Written by Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter tells a story filled with secrets, lies, and heartwarming love—secrets that would tear relationships apart and form unbreakable walls, but also secrets that would allow a tremendous abundance of love to build in unexpected places. Set over a span of twenty-five years, the novel explores many different characters and their true colors, some more surprising than you think, in order to portray the complex story.
David Henry is arguably the most influential character in the story; his decision to lie to his wife and tell her that one of the twins she had just delivered, Phoebe, died at birth when in reality he sent her away due to her Down Syndrome changed the course of multiple lives forever.
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The symbol that appeared in multiple scenes was the snow. The snow represented a state of complexity and danger, always occuring when a situation is out of the characters’ control; a situation both literally and figuratively cold. For example, snow was falling the night Phoebe was born and the night is referenced numerous times throughout the book, all of which mention the snow. The snow was not only physically dangerous, but it also fell slowly outside while David made the decision that would alter their lives forever. Snow also appeared when David was beginning to have a mental breakdown with the feelings of guilt and shame. He was walking the streets of his childhood town tired both physically and mentally, and walks where “snow lingered, broken through with weeds and debris.” When he finally arrived at his childhood home, he walks through the empty rooms but notices paper cutouts everywhere; more specifically, snowflakes hung down from ceilings and windows. The presence of snow in these scenes contributed to the unwelcoming environment, and the sense of animosity regarding his difficult …show more content…
There were several lies that unfolded throughout the story, each one having its own consequences. The main secret in the novel is the one that David and Caroline keep for years, that Phoebe is alive. This secret tears David’s marriage apart and causes years of guilt and pain for his whole family. Norah’s lies regarding her affairs not only caused a divide between her and her husband, but also with her son as well. All of the major conflicts in the novel revolve around the lies and secrets that are held between the main characters.
Love is also a major motif. Norah’s love for her daughter, although she never met her, was so strong that it left her depressed for years after her death. David’s love for Norah was the reason why he lied to her in the first place; he wanted to protect her. Caroline’s love for Phoebe allowed her to live happily with her for years and was the best decision she had ever made. Finally, Phoebe’s unconditional love for every person she meets shines bright and allows her to touch the lives of many
Another prevalent symbol to me is the idea of sin. In The Ministers Black Veil Hooper just suddenly one day shows up to church wearing a veil. At first the people are sort of angered by it. People soon start to flock to his congregation to view the spectacle, and go so far as to test their '"'courage'"' by seeing who will go and talk to him. I think that the veil could represent sin. In The Ministers Black Veil Hooper was either trying to hide his sin from the people so that they could not judge him, which is god"'"s job, or maybe he was trying to protecting his self from the sins of the people. In the end of The Ministers Black Veil Hooper dies, and sees his congregation all wearing black veils, which would probably hint that maybe it represented the sin in all of us. In The Birthmark Georgiana"'"s birthmark could represent, as some religions believe, the original sin which is bestowed on all by the '"'hand'"' of god. But, unlike Hooper, Georgiana could not help her markings.
cheating on their husband and wife, except for the main narrator, Nick. How the characters
...den’s unreliable narrations cause the readers to doubt Holden’s perspective of many people, especially his parents, D.B., and Allie. Since there are many inconsistencies, there are endless interpretations of the novel. In the end, the question of whether people are phony or not will never be answered.
The snow is a symbol of all the outside forces that interrupt on the lives of the characters, over which they have little or no control which is comparable to Elie in Night in which he had no control over his own life. In Night, the symbol of fire represents the Nazi’s terrible power over the Jews. Elie and his father had no control over their own life when they were incarcerated in concentration camps because of the prejudices of the Nazi. Kabuo has been incarcerated for crime he did not commit due to the prejudices because of his race. This is comparable to Elie who was imprisoned in the camp due to prejudices by the Nazi for his religion. Kabuo whole life has been thrown into chaos as a result of the false charges which he is at the
In the Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses a variety of symbols to represent ideas, or abstract notions or conceptions about people, places, and things. A symbol, according to the Webster's Dictionary, is an object that stands for something in addition to its literal meaning. In the book, there is a continual breakdown of society and civilization on the island. During this breakdown, Golding uses symbolism to further explain the process. Some of the things he symbolizes in the novel are the island itself, the conch, the boys clothing, and the violence.
Some examples of symbolism are Pearl and how she was of great price to Hester yet she is also an example of sin, the scarlet letter that Hester had to wear. The letter could mean able, it stood for the grace that Hester had while wearing it and the main meaning behind it was adultery, the sin that Hester committed. The rosebush is a symbol of defiance and the moral blossoms in one’s heart. They give those who have no hope, hope and the realization that not everything in the world is terrible. The last item that was explained was the meteor that was shaped like a large red “A”. The townspeople believed that the meteor was a sign of the governor that they had just lost becoming an angel. Dimmesdale thought that the “A” stood for his unnamed sin. The book stated no specific meaning of the elusive letter and it was left up to the reader to interpretation. The meaning behind anything symbolic is different to everyone because people have different opinions. Using the definition of symbolism and having examples in a literary work helps the reader better comprehend what they read and give the topic a deeper meaning. The comprehension process and makes it easier to
Like all of us, the characters in this story are having conflicts. A conflict is any problem someone is having. For example, “I don’t know if I should go to the store, or go over to my friend’s house and go to the mall to hangout”. People can have many different problems with them self’s, other people, and nature. They are called internal, and external conflicts. One example, in the book Peggy says “I need to find this book, God is telling me to find it!”
The Star of David is the symbol of the Jewish beliefs and traditions. But in the novel, it is a reminder that Ellen and all the other people in her religion must hide what they believe and themselves. Annemarie keeps Ellen’s necklace as a sign of commitment to Ellen and the resistance. The woods and as Annamarie goes through them, show that in the process of her getting through them, she is growing up and transforming into an adult. For the Rosen family, the woods represent the travel from danger to
The Memory Keeper's Daughter offers a look at a world where a secret can ruin not just one, but two families. Throughout this novel by Kim Edwards the characters Dr. David Henry and Caroline have to forever live with fear , distrust, and emptiness by harboring a secret. This story shows how by keeping a secret you can forever regret it and never forget it. When David's wife is in the process of giving birth he realizes one of two of his twins has down syndrome and thinks he is doing the right thing by getting rid of her. This deed is the simple act that shapes both his and Caroline's life.
Lois Lowry’s, In The Giver many past memories and secrets have been kept away from the people in the community, but there is only two people that will know what the secrets and memories are that have been kept away for along time and the are “The Giver” and “The Receiver of memory” the receiver of memory has to suffer pain and feel feelings he has never felt before but is the receiver of memory leaves a boundary the memories will be let out of the community…, In the community in which they live in its considered a “utopian” society where everything is perfect well that’s not the case because the memories are what is keeping the society together in “utopia”. The Giver has multiple stand points to it, decisions and consequences have affected their community multiple times and for many years,also with mysteries never to be spoken about again.
Lee Smith’s “The Happy Memories Club” shares the perspective of an elderly woman, who is a former English teacher, in a retirement facility. The two main themes of this story are focused on memory. The idea that a person maintaining their memories gives them the ability to feel a sense of security plays a major role throughout the story. Another concept that is prominent in the story is that every memory, no matter how seemingly insignificant, holds equal importance in the grand scheme of life.
In this novel, I think that the main themes are the struggle for independence, lies and deceits, and isolation.
In conclusion, Sometimes painful memories could help others to endure their pain. In the novel, "The Giver" by Lois Lowry demonstrated that the memories are one of the important factors in human life; without memories our life is worthless. Therefore, we need to protect our
A memory is like the blossoming of a flower, it is the creation of a whole new life and entity that comes from essentially nothing. When we create a memory, we also create ourselves, and just like the flower, it is out of nowhere. Humans have the privilege of being able to independently think and verbally express those thoughts, giving us the ability to change who we are based on what we know and remember. In other words, our memories shape and define who we are as people. This idea becomes evident in Joshua Foer’s and Alison Bechdel’s works, “The End of Remembering” and “The Ordinary Devoted Mother,” respectively. In this article and graphic memoir, Foer and Bechdel explore the realm of memory and how it affects self-creation, the limits of
Character Analysis: There were really only two main characters in this book, Frederick and Catherine. I will describe them, and how they changed through the book.