Connecting Themes in Interpreter of Maladies Throughout the stories of Interpreter of Maladies we see many symbols they convey a sense of isolation and connection in marriage and culture. In the story “A Temporary Matter” we see a major symbol that points to the isolation in marriage. This symbol is the blackout that occurs in the story. It represents the negative aspects of their marriage, but it also gives them a brief sense of connection. In the story “A Temporary Matter” we see a married couple Shoba and Shukumar, who have had to deal with the loss of their child and just could not fix their struggles from it. Shoba and Shukumar had gotten a letter saying the power would be going out for an hour each night for the repairmen to fix the …show more content…
It can also be shown how they have had very negative aspects of their marriage. I think the biggest symbol of the blackout as is shown in this story is that it directly correlates to the death of their child. Nothing in the story shows that they had struggles in their marriage until they lost their child. It shows that after the death of their child they began to drift away from each other, that Shoba couldn’t recover from that loss like Shukumar did. I think the blackout symbolizes mourning and how if their child hadn’t died that their marriage would have never fallen apart. “In the beginning he had belived that it would pass, that he and Shoba would get through it all somehow. She was only thirty-three. She was storng, on her feet again.” (Lahiri, 5). This quote from the story implies that Shukumar had recovered from the loss and that he was just waiting for Shoba to get to that point too. I think Shoba was very offended that Shukumar was okay with the fact that thy had lost a child, but it wasn’t until after she told him she had found an apartment that he told her he held their son and knew it was a boy and that was what helped him cope and get through the loss much faster than …show more content…
The wife Shoba felt that she was in an isolation of mourning for the loss of their child, and Shukumar was in isolation thinking that because of the loss of their child his wife couldn’t recover and would never love him the same way again. It also gave them a chance for a connection by playing the game in the darkness and telling each other secrets they had never told the other before. This gave them a connection they hadn’t felt since the loss. We can connect the blackout to the loss of their son, which was the cause all of their marital problems
In addition, she always talks about the moonlight during these times of night. When the moonlight is not present, the narrator is not active. Her husband comes to visit and she does not do much. But at night, when her husband is sleeping, the narrator wakes up and starts walking around the room. The protagonist believes that there is a woman trapped by the wall, and that this woman only moves at night with the night light. The allusion to this light is not in the beginning of the story, but in the end. “She begins to strip of the wallpaper at every opportunity in order to free the woman she perceives is trapped inside. Paranoid by now, the narrator attempts to disguise her obsession with the wallpaper.” (Knight, p.81) In the description of the yellow wallpaper and what is seen behind it there are sinister implications that symbolize the closure of the woman. It implies that any intellectual activity is a deviation from their duties as a housewife. Her marriage seems to be claustrophobic as her won life, a stifling confinement for a woman's creativity. As imaginable, such treatment and "solitary confinement"(Knight, p.86) will do nothing but worsen her condition, affecting
The narrator is forbidden from work and confined to rest and leisure in the text because she is supposedly stricken with, "…temporary nervous depression - a slight hysterical tendency," that is diagnosed by both her husband and her brother, who is also a doctor (1).
The only way to understand the meaning of Alison’s words is to understand the appearance and structure of the panel. The structure of this panel spans the entire page, which is just one of two other panels throughout the book to have its own full page. The smaller individual panels themselves show no outside light, only the glimpse of what we expect to be cars passing. This gives the illusion that Alison and her father are stopped in time, where they are alone in solitary confinement. This is almost a prison affect where the individuals are forced to talk with each other, even though they both are un-easy on the situation (221). A...
The author tugs on the reader’s heart strings more than once through this story. At the very beginning of the piece the reader feels empathetic towards the wife when she explains how her husband was good to her and their children. She is trying to prove to the reader that her husband was a good being and that whatever happened to him was not deserved. The reader also feels empathetic when the children are described as becoming fearful of their father. The father tries to blame the fear in his children on sleep-walking, but the reader knows that the children are genuinely afraid. As the piece progresses, more than likely the reader is feeling concern for the husband just as the wife is. The truth behind the story is foreshadowed rather early in the piece, but it is hard to pick out until the piece has been read all the way through. The wife mentions that whatever is wrong with her husband must be running through his blood because he always acts strangely in “the dark of the moon”. This phrase may not make sense at first, however in the next sentence it states “he gets up because he can’t sleep and goes out into the glaring sun…” (Guin,1982, p. 28). This shows that the family sleeps during daylight hours which is not so for most human families. From this the reader can conclude that this story is not about a human family but rather a different kind of family. As previously discussed, the truth is revealed through Guin’s use of imagery on page 28. The family is actually a family of werewolves. This means that the transformation that is occurring in the husband is from werewolf to human. After the husband was killed the wife was left in shock. She says that “[she] went up close because [she] thought if the thing was dead the spell, the curse, must be done, and [her] husband could come back-alive, or even dead, if [she] could only see him, [her] true love in his true form.” (Guin,1982,
“Like a river flows so surely to the sea darling, so it goes some things are meant to be.” In literature there have been a copious amount of works that can be attributed to the theme of love and marriage. These works convey the thoughts and actions in which we as people handle every day, and are meant to depict how both love and marriage can effect one’s life. This theme is evident in both “The Storm” by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman; both stories have the underlying theme of love and marriage, but are interpreted in different ways. Both in “The Storm” and in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the women are the main focus of the story. In “The Storm” you have Calixta, a seemingly happy married woman who cheats on her husband with an “old-time infatuation” during a storm, and then proceeds to go about the rest of her day as if nothing has happened when her husband and son return. Then you have “The Yellow Wallpaper” where the narrator—who remains nameless—is basically kept prisoner in her own house by her husband and eventually is driven to the point of insanity.
In "the story of an hour" Chopin discuss how getting married can lead you to live a life of anguish. In the beginning of the short story Mrs. Mallard revives terrible news that her husband has been recently killed, she "Wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment." This intense reaction is how society would expect her to act if your husband dies. Mrs. Mallard then goes into her bedroom to grieve alone: "She could see in the open square before her house the tops of the trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life." Seeing the open square makes her crave freedom, something she doesn't remembering having. The new spring life will eventually represent her new-found freedom and happiness. As she stares outside the window she thinks, but "It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought." She is critically thinking of what will come and what has just happened, she has not ever has to think for herself, her husband always did that for her. This is the first time her feelings start to stir, she tries to process the information more to figure out what they mean.
After Barbara and Adam died, they went back to their house. All of the lights were off and it was only lit by the fireplace, which created many shadows in the room. The low key lighting makes the scene look dangerous for Barbara and Adam, and it looks like something bad could happen to them again. This creates suspense because it leaves the audience wondering if they will be safe in their house. The suspense is further heightened when they tried to leave their house, but ended up in the desert. There are many shadows there because the sky is dark. It creates suspense and can leave the audience asking if they will return home safely.
Her family life is depicted with contradictions of order and chaos, love and animosity, conventionality and avant-garde. Although the underlying story of her father’s dark secret was troubling, it lends itself to a better understanding of the family dynamics and what was normal for her family. The author doesn’t seem to suggest that her father’s behavior was acceptable or even tolerable. However, the ending of this excerpt leaves the reader with an undeniable sense that the author felt a connection to her father even if it wasn’t one that was desirable. This is best understood with her reaction to his suicide when she states, “But his absence resonated retroactively, echoing back through all the time I knew him. Maybe it was the converse of the way amputees feel pain in a missing limb.” (pg. 399)
In the play titled Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, Minnie Foster Wright is being accused of murdering her husband, John. In this production, Mrs. Wright is consistently referenced, and although she is not witnessed, she is very recognizable. There are important symbols in this play that signifies Mrs. Wright and her existence as it once was and as it currently exists to be. Particularly the canary, this symbolizes Mrs. Wright's long forgotten past. Additionally, the birdcage, this symbolizes her life as it currently exists. Certainly the quilt is a symbol, which is an important clue on how Mr. Wright was killed. In addition, the rocking chair, this symbolizes her life as it has diminished throughout the duration of her most recently survived years. Lastly, but not least, the containers of cherry preserves that seem to be a symbol of the warmth and compassion that she has yet to discover in her life. Every one of these symbolizes and characterizes Mrs. Wright?s character and her existence in the play.
Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is a story about a band of patients in a mental ward who struggle to find their identity and get away from the wretched Nurse. As audiences read about the tale, many common events and items seen throughout the story actually represent symbols for the bigger themes of the story. Symbols like the fishing trip, Nurse, and electroshock therapy all emphasize the bigger themes of the story.
In the story, the narrator is forced to tell her story through a secret correspondence with the reader since her husband forbids her to write and would “meet [her] with heavy opposition” should he find her doing so (390). The woman’s secret correspondence with the reader is yet another example of the limited viewpoint, for no one else is ever around to comment or give their thoughts on what is occurring. The limited perspective the reader sees through her narration plays an essential role in helping the reader understand the theme by showing the woman’s place in the world. At ...
The high level of expertise by the author using the third person narrative of the view of the protagonist husband shows that he was oblivious to the fact that his wife was ver...
The short stories “Souls Belated” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” have in common ‘Marriage’ as main theme. However, the marriage is treated quite differently in both short stories. In "Souls Belated", Lydia chooses to take control of her destiny, to deviate from conventions and to choose what is good for her. She is the strongest character of the couple. Whereas, in "The Yellow Wallpaper", the name of the main character who is also the narrator of the story is not known. She is identified as being John’s wife. This woman, contrary to Lydia in "Souls Belated" is completely locked up in her marriage. This essay will first describe and compare the characters of Lydia and John's wife in the context of marriage, and then it will look at how marriage is described, treated and experienced by couples in these two short stories.
Several symbols in Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour" create a feeling of comfort, wellness, and wonderfulness within the reader's mind. The first symbol I will speak of is the "comfortable chair" which she sinks into after the news of her husbands' death. Then, I will speak of the open window, which she sits in front of through which she sees many symbols of things that are good. Finally, I will speak of the description of Mrs. Mallard herself and her comfortable situation, which will tie together all the symbols that create the feelings of comfort and wellness in the reader.
In the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” author Kate Chopin presents the character of Mrs. Louis Mallard. She is an unhappy woman trapped in her discontented marriage. Unable to assert herself or extricate herself from the relationship, she endures it. The news of the presumed death of her husband comes as a great relief to her, and for a brief moment she experiences the joys of a liberated life from the repressed relationship with her husband. The relief, however, is short lived. The shock of seeing him alive is too much for her bear and she dies. The meaning of life and death take on opposite meaning for Mrs. Mallard in her marriage because she lacked the courage to stand up for herself.