“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This is a phrase that has been uttered numerous times to children by their parents. This aphorism has been used to not only apply to books but also people. In The Black Walnut Tree by Mary Oliver, the speaker faces a conflict between the literal and figurative meaning of a tree in her yard. In the beginning of the poem, the mother and daughter “debate” selling the tree to “pay off their mortgage.” But with a shift from literal language to figurative language comes a symbolic representation of the tree, one that represents family heritage and their ancestors’ hard work.
The poem commences with a debate between the mother and daughter about what they should do with the black walnut tree. Lines 1-15 are written in straightforward, easy to comprehend language. In these lines the speaker addresses why they should sell the tree. The two women give reasons by stating that the tree is growing weak, and given the tree’s proximity to the house, a storm will cause it to collapse into their house and pose a threat to their lives. In addition, the speaker claims that “roots in the cellar drains,” meaning the roots of the tree are getting bigger and spreading into the foundation of the house, thereby producing another danger to the well-being of the family. Moreover, the tree is getting older (“the leaves are getting heavier”), and the walnuts produced by the tree are becoming to gather. The tone of the mother and daughter shows their need for money but also a reluctance to selling the tree; they are desperately in need of money, but they don’t seem to be in favor of selling the tree. Although the reasons provided by the family are credible, they are not wholehearted. This is because the women “talk slowly…...
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...ow the tree “will churn down its dark boughs, smashing the house.” But the tree is so significant to their family that accepting the risk of injury is sensible.
The tree “swings through another year of sun and leaping winds, of leaves and bounding fruit.” This sentence evokes images of happiness and serenity; however, it is in stark contrast with “month after month, the whip-crack of the mortgage.” The tone of this phrase is harsh and the onomatopoeia of a “whip crack” stirs up images of oppression. The final lines of the poem show the consequences that the family accepts by preserving the tree—their family heritage. When the speaker judges the tree by its cover she sees monetary value, but when she looks at the content in the book she find that it represents family. Even though times may be tough for the family, they are united by memories of their ancestors.
The novel, ‘A Tree Grows in the Brooklyn’ by Betty Smith explores the story of Francie’s fall from innocence and her coming of age. Francie eventually learns to value life more as she grew up. She experiences an assertion of life when the Americans initially enter the war that she must live each day the best she can. Francie aptly realizes that the minor issues in life that most people overlook constitute the much-needed happiness. The author underscores that Francie espouses desirable qualities from both her father and mother. Mary Frances Nolan is the daughter of second-generation Americans staying in Brooklyn and is the protagonist of the novel. Katie Nolan is Francie’s mom and hails from a family of strong women. Katie’s oldest sister, Aunty Sissy, is the only daughter of Mary Romney 's who has not learned to read and write. Aunty Sissy has the reputation of being perceived as an easy woman. Aunty Evy is Katie’s older sister and is portrayed as hard working and practical. Mary Rommely is Francie’s maternal grandmother who immigrated to America from Poland. Mary is a devout Catholic and believes in the supernatural. The paper lays a discussion about a heavenly tree, a tree of familial love that grows in Brooklyn, and that survives in any condition no matter how favorable or harsh it may be.
In the poem, it seems that somebody is inside his or her dwelling place looking outside at a tree. The person is marveling at how the tree can withstand the cold weather, continuous snow, and other harsh conditions that the winter brings. Witnessed throughout the days of winter by the person in the window, the tree’s bark stays strong, however the winter snow has been able to penetrate it. The tree becomes frozen, but it is strong enough to live throughout the winter until the spring relieves its suffering. When spring finally arrives, the effects of winter can no longer harm the tree. The freezing stage is gone, and the tree can give forth new life and growth in the springtime.
In a time where horses slowly disappeared from streets, being replaced by automobiles, and on the impoverished Brooklyn tenement buildings, there resides the Nolan family. Surviving by just a few dollars a week, Katie Rommely Nolan, with an alcoholic husband, struggles to provide for her family. In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, Katie’s beautiful hands are damaged by the products she uses to clean building, for just some cents a day. Katie’s life purpose is to obtain land and provide a successful life for her children, Francie and Neeley Nolan. In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Katie Nolan struggles to achieve her American Dream of providing her children with a fulfilling and successful life, that is superior to hers, through the means of education.
Beloved, a novel by Toni Morrison, highlights the physical and emotional horrors that slaves suffer after their escape from slavery. The symbolism of trees is prominent in this novel as a cultural symbol of life. However, Morrison uses trees to illustrate more than just a representation of life. She uses them to show how in a time of oppression and suffering, one can always mend the pain, escape from it, and eventually begin a new life. The idea that trees symbolize healing, freedom, and life is portrayed by the actions and feelings of the main characters, Sethe, Denver, and Paul D.
...ree. So much has changed since his childhood, but only now does he have the strength to face what had happened. Perhaps the tree was no longer so massive and menacing because like all obstacles we face in our youth, when returning to it, it always seems a bit silly to have been so competitive, or to have made such a huge deal, or become so emotional over something so small and insignificant in the scheme of things. The tree itself wasn’t what was truly vital; it was what it symbolized. It was the struggle between Phineas and Gene, the blaze of war, and all the trials from adolescence packed into one moment of his history that actually held the adult Gene’s attention. Returning to this spot and the marble steps, like the headstone of a grave (the headstone for Gene and Phineas it could seem), finally allowed Gene to let go and create finally for himself, peace.
1. The tree is the crucial symbol in the novel. The tree represents the enormous fear in which Gene lived at school, from the summer of 1942 until the spring of 1943. When he was a student at Devon, the tree seemed "tremendous" to Gene, "an irate, steely black steeple beside the river." When Gene does climb the tree, he enters into "a mild state of shock." He jumps from the tree "with the sensation that I was throwing my life away . . . ." Finally Gene returns to The Devon School after fifteen years and the tree is the main focus of his visit. Going to the river, Gene has trouble even differentiating it from the other trees. When he does identify it, the tree seems smaller to Gene, "shrunken by age." It seems "weary from age, enfeebled, dry...
“The Pain Tree” written by Olive Senior tells the story of a woman who comes back home after many years and begins to think about her childhood in a new light, which changes much of what she thought she knew of her family and childhood. The story shows the main character, Lorraine, revisiting the memories of her family and the woman who had taken care of her as a child, Larissa. Children mainly focus on the happy memories which may be tied to more important topics that they do not understand until they are older. Most children do not pick up on many of the complicated things happening around them. Lorraine can now see the bigger picture of her relationship with Larissa and how large the divides were between Lorraine’s family and Larissa’s
Words possess many different meanings. The context of the sentence and how the words are used help to create an experience in the reader. In Mary Oliver's, The Honey Tree, she structures her poem in a way that punctuates on the action in the text. Oliver uses the multiple meanings of words to help create a more vivid picture.
To start off with, “A Hickory leaf, still summer green (on its tree),” in “Snapping Beans,” simulates the young girl being home. Corresponding the leaf and girl has never experienced anything, but their home settings, and what it has to propoundment. “I snapped beans into the silver bowl…” and “We didn’t speak until the sun overcame the feathered tips of the cornfield,” are remarks that signifies the familiarity and relaxation of the girl’s cognizance of her home surroundings and duties a such as the leaf’s home. Parker being home resulted in her being calm and lovable, unlike her ongoing to college.
Walker begins the story by describing the yard in which the mother is waiting for her daughter to come home. She shows the yard to the reader as being clean and wavy, which, according to the mother, is "more comfortable than most people know" (875). She feels that it is an extension of the living room. She compares the hard clay to the living room floor being swept smooth. This leaves a cool place to sit under the elm tree and "wait for the breezes that never come inside the house" (875). The reader at this point has already experienced the feeling of the soft grass, hard yet smooth clay, the cool breeze, and the smell of the elm tree.
In “The Tree,” the speaker talks to a tree and express thanks for its “delightful shade” (1). The speaker goes on to talk of the others who benefited from the existence of the tree and gave it something back in return, such as the birds singing, travelers praising it’s welcome shade, and nymphs making crowns from its blooms. The speaker wonders what she can do to repay the shade given her by the tree. She decides to wish something for the tree’s future. She wishes, “To future ages may’st thou stand / Untouch’d by the rash workman’s hand” (19 – 20). Ultimately, she wishes something such as “some bright hearth” (32) be made from the tree at its death.
“Lost Brother” by Stanley Moss is a poem dedicated to a fallen brethren, an ancient tree that had lived a long, noble life. As bizarre as it may seem to mourn a felled tree, the speaker wants the reader to share in his sorrow through extended metaphor and personification to prove that the tree was full of humanity undeserving of its untimely fate and whose life should serve as an example to others.
There are many symbols through the book that help tell the story of family, friendship and survival. Mr. Logan talks about the fig tree that grows on their land, “But that fig tree’s got roots that run deep, and it belongs in that yard as much as that oak and walnut. It keeps on blooming, bearing good fruit year after year, knowing all the time it’ll never get as big as them other trees. Just keeps on growing and doing what it gotta do. It dondo not give up. It give up, it’ll die” (Taylor, 1991). Mr. Logan is telling Cassie that they are the fig tree, they will never get as strong and powerful as the white families, but that does not mean they just give up. They should do their best in life, plant their roots like the tree, be a strong family and not give up, no matter what life throws at them. The fig tree is the family 's connection to the land, the family and the tree roots both run deep on the
I took to mean that if it had stopped then the tree could have survived. “The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all-(524). This was the saw still going cutting deeper and deeper into the tree. The boy (tree) now knows that it is going to die and there is nothing he can do to stop it. “Don’t let him cut my hand off-Don’t let them sister (524)! The tree has now fallen and I think this is described as “he lay and puffed his lips out with his breath (524)’ I think this is the tree falling and everyone watching including the other trees until it comes to a complete fall to the ground and all the branches settling to the ground.
Many sands had the tree known; many green neighbors had come and gone, yet the tree remained. The mighty roots had endured such whips and scorns as had been cast upon it, but the old tree had survived, a pillar of twisted iron and horn against the now sickly sky. In the waning light of evening, the tree waited.