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Essays on symbolism in literature
Symbolism in the literary criticism
Importance of symbolism in literature
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Tangerine, a realistic fiction novel, based on the themes of trust, truth, and lies, and how they affect the main character Paul through his struggles in Tangerine County, Florida. In the book the motif is sight but the meaning of motif is the recurring topic with a symbolic meaning. Sight is what the character understands and serves as a reminder to the reader, in this instance it is Paul, the main character, is nearly blind but can see better than many in Tangerine. Through the motif of sight and the themes of truth and lies Paul has a growing understanding of himself, his friends, and his family.
A theme from Tangerine can be “facing your fear and overcoming it”. An example can be on p.261-262 when Paul had to face Erik and Arthur in a 2v1, Paul tells him that he found out who killed Luis. Paul was thinking to himself that Arthur was an idiot for carrying the weapon and for killing Luis. Paul finally had enough courage to tell Erik that he saw him kill Luis and that he damaged all of the mail boxes. Another example can be in p263-265 when Paul had to talk to his parents about his eyesight. This is a big moment in the book because for the longest time Paul never knew about what happened to his eyes, but when Paul remembered about what happened he started to talk to his parents about it. Paul usually would never be able to talk to his parents about anything because they were also busy and Paul always
In the novel Graceling there are many important characters including the main character Katsa, her uncle King Randa, and her friend Po. Kristin Cashore uses symbolism in many cases to provide more information about these characters without telling the reader directly, so the individual could form their own opinion on the information given. Symbolism, when used in the right book and the right context, could prove to be an extremely useful tool for the author. Throughout the novel Graceling, author Kristin Cashore uses many symbols to give insight on the growth and portrayal of the characters.
In Tangerine Paul may be blind physically but he can see what his parents’ and the townspeople can’t. Paul, a middle school student and the main character, is physically blind and is looking for answers from the past. Erik, Paul's big brother, is a superstar football kicker and bully who is driven by anger and frustration. Their parents are struggling with the secrets from the past and the effect that they have on the family and the families future. Tangerine county in Florida has the well off town of Lake Windsor, where the Fisher family lives, and the poorer town of Tangerine. The author Edward Bloor utilizes blindness to symbolize how Paul may be visually impaired but can see social injustice, while Erik and his
Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit “is probably one of the greatest songs composed telling the chilling story about lynching. A little unknown fact is that it was written by a Jewish man by the name of Abel Meeropol. Initially “Strange Fruit” originated as a poem written by Abel Meeropol, as a protest against lynching of African Americans. Meeropol meet Holiday in a bar, where she read the poem, and decided to make the poem into a song. The record made it to No. 16 on the charts in July 1939. This song is probably Holiday’s most famous song she ever sung throughout her whole life. In the end Strange fruit forces listeners to relive the tragic horrors of living in America as an African American. The vivid lyrics paints a picture that causes a person
Abraham Sutzkever was a Yiddish poet who was known as the “greatest poet of the Holocaust.” He was born on July 15, 1913 in Smorgon, Russian Empire, now Smarhon, Belarus. He wrote poetry from an early age, initially in Hebrew. He was among the Modernist writers and artists of the “Young Vilna” group in the early 1930’s. He wrote many famous Yiddish poems. His poems consist of his memories from his childhood in Siberia, his life in the Vilna during the World War II, and his escape to join Jewish partisans. Through his poems, he recalls his early childhood experiences. He became a major figure in Yiddish letters and throughout the world as he was one of the creative artists who had lived through and survived the devastation. His poems are imagistic and filled with metaphors. Through his works in, A Little Flower, Scorched Pearls, and A Moment, the impressions of hardships endured are more symbolic and metaphoric.
Submission is a set of dominant behaviors involving the obedience of one person to another, which can be considered nowadays as an immoral intolerance. Submissiveness, generally directed towards women, has always existed throughout history. Even Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette’s short story “The Hand” brings out this oppressive notion at her times. Through the use of literary devices such as symbolism and characterization (which might also involve imagery), the author portrays this idea of women’s submissiveness to their husband’s dominance in a marriage.
In the film, Tangerine, directed by Sean Baker we not only witness the tragic and complex lives of transgender street workers, but even more importantly the deep connections created by their bonds of friendship. Ironically, as we hear songstress Alexandra singing the Toyland, one can’t help but see the contradiction in their current situations. As Sin-dee looks on and listens to Alex, you can see a childlike wonder or melancholy come over her face. Perhaps she’s reminiscing about a time of innocence or a time of hope. One that we all wish for “our” children, but sadly is not always realized for those who don’t fit the “norm”. I am reminded of the words Jesus spoke, So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be
John Steinbeck’s novella, The Pearl, is written as a parable, which allows the reader to interpret its themes in their own way. It can take place in any time period, with any setting, and using any protagonist. The themes Steinbeck used throughout his book are universal and can applied to anyone’s lives. Its contrasting portrayal of good and evil creates a clear understanding of themes such as greed, illusions, and humanity and reason versus animalism and instinct.
In the book Tangerine by Edward Bloor, there is many examples of symbolism. One very symbolic moment was at the end of the journal entry for December 4th. In the journal entry, it explains that Paul goes on a shopping spree, and after buying all the clothes he throws out his old clothes and replaces them with ones that fit. This shows that Paul was done being the old him and was ready to become a different person.
Zane’s story describes the trouble that he has trying to survive the hurricane and so on, but Tangerine has more of a inside joke feel to it which forces you to read the entire story in order to truly understand the beauty in the author’s writing instead of understanding the entire book just by searching up a book summary online. Zane also has more of a right on the spot feel to it (like everything is just there and you can understand the book without great effort) instead of Tangerine, which requires you to be active in reading and to truly think about the book instead of being lazy and not putting effort into the beauty the author created whilst
“Nature’s creative power is far beyond man’s instinct of destruction,” remarks Jules Verne. Nature’s unpredictable destruction seems to be something man cannot control. The main character, Paul, and his friends put up a constant struggle against Mother Nature, but the latter always wins. In the novel Tangerine, Edward Bloor arrays Mother Nature is stronger than man displayed through Nature’s Power.
In her story “Currents” Hannah Vosckuil uses symbolism, and a reverse narrative structure to show the story of how unnamed sympathetic and antagonistic characters react differently to a traumatic event. Symbolism can be found in this story in the way that Gary does not mind sitting in the dark alone at the end of the day as well as how both of his girls are affected by the symbolism of hands. One holding a boy’s hand for the first time and the other becoming sick after seeing the dead boy’s hand fall off the stretcher. The sympathetic and antagonistic manner of these characters is shown when both girls are told by their grandmother that they must return to the water to swim the next day. The grandmother sees this simply as a way of encouraging them and keeping them from becoming afraid of the water. However, the girls see this as a scary proposition because of what had happened, showing the grandmother as an antagonist character to the little girls.
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is a classic example of a story with its themes being expressed in the form of a heavy symbolism influence. Each member of the Wingfield family, including Amanda, Laura and Tom, has their individual internal and emotional struggles. These problems are represented with symbols that are strongly emphasized throughout the story as they relate to the family. It is apparent that Tom and Laura’s symbols are some of the most important. These symbols include the fire escape, the nickname “Blue Roses” given to Laura, and the unicorn figurine in Laura’s glass menagerie.
A symbol is any “‘object, act, event, quality, or relation which serves as a vehicle for conception’” (230). Peyote Hunt: The Sacred Journey of the Huichol Indians by Barbara Myerhoff is a very intricate text which involves numerous aspects of symbolism. Myerhoff not only applies a much deeper meaning to deer, maize, and peyote, but she also uses these objects as a representation of divine beings and spirits. The deer, maize, and peyote are very powerful entities but together they form the deer-maize-peyote complex, which is central to the Huichol life. The unification of these disparate objects can be easily understood once they are analyzed on three different levels: exegetical, operational, and positional.
Nancy Romero’s Adam and Eve 3 (1970) is an illustration describing the story of Adam and Eve written in the book of Genesis. There are six key symbols in this painting connected to the story of Adam and Eve. The centerpiece that holds the fruit, the snake on the table, the monkeys, the toys on the floor, and the open door of the house are all symbolic to the story of Adam and Eve.