hurts, except my heart,” gives new meaning and how Strayed manages to gain emotional stability in the wake of her mothers’ death, and illness. This shows great strength in regards that she rises above the obstacles thrown in her path--the feeling of what it means to be alive. This work invites and informs the reader of the many ways one can cope with loss; moreover, Strayed demonstrates what what may work for everyone--the method of sublimation.
As I looked around from my cold spot on the step, I could see an old, brick house. This house was like none other on the block. With a large American flag hanging on the door, this house – a symbol of the American dream – stood taller than all the other houses. My attention then shifted to two great big evergreen trees on each facade, and the beautiful bed of flowers, of all shapes, sizes, and colors, wrapped tightly around the base of the house – the tracings of an American summer.
The feeling of abandonment and the search for approval go hand in hand; "The Century Quilt" is a touching poem communicates those feelings with its readers. This poem emphasizes familial connection and favoritism among family members. In "The Century Quilt", the speaker communicates a theme that finding approval from close family members can often feel difficult; the speaker uses symbolism to represent the sense of comfort she finds in her family, while also using imagery to help the readers visualize the dreams she has for her future.
Thus, when people experience loss, their lives change. Just like Blanche, A delicate lady who couldn’t find her way in the challenging and intolerant world we live in after her husband died. As a result, she built her own world, where she lived all her illusions, but in the process, she ended up destroying all that really matters; her personality, relationships, and wellbeing. As Robert Louis Stevenson said “Everybody, soon or late, sits down to a banquet of consequences.”
Finally, I come to mark the passing of the seasons, signaled by the harvest and the snow squalls and most significantly to me, by the great flocks of waterfowl, purposely drifting south across the plains. Understanding, (unlike many people I know), the futility of resisting the seasons, knowing that their only recourse is to become one with the flow of time.
Starting with the first sentence the author uses repetition of the word thread, “ the thread of my own dreary thinking…thread of the dog’s fearful journey…thread of the misery from each member of the dog’s household.”(Dulaney) This makes me think
My grandma’s birthday is October 5. We went to visit her for her birthday, before we moved further away. One snapshot of my memory is the most vivid. Although it was the first day of October, in my memory it feels like summer. The sun is shining on the bright white lines of the parking lot of the Dairy Queen. We had finished eating and were going back to the car. I noticed that
The snow that was predicted to be several inches by the end of the weekend quickly piled up to around eight inches by that evening. At times, the snow was falling so heavily you could hardly see the streetlights that glistened like beacons in a sea of snow. With the landscape draped in white, the trees hangi...
A cool breeze passed my shoulder. In the instant, it felt chilly. The neighborhood was silent and it felt so very empty. Usually on a Saturday afternoon there would be kids playing outside. The sun was glistening on the trees. Winds blowing once every three to five minutes. Trees and plants will shiver as the wind hits them. Leaves would flip in all directions showing the faded bottoms of the leaves.
To be frank, I did enjoy writing poems for this project. I found that writing poetry was rather easy for me as long as creating rhyme schemes go. Each and every of my poems have some type of personal or emotional connection. When I write poetry, if the poem has no connection to me it simply has no meaning to me either. The main idea behind my cover art and my title, “a Thread in a Tapestry’, were that the connections between all my poems were that they were all parts of a whole. Nostalgia and Immortal were about one of my favorite memories, Those Who Were Amongst Us was about my personal views on society, and Vulnerable was about the people whom I love. These are all parts of who I am as a person. The idea was that a thread is a part in a tapestry and in my art the small details and designs came together and created a larger picture. I
It was a crispy cold Sunday morning on January 7th of 2006, when my amiable family and I began making plans for the day. Even though it was winter season, there was a nice pleasant weather outside. The naked winter trees swayed back and forth, rustling and moving each time the breeze would pass through them. The kids were all bundled up in their cozy jackets playing outside, as the sun started rising from the ground to approach the sky.