Essay 1

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Recommended: Use of Symbolism

Authors use symbols to give insight on characters’ inner lives or foreshadow events to come. Colors are often used as symbols to describe situations and characters’ moods, for example colors such as red and orange can be used to show anger, danger, or to give caution. In “Tall Tales from the Mekong Delta”, Kate Braverman uses colors to describe the female protagonist’s feelings and to foreshadow her next decision. Braverman especially likes to use the color blue. Blue is mentioned about thirty times in this thirteen page story. Blue can represent anything. It has more contradictory meanings than any other color. In some cultures, blue has come to be associated with depression, for example, the phrase “feeling blue”. It can be a cold, wet, moody color. However, a dark, royal blue can mean loyalty, strength, authority, and dignity. Light, sky blue is often associated with cleanliness, peace, faith, harmony, truth, heaven, infinity, serenity, and spirituality. The blue of the Mekong River is a prosperous, luxurious blue. The color of the Mekong River is a significant part o...

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