Symbolism Of Escape In Gretel's 'Local Girls'

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Local Girls Final Essay Escape, to break free from confinement or control. Throughout all the mess and emotion running through Gretel's life, in the end she really was just a Local Girl. Animals throughout the story have been used to symbolize Gretel’s emotion and thoughts. Until the end of the story Alice Hoffman utilizes animals to further implement the overall motif of escape. The final story “Local Girls,” capped of the story perfectly and ended the motif of escape. “ The firefly floats away; it rises so high it’s impossible to tell where it is among the stars…. “Good for us,” she says. ( Hoffman 197). Gretel’s story of passion, pain, and tragedy starts of with a cat. A cat is used in the first paragraph to symbolize Gretel. Cats …show more content…

As her attitude alters so does the animal chosen to symbolize her. A dog is now used to emphasize Gretel’s emotion. Dogs are kept in the confinement of ones housing and are strapped onto a leash as they leave there confinement. The confinement of the dog symbolizes her attitude towards the world and her thought of escape and freedom. “ Our dog. Revolver. ran away and I can’t say that I blame him.” The animals thoughts has progressed from wanting to leave to leaving, this symbolizes Gretel's attitude towards reality and her …show more content…

Birds are kept in confinement of there cages, they do not have the will to do anything and longs to fly out into the world. This perfectly describes Gretel’s state of mind, she longs to be let out and never fly back to her worries and her reality. She is the bird that sits there in seldom, through the bars of emotion. She believes she is useless. A caged bird sings with a fearful trill to let the world know of its existence and there longing to escape. The trill Gretel sang was rebellion, she wished her rebellion could stir up a chance of her escape. But a caged bird will stay still with there wings clipped. Death. The end of ones life. Death cause’s great pain, but the pain is temporary, it may last for a long time but there will be something new there for you to grasp. The death of her brother and mother turned Gretel back into a fetal stage. “ The black dress felt like a nest of hornets…. she didn't care.” ( Hoffman 174) A nest is a primal stage of development, the dress is constricting Gretel to her self. She has given up the thought of escape and freedom. But pain is temporary, she broke free of all her confinements as she left the dress. She was

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