Summary Of The Bowl By Andrea And Her Bowl

Janus and Symbolism

Symbolism takes place largely in this short story, or portion of the story.

Symbolism is a part of literature, whose use has been shown in a variety of poems,

novels, stories, etc. In this story, Janus, symbolism is used to portray the meaning or

reflection of what the author wants her readers to capture. In this case the

symbolism was between Andrea and her bowl. The author uses the relationship

Andrea had with her bowl to elucidate her ideas, feeling and maybe her problem.

This use of the author’s range of feelings and problems is not uncommon practice to

be used in literature.

At the beginning, Beattie, gives us an external type of symbolism instead of

one that the reader has to dig deep to interpret.

For me the bowl symbolized

something Andrea had in her life that she could not let go, something she liked that

made her advantageous, or so she thought; this bowl was a symbol of good luck to

her.

Beattie writes, “She was sure that the bowl brought her luck” (103). She was a

bit too obsessed with this bowl “In time, she dreamed of the bowl. Twice, in a

waking dream—early in the morning, between sleep and a last nap before rising—

she had a clear vision of it. It came into sharp focus and startled her for a moment—

the same bowl she looked at every day” (Beattie 103). We see how this inanimate

object meant so much to her, it brought her good will and a fixation.

Costas 2

Digging deeper into the affinity that dwelt within her for this bowl we can say

that she might have suffered from a type of mental disorder, maybe an obsessive-

compulsive disorder. The author points out the unnatural acts Andrea had when she

states that she would get up at night and look at the bowl. It never occurred to her

that she might break it. She washed and dried it without anxiety, and she moved it

often, from coffee table to mahogany corner table or wherever, without fearing an

accident. It was clear that she would not be the one who would do anything to the

bowl (Beattie, 104). The symbolism depicted seems to have layers where at first the

bowl was a symbol of luck it peeled into a figure of an idée

fixe.

We see how the symbolism used in this story takes the reader into what the

author want us to see. At first the figure was obscured, but as one keeps reading the

real denotation of what this relationship between Andrea and the bowl surfaces.

Symbolism is a strong element when used in literature and can take an ordinary

poem, novel or story and transform it into something much more appropriate,

valuable and useful. This element along with the character, tone and point of view

help institute what the author want to represent. The importance of this specific

element is what shaped this story and made the reader immerse in it.