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Symbolism as a literary tool essay
Significance of symbolism in literature
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Analysis on Joyas Voladoras According to Factzoo.com, Hummingbirds are the smallest species of birds on Earth, they can get as small as 57 mm, 2.24 inches, weighing only 1.6 grams. They are frail, yet indefatigable, dying for a purpose. In “Joyas Voladoras,” or flying jewels, Brian Doyle writes about the infinitesimal hummingbird's’ heart; next he uses juxtaposition to compare it to the gargantuan whale’s heart. He ends off reflecting on the human’s heart. An experienced reader will understand the abstruse meanings the author uses. In “Joyas Voladoras,” Doyle uses symbolism to portray that a person who fights through the hard times and cherishes the good moments won’t be looking back in regret.
Hummingbirds are birds that an ordinary person encounters once or twice, it is a weird topic for an essay; Hummingbirds are just a symbol from the author. In paragraph 3, the author states, “The price of their ambition is a life closer to death; they suffer more heart attacks and aneurysms and ruptures than any other living creature” (Doyle). Doyle uses facts to show that hummingbirds live an intense and problematic life. Hummingbirds, like humans, face obstacles on a regular basis; both have to be tenacious. The hummingbird or human can not give up, it will lead to regret later.
Doyle concludes the essay, “Joyas
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You can brick up your heart as stout and tight and hard and cold and impregnable as you possibly can it comes in an instant, felled by a woman’s second glance, a child’s apple breath … the memory of your father’s voice early in the morning echoing from the kitchen where he is making pancakes for his children.” The author speaks, that a person can try to defend their heart and emotions with an enclosure; however, it could feasibly collapse by a "once in a lifetime moments." These experiences are meant to be shared with friends and
What is Doyle’s message in Joyas Voladoras? Well, there could be many interpretations, but I specifically think that he’s trying to tell us about the heart. It does talk about many different subjects, like hummingbirds and blue whales, but it always comes back to ONE subject: the heart, the physical one and the emotional one.
To briefly summarize this poem, I believe that the poem could be separated into three parts: The first part is composed in the first and second letters, which stress on the negative emotions towards the miserable pains, illnesses that the parents are baring, and also their hatred of the birds. The second part, I believe will be the third and fourth letters, which talks about the birds’ fights and the visiting lady from the church. And the last part, starts from the fifth letters to the rest of them, which mainly describe the harmonious life between the parents and those birds.
In “A Caged Bird”, it is made clear that this bird has never experienced the freedom of flying with the other species or perching atop the highest building. All it has ever known is the cage in which is has been kept and fed plentifully, yet not punctually, and nurtured with the love of an owner and proper care.
Symbolism is an important aspect in stories, whether big or small. Symbolism makes the reader think. It is used to represent something but does not reveal itself right away. Symbolism adds creativity to an already creative piece. Throughout a novel a reader may spend his/her time trying to conclude what each object in a story represents. Though not all stories have symbolism, those that do possess more excitement than those that do not. In the novella Aura by Carlos Fuentes, there is an extensive use of symbolism. James Hall wrote the article “Why You Should Use Symbolism in Your Writing” on symbolism that helps to describe why Fuentes’ use of symbolism is important in Aura. Fuentes uses symbolism to hide the climax of the story and also to
In chunk one from lines 1 to 60, Doyle explains all about the life of a hummingbird from beginning to end. He tells facts about how hummingbirds are only found in the Americas. Yet, the heart of a hummingbird is so small that it takes a big portion in its ...
The couple in the story is a couple that has been together a long time and persevered through life together. When they first see the whooping cranes the husband says “they are rare, not many left” (196). This is the point in the story where the first connection between the couple and the cranes are made. The rarity of the cranes symbolizes the rarity of the couple’s relationship. Although they have started developing anomalies in their health, with the husband he “can’t smoke, can’t drink martinis, no coffee, no candy” (197) ¬—they are still able to laugh with each other and appreciate nature’s beauty. Their relationship is a true oddity; filled with lasting love. However this lasting love for whooping cranes has caused some problems for the species. The whooping cranes are “almost extinct”; this reveals a problem of the couple. The rare love that they have is almost extinct as well. The wife worries about her children because the “kids never write” (197). This reveals the communication gap between the two generations, as well as the different values between the generations. These different values are a factor into the extinction of true love.
The Song of the Hummingbird, written by Graciela Limon, is a novel telling the story of Huitzitzilin an Aztec survivor whose kingdom fell to ruin by her nation's blind reliance on God. The book features Huitzitzilin as the narrator of the story and Father Benito as a naive journalist of sorts. As the story begins, Father Benito meets Huitzitzilin while he’s taking confessions in the church. Through this transaction; Benito is told by the head of the church to take note of the history Huitzitzilin has to tell, while absolving her of her sins. As Benito begins to hear her story, his irritation and discomfort with hearing it becomes clear. He fidgets, buries his head in his hands, and at times even threatens to leave. The reasons for this comes from what Benito knows from history books and the teaching of his faith, Huitzitzilin begins to pick up on things as she tells her story. She uses this to mess with him at times and to distance him from the mindset that he’s just a tool for his god’s word. When the story draws to a conclusion, Benito sees Huitzitzilin story for what it is, he and his people are no different than hers, yet they treated them as savages.
This pessimistic view of life reflects the helpless human condition as well as the limitations of human life. In line with the feeble and vulnerable portrait of human beings, nature is described as dangerous and uncontrollable on the one hand; beautiful on the other. The tone of the waves is "thunderous and mighty" and the gulls are looked upon as "uncanny and sinister."
“Caged Bird” is a song of the caged bird, who sings a prayer for freedom. In her poem, Maya Angelou communicates “freedom and lament” in five stanzas. Her poem designates two stanzas to the free bird and 3 to the caged bird, which is a metaphor for African American “entrapment” and “suffer[ing]” for numerous centuries. Angelou’s purpose is to demonstrate “sorrow” and “hope for renewal and freedom.” She creates an atmosphere of “openness and autonomy” as she states in her first stanza “A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream”. However, the following stanza contrasts as she incorporate "can seldom see through the bars of rage.” To convey her thoughts more effectively, she uses hard sounds such as “stalks” and “rage” to express the caged bird irritation, whose “wings are clipped” and “feet are tied,” butt still has hope as he “opens his throat to sings.” Another idea Angelou explains is the bird’s fear of the unknown and hope for freedom. The caged bird hopes for liberation, however it cannot escape until someone allows it to, and therefore this musical is prayer for freedom. This is a very helpful source because it summarizes the poem extremely well compared to other sources I have included. The information is very reliable and very objective. The source fits into my research since it clearly explains the significant themes and purpose of the poem. I can use this source to solidify my
In the poem there are two birds, one is caged and is forced to watch the other free bird. “But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.” The caged bird in Maya Angelou’s poem is forced to watch the free bird from his cage. This caged bird can’t beat his wings, fly, or move, he can only sing a song that is a cry for help. The caged bird can’t do much about his situation, he is trapped and disabled. “ But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.” the caged bird cannot fly anymore because his wings are clipped. Even though he can’t fly the bird still opens his throat to sing. The caged bird in “ Caged Bird” is not as free as the bird in “Sympathy” because if this bid is free he can fly and do whatever he wants. But the bird in Maya’s poem cannot, he isn’t truly free, there is more hope for the other
Hughes’ comparison of the injured bird, a frozen, empty field, and a life without dreams, demonstrates the connection lifeless nature has to a dreamless life. This struggle with choosing a life with vision and meaning, or choosing one without dreams and passions, may be a battle many people fight everyday. “For if dreams die life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly” (Lines 2-4) reveals the sadness and uselessness that comes from letting dreams wither away. The bird is life and its’ wings are dreams. Without dreams, life is worthless. It has no meaning, just like a bird that is unable to fly. The wings to life are dreams, they help people reach higher than ever thought imaginable. No wings, no dreams, means staying in the same monotonous place day in and day out. It is important to ...
Angelou depicts the contrast between the free bird and caged bird’s abilities towards the end of her poem when she says “the free bird...nightmare scream” (23-28). Here she discusses how the free bird, because of its privileges, has the ability to think of another breeze and fly as it pleases, while the caged bird is obligated to watch with no chance of escape. Angelou’s reference to slavery as the cage that binds African Americans from freedom sets a tone of urgency for them to become active in the fight for freedom. She depicts reality from another perspective in order to help break the chains that bind their unhappiness and set them
I chose these three poems because the subject matter appealed to me and I believe that the poems convey their meaning very effectively. Upon researching the poems, I discovered that Caged Bird was in fact inspired by Sympathy, which accounts for the similarities in language and imagery, as outlined below. All three poems deal with the subject of freedom using the imagery of birds; On Liberty and Slavery is narrated as a human plea for freedom, and makes reference to birds in that context, whereas Caged Bird and Sympathy both use the imagery of caged birds to explore the theme of loss of freedom. The symbolism of birds is used to depict freedom, as birds are essentially without constraints; in comparison to the limitations of humans, they have limitless possibilities. When a bird is caged, however, it loses that potential and is restricted not by its own limitations, but the limits set by another.
It is an indirect poem that talks about a caged bird. The actual meaning of this caged bird is translated to symbolize a slave. In the last 7 lines of the poem, it is made clear by the author that the caged bird is a slave when Dunbar applies personification to the bird. He talks about how the bird wants freedom just as blacks in slavery longed to be free . “I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,— When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart 's deep core, But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings — I know why the caged bird sings!” (Dubar 15-21) This poem relates to Troy Maxson in many ways. He wants to be free and treated equal, just as the caged bird
...er readers. Dickinson’s use of literary devices and her creativity enables her to imaginatively describe the beauty and grace from a simple and familiar observation. It is through her use of tone, imagery, and sound that she exploits a keen sense of respect for at the very least the little bird, if not also nature itself. Dickinson recreates and expresses the magnificence and smoothness of the bird soaring across the sky. She uses tone to create the mood to emphasize the theme. She uses sound and imagery to not only tell the reader about the awesome flight of the bird, but to help the reader experience and connect to the little bird and nature in hope that they too will learn to respect nature.