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The red convertible themes and symbolism
Literary elements used in everyday use by alice walker
Essay of alice walker
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In “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich the two main characters Lyman and Henry are brothers that have an amazing relationship with one another. In the beginning of the story Erdrich writes about how Lyman and Henry bought a gorgeous red convertible; and together they went on plenty of road trips and bonded over the car. On the other hand, the two siblings in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” don’t have that same sibling bond. The siblings in “Everyday Use”, Maggie and Dee, are complete opposites. Dee is extremely vain, snobbish, and outspoken while Maggie is coy, insecure, and timid. Although Maggie and Dee aren’t as close as Lyman and Henry, they still have a very complex relationship in terms of being “close” to one another even though it seems as if they’re from two different planets. In the stories “Everyday Use” and “The Red Convertible”, the characters share one particular trait which is …show more content…
Henry is written as a dynamic character because he changed drastically throughout the story. Henry went from being an innocent young man; to experiencing the chaos and disaster that war will do to a person. Lyman is written as a static character because he didn’t change at all through the story. Lyman was still the same young innocent boy, much like his brother was before he went to war. Dee from “Everyday Use” is written as a dynamic character; she changed to be more in touch with her African roots and even went as far to change her name to “Wangero”. Dee is still just as snobbish as before, though, when she tells her mother that Maggie doesn’t deserve the family quilt because she’ll wear it down to nothing from putting it to “everyday use” (174) Maggie is written as a static character because she didn’t change during the story, although her feelings toward her sister changed, “Maggie smiled; maybe at the sunglasses Dee was wearing. But a real smile, not
Two brothers, Lyman and Henry, had very little in common other than their blood. One day they decided to catch a ride to Winnipeg. The car was introduced while these two were doing some sightseeing in the city. They spotted the red Oldsmobile convertible. Lyman, the storyteller, almost made the car a living thing when he said, "There it was, parked, large as life. Really as if it were alive." (461) The brothers used all of the money they had, less some change for gas to get home, to buy the car. The car's significance was the bond that it created between the brothers. The purchase of the vehicle brought these two together with a common interest: the car. Once the bond was formed, the brothers became inseparable, at least for a while. The boys spent the whole summer in the car. They explored new places; met new people and furthered the bond that the car had created. When they returned from their trip, Henry was sent to war. He left the car with Lyman. While Henry was gone, Lyman spent his time pampering and fixing the car. Lyman saw the car as an extension of Henry. Lyman used the car to maintain an emotional bond with his brother who was thousands of miles away.
In the Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett, Homer and Mother Maria both display straightforward, hardworking, and stubborn character traits. Firstly, Homer and Mother Maria both display a straightforward personality by being brutally honest about their opinions. For example, when Mother Maria asks Homer to build a chapel, Homer speaks his mind by telling her he does not want to build it. Mother Maria shows her straightforward behavior during Homer’s stay at the convent. One morning, when Homer sleeps in late, Mother to becomes extremely upset and is not afraid to show how she feels about him. Secondly, both Homer and Mother Maria display a hardworking spirit. Homer is a hardworking man because after finally agreeing to build the chapel,
Quests do not need to be started by the most likely people, as long as they put all that they have into it they can still succeed. In the book Into The Beautiful North, Nayeli is inspired by the movie “The Magnificent Seven” to bring back men from the United States to liberate Tres Camarones. She wants to bring back the men and her father who had left for jobs, to defend their village from the banditos. There are many circumstance in which Nayeli has to face before she can even get to “Los Yunaites”. She will need assistance from what is most unlikely source. She will face trials that she was never prepared for. Before all of this she has to be called to save her village from outsiders. Nayeli’s perseverance after many trials and her desire
In the novel Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen, Chet is a very Wise Character and a big influence to Bryce’s young life. For example, when Chet tells Bryce that what he does now will affect how people will view you for the rest of your life. Chet is trying to do is to communicate with Bryce and to try to tell him that if he stays mean, Chet is worried that he will remain to be mean later on.Chet also mentioned the iridescent quote to bryce. It went like this, “Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss.s” He turned to me and said, but every once in awhile, you will get someone who is iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare. In this quote, Chet was talking to Bryce about Juli. Bryce kept saying Juli was weird
The natural desire of Equality 7-2521 is knowledge who is born with a curse of uniqueness. He abides within the walls of a collectivist society. The citizens of this society prioritize the good of society over the welfare of the individual. In the beginning of the novel, Equality confesses that “[He] have broken the laws. The laws say that men may not write unless the Council of Vocations bid them so” (Anthem 17). Equality is asking for forgiveness and proves this by quoting “[I] strive to be like all our brother men, for all men must be alike” (Anthem 19). Through Equality’s journey of self-discovery, he gradually starts changing his mind on how he perceives of how critical the Council truly is. He begins rebelling without a care and denounces
The novel Suttree is centered on Cornelius “Buddy” Suttree, a college educated man who has decided to forsake his former life and live in a houseboat on the Tennessee River outside of Knoxville, Tennessee in a fairly destitute area known as McAnally Flats in 1951. He leaves his wife and child, a son, giving up the comfortable life to live as a river rat of sorts. He seems to be searching for something, unbeknownst to him or the reader. Possibly the meaning of life, but more than likely it’s a way to deal with death that seems to follow Suttree around throughout the novel. He’s not one for social norms, coming off as being an anarchist. He runs from his responsibilities, rebels against authority, and refuses to be bound by social convention. His everyday life is a hodge podge of drunken adventures, be it brawls or waking up in the morning in the local lockup hungover and confused. He associates with the
Both Emily and Maggie show resentment towards their sisters. The sisters who God rewarded with good looks and poise. Emily's mother points out the "poisonous feeling" between the sisters, feelings she contributed to by her inability to balance the "hurts and needs" of the two.
In The Big Field, author Mike Lupica explores the theme, "Success uses motivation as fuel." Lupica portrays this theme through the main character, Hutch. Throughout the entire book, Hutch, a young boy that has just recently joined a highly talented baseball team, displays moments that exemplify this main theme. Hutch and his team have a chance to play in the stadium of the Miami Marlins, a Major League Baseball team, as long as they can keep winning games and advancing through a challenging tournament; however, Hutch's favorite position on the field, shortstop, the position located between 2nd and 3rd base, has already been filled on the team. Unfortunately, Hutch gets a demotion from shortstop, to second base, the position located between 1st base and 2nd base. Although Hutch was disappointed and melancholy about the switch in position, he was even more upset about the downgrading of leadership, since the
Walker shows that in mother and daughter relationships adaptation to change can be hard in a variety of ways. First, Dee, Mother's oldest daughter, comes home to visit her mother and little sister Maggie. When she shows up, she introduces herself as "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo" (416). Her mother is confused about why she wants to change her name, since it was the one that was passed down. Dee explains that the other name did not suit her. Now even though Mother reluctantly goes along with this new name, it is obvious that she is not used to changing names, especially if it is one of great family importance. Another character that that has a hard time changing along with Mother is Maggie. When Mother sent Dee to a good school where she could get a very good education, Dee used to come back and try to teach her lowly, uneducated family members. Maggie and her Mother were not used to this, and they were happy with the education that they had. Instead, Dee "read to us without pity; forcing words, lies other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice" (413) and tried t...
Defining the American character is quite difficult because American identity is vaguely founded on shared values and ideologies, more so than a particular creed, race, or culture. In order to describe the American character, we will consider the dominate and distinctive qualities of Americans as interpreted by J. Hector St. Jon De Crèvecoeur and Thomas Paine. First, we will examine how Crèvecoeur illustrates Americans as industrious, prideful, and political in “Letters from an American Farmer.” Then, we will analyze from Thomas Paine's “Common Sense” how he depicts the prevalent qualities of Americans to be driven by justice, liberty, emotions, and individualism. Also, because both authors consider the American character and culture different
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Reverend John Hale’s role in the witch trials changed from a confident and passionate proponent to a guilty and despairing dissenter. He entered the play with an eager air about him, and he was keen to use his expertise and knowledge in witchcraft and the Devil in order to dispel the evil witches who “trafficked with the Devil” (Miller 61) in the town of Salem. Furthermore, he was proud of the fact that he was called upon specifically to help out with Salem’s witch problem. However, toward the end of the play, he was “steeped in sorrow” (Miller 119) and “exhausted.” He realized too late that the accusations of the afflicted girls were just fabricated lies. Moreover, his mistake caused a countless number of innocent people to be thrown in jail and hanged. With this revelation clouding his mind and breaking his heart, he became an anguished man who regretted his actions that aided the conviction of numerous so-called witches. He fought against the witch trials after that, but his actions were inadequate. The witch trials still went on. Hale ended up being a character who opposed the witch trials, but instead of going against the court as aggressively as John Proctor, he begged the accused to confess in order to save their own lives. He believed that it was better to lie and live than deny and die.
In the allegorical story, “The Red Bow” George Saunders writes with amazing yet perceptive talent to interpret for the reader how the people of the United States and the government responded to the terroristic events on September 11, 2001. Ed, the narrator, is a father whose daughter Emily has just been killed by rabid dogs. His uncle, who lives with them, becomes authoritarian and takes on a vigilante campaign to put down all the sick dogs in town. Although his goal for doing this is so that no other family has to go through this pain, he ends up going overboard and his policy quickly degenerates into assassinating every single animal in town. Saunders uses three symbolic characters; Mr. Bourne, Ed and Uncle
The relationship of brothers usually lasts forever, but in Louise Erdrich’s short story “The Red Convertible”, the relationship of the main characters Lyman and Henry takes a turn. Erdrich takes her audience through the experiences these brothers face and how they must come to terms that their relationship has changed. Knowing that it will most likely never be the same both Lyman and Henry try to fix their relationship until eventually one falls because of the experiences he faced in life. While Lyman may think the red convertible will save his and Henry’s relationship, Erdrich makes it clear that it will not through the characterization of the brothers, the plot of the story, and the symbolism she uses to tell her story.
Noah is the one of the main characters of The Notebook. He is the hero of this novel. Noah represents true love and true loyalty. In a way, The Notebook is similar to every modern day romance movie, and Noah represents the “dream man” that all the girls always imagine of having. The characters in movies are used to symbolize ideas, and in this novel, Noah represents true, faithful, committed love. Noah remains loyal to Allie even in the situation where he is unsure whether they will ever meet again or not.
In the novel Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen, Juli is a very smart girl. Juli Baker shows her wits and smarts a lot throughout the novel. Juli used her wits and smarts when the people were going to cut down the sycamore tree. Sadly it didn’t execute as she thought it would. She knew that they wouldn’t cut down the tree if there were kids in it, she asked Bryce to come up in the tree with her, but none of them would. But she did the prevent the tree execution from happening later than it was scheduled. One piece of evidence is that Bryce was not the best speller in the class, Juli instantly gave Bryce the answers so that they wouldn’t have to go to lunch detention with their teacher, Mr. Mertins. She knew each question right away. Another reason