The People Could Fly And The Flight Of Icarus

The universal theme that is expressed in “The People Could Fly” and “The Flight of Icarus” is don’t give up hope even though things aren’t going as expected.

The mood in “The People Could Fly” is sad in the beginning and happy in the end. For example in the beginning “So the one called Driver cracked his whip over the slow ones to make them move faster.That whip was a slice-open cut of pain” (Hamilton 64). Proving that the characters are being tortured. For example in the end “Way above the plantation,way over slavery land” ( Hamilton 66). This is proving that the people are happy because they are free. Also in “The Flight of Icarus” the mood is sad because Daedalus’ son died and happy because Daedalus flew to safety. For example “ At last he saw the feathers floating from the sky, and soon his son plunged through the clouds into the sea” ( Benson 33-34). This is proving that Icarus died because he dove from the sky into the sea. This relates to the universal theme don’t give up hope even though things are going the wrong way. It relates because it helps to find and understand the universal theme in these two pieces of literature.

The symbol in “The Flight of Icarus” and “The People Could Fly” is the same.

The symbols in the folktale and the greek myth is flight. Flight represents safety and freedom in both pieces of literature. In “The Flight of Icarus” Daedalus and his son takes flight to safety. For example “He arrived safely in Sicily” (Benson 34). This is proving that flight represents safety in the story. In “The People Could Fly” flight also represents freedom and safety. For example “Say they flew away to Free-dom” (Hamilton 66). The quote is proving that flight represents freedom from slavery. The symbols of both stories relate to the universal theme because they prove that there is a way out of a tough

situation.
In both stories the speaker is the same. In “The People Could Fly” the story is told in 3rd person. An example is “They say that the children of the ones who could not fly told their children. And now, me, I have told it to you” (Hamilton 67). This is saying that the folktale was in 3rd person and was being told by a narrator. In “The Flight of Icarus”, this greek myth is told in 3rd person also. For example “He called his son, Icarus, to him” (Benson 31). This is telling that the characters aren’t telling the story but it’s told by a narrator. The speaker relates to the theme because it is another way they are alike.
The universal theme that is expressed in “The People Could Fly” and “The Flight of Icarus” is never give up hope even though things are not going so well. The speaker,mood, and symbols are all ways that “The People Could Fly” and “The Flight of Icarus” are alike. “You should never give up. No matter how hard the situation is, always believe that something beautiful is going to happen”- anonymous