Images and stories play out in the mind in slumber and sometimes these abstractions can be windows into the dreamer’s reality. Sigmund Freud, a notable psychoanalyst, believed dreams contained symbols that were keys to understanding the subconscious and the current state of mind of the dreamer. (McLeod) Pale Hose, Pale Rider, is a short story written by Katherine Anne Porter, that delves into the idea that dreams and the symbols within the subconscious, can convey a person’s struggles of what is happening in the world around them. Pale Horse, Pale Rider tells the story of a young woman, during the bleak time in the United Sates, that not only saw the First World War, but also the great flu epidemic of 1918. Conveyed through the daily contemplations and vivid dreams of the narrator, Miranda, Porter expresses how the stresses of wartimes and the savageness of disease can quietly creep into one’s physical and mental state and be given life through visions and dreams. One dream that illustrates the turmoil Miranda endures, is one in which she drifts into vision about a vast river, a ship, and the great jungle behind it. Within this dream, Porter illustrates how the dreamscape can be tied to the physical tolls that body is withstanding, while also …show more content…
One of the first symbols Porter infuses into the dream is the “hovering of buzzards overhead”. (522) Being they are scavengers, buzzards are an omnipresent symbol of impending death. Prior to her dream, through conversations with Adam and her co-workers, Miranda is well aware of what the likely outcome is with the influenza. Within this dream, Miranda’s knowledge of the influenza is seeping into her subconscious, and by means of the buzzards, Miranda becomes consciously aware that death is
In the short story "Leaving the Iron Lung" Carter, Anne Laurel Carter emphasizes contrasting characters to demonstrate that dreams and safety have their own limits. First, Agathe represents Pauline’s safety
Sprengnether, M. (2003). Mouth To Mouth: Freud, Irma, And The Dream Of Psychoanalysis. American Imago, 60(3), 259-284. doi:10.1353/aim.2003.0020
...veryone else. He wakes up every day ready to crow his symbol to bring on that day. In the poem he is ready to protect all the female chickens, from another cock that could be in there house. He is ready to battle to the death for what he thinks is his. In this poem he uses ridicule, when he is talking about the old man in a terminal ward, and he also uses connotations. Some example of connotations are when he uses words like; enraged, sullenly, savagery, unappeased and terminal.
Edgar Poe uses these rhetorical devices not only to contribute to the theme, but also to make it possible for the reader to experience the same hopelessness and isolation the narrator feeling. “On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before” (line 10). In this simile the narrator is comparing his hopes to the bird’s ability to fly. He is saying that the bird will eventually fly away as did all his hope when his mistress died. Another example is when Poe writes, “Suddenly there came a tapping, as of someone gently rapping” (lines 3-4). The narrator is comparing the tapping of the raven with that of a human tapping, which reveals that the character is hoping at a chance that it is Lenore. As the poem goes on Edgar Allen Poe describes, ”All his eyes have all the seeming of a demon that is dreaming” (line 105). This line is comparing the raven’s eyes to a demon’s. Here, he is no longer seeing the raven as an angel but as a demon only there to deliver confirmation of his worst nightmare. Metaphors are also used several times throughout this poem to personify the raven. “But, with mien of lord or lady” (line 40). The author includes this metaphor to allow the reader to recognize that there is something unique about the raven. “Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil prophet still, if bird or devil (line 85). The narrator is comparing the raven to either a prophet or the devil. At
What symptoms classify a person to be diagnosed as sick? A cough, a sore throat, or maybe a fever. Often times when individuals refer to the word ‘sick’, they neglect to mention a common disorder, one which takes a tremendous amount of personal determination, courage and strength in order to overcome. Mental illness took the author, Joanne Greenberg, down a path complete with obstacles, forcing her to battle against schizophrenia, a chronic brain disorder resulting in delusions, hallucinations, trouble with thinking and concentration as well as a lack of motivation. This complex piece of literature was originally composed to fight against the prejudice accusations associated with mental illness, while providing the semi-autobiographical novelist
She describes the ominous changes that occur right before a Santa Ana struck, “eerie absence of the surf”, “surreal heat”, etc (Didion 2). This imagery provides a clear picture of the malicious change in Los Angeles. To convey disorder and corruption, Didion states one would be woken up to the sound of “peacocks screaming in the olive trees” (Didion 2). Peacocks, normally perceived as regal and elegant scream in contrast to this. Being that the olive tree is a symbol of peace, these two contrasting ideas evoke a sense of confusion. Didion describes how she will “see black smoke back in the canyons, and hear sirens in the night”. Her use of sensory words such as “hearing” and “see”, ignite the 5 senses. The reader can picture the smoke through her words. “Hearing sirens” gave us a sense of danger and this was something Didion wanted to express. The fear and anguish expressed through Didion’s imagery evokes pathos from her
Dawes presents his idea of life through the image of fruits and berries. Likewise, he expresses his emotions through images of the ute driving along the drive. Gwen Harwood's poem Suburban Sonnet shows the use of connotative words within the title "Suburban" meaning dull and boring. Next are the use of metaphors, "Zest and love drain out with soapy water" Harwood uses the image of a sink to show how her life energy is draining down the 'sink' as well. Likewise when the author mentions "Her veins aches", this suggests that she is feeling an emotional pain or a hole which she is feeling within her life. Also there are forms of the literal imagery shown, "tasty dishes from stale bread", this could suggest that she is feeling some form of optimism. Furthermore, the mouse could also represent her within the poem, "mouse lies dead" showing senses of parallels to her own life. Harwood shows with the use of imagery, that within Suburban Sonnet she is feeling hollow, lifeless and dead emotionally by paralleling her life to the image of a mouse and showing how she feels through metaphors. Lastly,
In Langston Hughes’ poem, the author gives us vivid examples of how dreams get lost in the weariness of everyday life. The author uses words like dry, fester, rot, and stink, to give us a picture of how something that was originally intended for good, could end up in defeat. Throughout the play, I was able to feel how each character seemed to have their dreams that fell apart as the story went on. I believe the central theme of the play has everything to do with the pain each character goes thru after losing control of the plans they had in mind. I will attempt to break down each character’s dream and how they each fell apart as the play went on.
Have you ever been haunted by something since a kid? In case your afraid to say so, it happens to people all the time. It requires having a severe or not so severe personal experience that traumatized you for a long time. Which you think about almost every day that you can't stop or dispel. In George Bogin’s poem “Cottontail,” George uses Diction, Imagery, Irony, and Symbolism to suggest that he regrets as child a shooting of a rabbit and to today haunts him, hinting that he might have had a personal experience with death.
Imagine being a young girl dreaming of becoming a woman and flying like a super hero over your neighborhood, seeing everything that happens at night. Then, you wake up to realize you are still a young girl sleeping in your room with white “princess” furniture. This is part of the narrator’s dream in the story “Volar” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, but what exactly does this dream mean? Many details can be interpreted by analyzing the character and theme, both by using the reader response approach and the psychological approach made, mostly developed by Sigmond Freud’s theories.
Death can both be a painful and serious topic, but in the hands of the right poet it can be so natural and eloquently put together. This is the case in The Sleeper by Edgar Allan Poe, as tackles the topic of death in an uncanny way. This poem is important, because it may be about the poet’s feelings towards his mother’s death, as well as a person who is coming to terms with a loved ones passing. In the poem, Poe presents a speaker who uses various literary devices such as couplet, end-stopped line, alliteration, image, consonance, and apostrophe to dramatize coming to terms with the death of a loved one.
...lfill her newly awakened self. Edna finds suicide as the only option to pursue when she see that living in her world is purposeless and maintain her newfound identity is impossible. Within Edna was the desire that is within nearly every human being, the desire to be born free, to have live their own life, to, quite simply, embrace the value of independence. Edna drowning herself and not killing herself, draws a symbolism of the water as a representation of realizing freedom. Her suicide was meant to be a demonstration of her finally realizing that she couldn’t controlled by societal roles and expectations. Also, the symbolism of the bird offers a slightly different alternative; as a bird with a broken wing, Edna is a victim of fate and her society. Edna’s wings are not strong enough to overcome gravity; she weighted down by the forces that society imposes on her.
Common among classic literature, the theme of mortality engages readers on a quest of coping with one of the certainties of life. Katherine Anne Porter masterfully embraces the theme of mortality both directly and indirectly in her story, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” Understanding that all mankind ultimately becomes subject to death unleashes feelings of dread and anxiety in most people; however, Granny Weatherall transitions from rushing to meet her demise in her sixties to completely denying she is on her deathbed when she is eighty. Readers have seen this theme of mortality reverberated over and over in literature, but what makes this story stand the test of time is the author’s complexity. In Katherine Anne Porter’s
One example of symbolism seen in the play is with the dead canary bird. As the women
Porter, Laurence M. The Interpretation of Dreams: Freud's Theories Revisited. Boston, Mass.: Twayne, 1987. Print.