Sheila Heti's 'The Raspberry Bush'
analytical Essay
1159 words
Sheila Heti’s short story “The Raspberry Bush” presents the theme of the realization that Life is short through imagery, metaphors and characters. The imagery used to describe the raspberry bush represents the change between the young and elderly, and the physical life of the raspberry bush parallels metaphorically to the passing of human life, alluding to the belief that life is short. The realization of this belief is seen through the protagonist’s reaction to the death of her raspberry bush and how it greatly affects her entire mental state. Each of these techniques help to portray the meaning and theme of Heti’s short story. The use of adjectives to describe the raspberry bush paints a picture that leads the reader to believe, that this …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how sheila heti's "the raspberry bush" presents the theme of the realization that life is short through imagery, metaphors and characters.
- Analyzes how the use of adjectives to describe the raspberry bush paints a picture that leads the reader to believe, that this imagery represents the difference between the young and the elderly in life.
- Analyzes how heti uses the metaphorical parallel between human life and the raspberry bush's life to portray the main theme that life is short.
- Analyzes how heti portrays the protagonist as the "little old woman who never stopped smiling" and the unhappiness of the old lady through her tears.
- Analyzes how sheila heti presents the theme of the realization that life is short through imagery, parallel metaphors, and character development.
Heti mentions twice in this short story that the raspberry bush “had died overnight” (MLA Format). The quick and short death of the flourishing raspberry bush overnight, suggests metaphorically that life is short and passes by quickly. This idea is also reinforced by the description of what the protagonist planned to do with the raspberries, “she had planned to eat [them], one by one, every last one of them. But overnight the bush had died and there wouldn’t be raspberries ever again” (MLA Format). The concept of eating the healthy raspberries one by one proposes that the protagonist took one step at a time, one day at a time during her youth. The incredible sadness the old lady expresses in this scene, that the raspberries would never “ever again” be alive, implies that her life will never again be the same, for she cannot go day by day anymore because she cannot get back the days of her youth. The perspective that the raspberry bush represents life and it’s passing, is also linked to the imagery of the raspberry fruit itself. Heti states, “[H]er beautiful raspberry bush that had died overnight” alludes to the notion that the raspberry bush is the protagonists life and that it was once beautiful, but now has passed by quickly, and she is nearing her end (MLA Format). This metaphorical parallel between human life and the raspberry bush’s life is an essential technique that Heti …show more content…
The imagery, parallel metaphors and character development enhances the readers understanding of the meaning of this short story; realizing Life is short. One’s life can be beautiful, fruitful and young, taking one step at a time, but in the blink of an eye or overnight one can realize that life has quickly, slipped passed and the days, hours, minutes that one has left on this earth are numbered and can have stagnating effects on one’s mental state. For realizing that Life is short, presents the inevitable end of Death, and one begins to question if their life has been meaningful or purposeful, and if it has not, leaves one in great
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