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Essays on symbolism in literature
The possibility of evil character traits
Significance of symbolism in literature
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In the short story “The Possibilities of Evil” by Shirley Jackson several symbols to tell her story about Miss Strangeworth are very mystifying. The tell how she is and her personality. Her symbols in her life that are very important to her would be her roses. She love her roses because the were planted by her grandmother tended by her mother and now she does the same as her mother. Miss Strangeworth never gave any of her roses too anyone “At botherd Miss Strangeworth to think of people wanting to carry them away, too take them into strange towns and down strange streets…”. Her roses are something really ecstatic too her. The symbols that are very important to me in my life is family. To me family is everything, an at should always come first.
I think that one of the most obvious symbols in this story are the notes Ms. Partridge sent to Phoebe and her family. These notes seemed to line up with problems in the story, throughout the whole story. “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins.” (Walk Two Moons, 61). I think that this is in relation to a lot of parts. How Phoebe judged Mike when she first met him, thinking he was a lunatic, and how she also judged Ms. Patridge, because of her home and how she acted. Also, how both Sal and Phoebe judged Margaret Cadaver before they really even knew her at all. I think that Sharon Creech not only wanted a wrench to throw in but also something to think about. I know reading this book, every time, I still contemplated how this letter or that letter would fit in with the theme and the plots.
Throughout the life of Emily Grierson, she remains locked up, never experiencing love from anyone but her father. She lives a life of loneliness, left only to dream of the love missing from her life. The rose from the title symbolizes this absent love. It symbolizes the roses and flowers that Emily never received, the lovers that overlooked her.
In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner uses imagery and symbolism to both illustrate and strengthen the most prevalent theme; Emily’s resistance to change. William Faulkner seems to reveal this theme through multiple descriptions of Miss Grierson’s actions, appearance, and her home. Throughout the short story it is obvious that Emily has a hard time letting go of her past, she seems to be holding onto every bit of her past. Readers see this shown in several ways, some more obvious than others.
In a Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, we meet a young woman that is surrounded by death. As the story progresses we find more and more death and decay throughout Emily’s life. This leads to the theme of Death and Dying. Through-out the short story the theme of Death and Dying is represented through many symbols. These symbols include dust, the house and Emily herself. This essay will examine how each of these symbols represent Death and Dying.
In the story “ The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson Miss Strangeworth is not evil. The Elderly lady just wants to keep her family’s town in place , and make sure that it doesn’t turn bad. Miss Strangeworth also wants to keep her family inherited roses in her town. in fact,the author explains that her family had “built this town”(Jackson 188). Miss Strangeworth feels like the town belongs to her grandfather since he built the first house on pleasant street. Miss Strangeworth has watched her city grow up. She can explain almost anything that happened in the town, so she must have grown really close with her roots. You can see why she may get upset and mad from somebody messing around. Another important part of the story is when the author
The primary reason for the usage of symbolism in Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved is to reinforce the main theme of the book: that, with life, one must fight for balance between remembering the past, and not letting it control your life. The color red, when traced through the book, embodies the idea of the course of life. Trees, and other various shrubbery, are used to represent the view with which you look at the past. And, linked to the past, comes the idea that you could have second chances, a “rebirth”, which is represented in the use of water in the novel.
Strangeworth interacts with the town and the way her possessions look persuades the town into assuming their true intentions. Miss. Strangeworth meets many people on her walks around town. She “[stops] every minute […] to say good morning to someone or to ask after someone’s health” (Jackson 250). This causes people to think that she is a friendly old lady, when really she is finding information to use against them. She also makes people believe she can be trusted. When Helen Crane is concerned about her baby’s development, she asks Miss. Strangeworth if she “[thinks [the baby] [should] move around more” (251). This happens because Helen thinks Miss. Strangeworth will give her, her honest opinion but really she just tells her what she wants to hear and uses it as a weakness. The letters also mislead people into thinking they are not going to be bad because they are on the paper “used for odd, informal notes and shopping lists” (252). In addition, the letters are written with “a dull stub of [a] pencil […] and she printed in a childish block print”, causing people to believe it was a note from a child (252). Clearly these fake assumptions on Miss. Strangeworth and her letters cause a lot of
Secrets cannot be hidden; someone will always find out. Shirley Jackson’s short story,”The possibility of Evil,” is a extraordinary story telling of a old woman and her bad habbit. The story starts off with her being a sweet old women,but ends with her being a different person. Miss Strangworth’s character can be analyzed by considering what she does. What the narrator says about her,and how other characters interact with her.
Miss. Strangeworth interacts with Helen Crane and Helen is worried about her child. Miss. Strangeworth however says the baby is fine ¨all babies are different. Some develop more quickly than others. (3) In person, she comforts Mrs. Crane. However, when she is by herself Miss Strangeworth writes a letter anonymously and states “Didn’t you ever see an idiot child before? Some people just shouldn’t have children, should they?” (4). When she is with people she a nice person. When she is by herself she is a cruel and evil person. The author shows that she can be
Miss. Strangeworth is the worst character from the other six short stories read. Throughout the story The Possibility of Evil Miss. Adela Strangeworth would write mean and
The roses bloomed so beautifully, yet they contain sharp thorns that may hurt other people. After all of her letters were sent out, Miss Strangeworth soon received her own letter at her doorstep, “She began to cry silently for the wickedness of the world when she read the words: Look out at what used to be your roses,” (Jackson pg. 255.). When the word is out that Miss Strangeworth is the person who is sending all those evil letters, the respect that the people of the town had for her is finally gone. In the beginning of the story, the roses presence was adored by everyone, and that’s also when Miss Strangeworth’s prominence in the town was strong too; but when the roses were cut, this showed the transition of Miss Strangeworth’s respect of others was dying and that her evil took over the best of
In the short story “The Possibility of Evil”, Miss Strangeworth is a lady in a small town who remained incognito while writing letters to the other people in the town. After someone finds out she is the person writing the rude letters, her rose plants are cut down. She deserved her punishment because it was the revenge from someone that she had sent the letter to.
On pleasant street things are stranger than you think. In “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson something odd goes on in Miss Strangeworth’s house. She is an elderly lady who gets along with everyone and is proverbial for her roses. Miss Strangeworth is a bitter, self-centered and deceiving character that shows through what she does, what the narrator says about her and how others communicate with her.
To start with, as the story begins Miss Strangeworth appears to be highly respected by the community and a caring old woman. Firstly, Miss Strangeworth has a positive effect in her neighborhood, as all the community members value her. As Miss Strangeworth walks down the street, she “had to stop every minute or so to say good morning… or to ask after someone’s health” (Jackson, 1). This shows the readers that Miss Strangeworth is an important member of this community who is respected. Also, the readers see that Miss Strangeworth is making an effort to interact and check on the welfare of her town people. Secondly, Miss Strangeworth is caring and comprehends the feelings of her neighbors. Miss Strangeworth thinks to herself “Mr. Lewis looked worried…He looked very tired, too” (2). Miss Strangeworth is worried about the welfare of her neighbors. This shows the readers how Miss Strangeworth is a caring old woman, and how she looks after all the community members. Finally, Miss Strangeworth is respected and many younger members of the co...
John Steinbeck uses symbolism to give alternate meanings to his short story “Chrysanthemums.'; A symbol is a device used to suggest more than its literary meaning. He uses these symbols to look further into the characters and their situations. The character Elisa has a garden, which is more than just a garden, and the chrysanthemums that she tends are more than just flowers. There are actions that she performs in the story, which also have other meanings.