“The Fountain House” presents the idea of relinquishing for a loved one at any cost. Ludmilla Petrushevskaya weaves a dreamlike reality to capture a father’s conviction that his daughter can still live in spite of various medical professionals pronouncing her dead. The effect characterizes the father as delusional. The story’s pathetic symbolism emphasizes the heartbreaking situation of a father, so desperate to save his daughter that he is willing to commit the ultimate transgression.
Various events establish the father’s actions as infractions against otherworldly regulations. When he enters the morgue, the father crosses the threshold of the dead. He does not think twice about leaving the pleasures of life behind to enter this unknown afterworld
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The father “who was also a deeply religious man, [decides] to steal his daughter’s body”(p.1) from the morgue. Since the father is faithful, we can conclude he knows stealing is unsuitable. Additionally, to admit his daughter to the hospital the father has “a brief negotiation with the doctor on duty, [and] he [hands] over his money”(p.1). The father creates a misdemeanor of bribing a doctor to enter this hospital. The doctor represents a guard for this afterworld where the daughter’s soul lies. Similarly, the father’s visit to the fountain house in his dream, where he encounters his live daughter, also centers on his transgression. His daughter is standoffish as if the fathers not supposed to be there: “She [seems] a little embarrassed. . . as if he had interrupted her, [and] stood there, looking away from him--as if she [has] her own, private life… which [has] nothing to do with him anymore…” (p. 2). The daughter’s existence is now in this afterlife where the father barges into, reinforces the idea he is attempting to bring the …show more content…
The father eating the raw human heart because “he understood that if his daughter [eats] this sandwich she would die” (p. 2) symbolizes his willingness to sacrifice his life for hers. It’s no coincidence that the blood transfusion between the father and daughter in the hospital occurs at the same time as this dream. The daughter’s reaction in his dream is also no coincidence. As soon as the father lets his guard down, “she [spins] into the room like a whirlwind, a tornado, howling, shaking everything around her and then [sinks] her nails into the crook of his right arm, breaking his skin” (p. 3). Her violent behavior warns of the dire consequences of attempting to manipulate death. The destructive imagery portrays the daughter’s life destroying the possibility of the father’s life, dooming him to death. At this point of the story, the father dies and is a ghost from here on out. When the father awakes in the evening, “He [reaches] the stairs unnoticed and [begins] descending the cold stone steps, like a ghost (p.4). The text indicates the father’s actions have all the attributes of a ghost. When a man approaches the father asking about what he is doing, the father replies, “I’m from the morgue” (p.4). What used to be a forbidden territory, he is now referring to as his home. Likewise, the father also adds “I came to life, and there was no one around” (p. 5) to their conversation. The father
... seeing and feeling it’s renewed sense of spring due to all the work she has done, she was not renewed, there she lies died and reader’s find the child basking in her last act of domestication. “Look, Mommy is sleeping, said the boy. She’s tired from doing all out things again. He dawdled in a stream of the last sun for that day and watched his father roll tenderly back her eyelids, lay his ear softly to her breast, test the delicate bones of her wrist. The father put down his face into her fresh-washed hair” (Meyer 43). They both choose death for the life style that they could no longer endure. They both could not look forward to another day leading the life they did not desire and felt that they could not change. The duration of their lifestyles was so pain-staking long and routine they could only seek the option death for their ultimate change of lifestyle.
The funeral was supposed to be a family affair. She had not wanted to invite so many people, most of them strangers to her, to be there at the moment she said goodbye. Yet, she was not the only person who had a right to his last moments above the earth, it seemed. Everyone, from the family who knew nothing of the anguish he had suffered in his last years, to the colleagues who saw him every day but hadn’t actually seen him, to the long-lost friends and passing acquaintances who were surprised to find that he was married, let alone dead, wanted to have a last chance to gaze upon him in his open coffin and say goodbye.
him. He tries to go back to raping peasants, but he can’t lift them up
Symbolism is used commonly in literature to reveal a deeper meaning through something indirectly. As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, symbolism is “ the art or practice of using symbols especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous representations” ("Symbolism."). From colors and emotions, such as red and romance, to animals, like doves and peace, symbols better a readers understanding of the text and make for an overall better story. Symbolism gives writer freedom to add double levels of meanings to his work: a literal one that is self-evident and the symbolic one whose meaning is far more profound than the literal one. The symbolism, therefore, gives universality to the characters and the themes of a piece of literature ("Literary Devices."). In the text, A Doll’s House, the author, Hendrik Ibsen, uses symbols of macaroons, the Tarantella, and money to reveal controversial topics between Nora and Torvad.
During the first 20 paragraphs, Williams is simply recalling the events as they had taken place. Never revealing the death of the child. We are led to believe that the child never dies, but Williams gives us clues into her death when he states in paragraph 31, "I have seen at least two children lying dead in bed of neglect." His guilt of how he handled the situation plunges his imagination down a dark, immoral path. The pivotal point between reality and his vivid imagination becomes clear when he states, "I explained the danger but said that I would not insist on the throat examination so long as they (her parents) would take the responsibility." This is where his imagination takes over. Instantly, his adoration and love for the young girl turns to utter loathing. He goes on to describe her as a "savage brat."
The mind is a very powerful tool when it is exploited to think about situations out of the ordinary. Describing in vivid detail the conditions of one after his, her, or its death associates the mind to a world that is filled with horrific elements of a dark nature.
“A Wall of Fire Rising”, short story written by Edwidge Danticat, presents one man’s desire for the freedom and also, the gap between reality and fantasy which is created by the desire. Two different perspectives of evaluating the life bring the conflict between the Guy and Lili who are parents to the little guy. Throughout the story, the Guy implies that he wants to do something that people will remind of him, but Lili who is opposing to the Guy, tries to settle the Guy down and keep up with the normal life that they are belong to. The Guy is aggressive, adventurous and reckless while Lili is realistic and responsible. The wall of fire is the metaphorical expression of the boundary where divides two different types of people. One is for the people who accept their position and try to do the best out of it, and the other for the people who are not satisfied with the circumstances and desires to turn the table. Through this essay, I am going to reveal how the contradiction in an unwise idealist’s attitude and his speech, and also how it drove the whole family into a horrible tragedy as well.
Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” is a controversial play focusing on the marriage of Nora and Torvald Helmer. The play is filled with symbols that represent abstract ideas and concepts. These symbols effectively illustrate the inner conflicts that are going on between the characters. Henrik Ibsen’s use of symbolism such as the Christmas tree, the locked mailbox, the Tarantella, Dr. Rank’s calling cards, and the letters allows him to give a powerful portrayal to symbolize aspects of characters and their relationship to each other.
Throughout the play Hamlet is in constant conflict with himself. An appearance of a ghost claiming to be his father, “I am thy father’s spirit”(I.v.14) aggravates his grief, nearly causing him to commit suicide and leaving him deeply disgusted and angered. Upon speaking with his ghost-father, Hamlet learns that his uncle-stepfather killed Hamlet the King. “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown”(I.v.45-46) Hamlet is beside himself and becomes obsessed with plotting and planning revenge for the death of his father.
One of H.P. Lovecraft’s many short stories, “The Outsider” has been praised since its publication as his most profound and meaningful. This story has been interpreted many different ways, varying from an autobiography of Lovecraft himself to several different philosophical analyses. One such interpretation, by Dirk Mosig compares the plot and settings of “The Outsider” to Lovecraft’s own doubtful views of religion and an afterlife. Mosig supports his interpretation with many facts from the story, I believe he pinpoints one very possible meaning of the story. His argument successfully uses the plot and details to convince the reader that his hypothesis is correct.
When analyzing the symbolism in the Glass Castle it would only be appropriate to start with the major symbol: The Glass Castle. The Glass Castle represents hope and a bright future. The fact that Rex Walls never achieved the goal of building his dream house shows how deeply he needed to overcome his alcoholism and paranoia. Even though the glass is unstable, it symbolizes how Rex Walls wanted an unrealizable lifestyle. It was a lifestyle that could fall apart at any moment. The other symbols that represent Jeanette’s transition into adulthood are fire, The Joshua Tree, and independence.
When looking out the window "she was drinking in a very elixir of life” (Chopin). The short story comes to an end with her husband walking through the door and Louise falls dead at the sight of her diminishing dreams. This well known short story is comprehended in many ways deciding the reason of Louise’s death and what “freedom” she experiences.
Shortly after giving up his power, the father realizes that he is nothing without it and appears to be slowly becoming insane. In both instances, the father, in a crazed moment, wanders off and puts himself in a life-threatening situation. In the end the youngest daughter comes to the fathers' rescue.
The big house is another important symbol within this story. This symbol predominantly brings about feelings of destruction within many aspects of the characters lives This is the destruction seen with Miss Martha, Lavinia, and even Belle. For Miss Martha the house was destructive on her past character and to her family. As stated before she was of a vibrant nature but, when becoming apart of the (something), she (something). When speaking to Lavinia of her about seeing the house for the first time, she reveals her real feeling on living at Tall Oaks and in the big house. She recounts, “When I arrived and saw the house, how isolated we were, I wanted only to return to Philadelphia.”, showing her sadness and reluctance to live in the big house
ghost of his father wants him to kill his uncle and send him to hell,