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Essays on symbolism in literature
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Symbolism in "A New England Nun"
The main character, Louisa Ellis, lived a life which paralleled both of her pets' lives, her dog Caesar's and her yellow canary. The animals and Louisa are trapped by their captivity, and because they have lived like this for so long, no longer crave freedom. Both Louisa and Caesar live solemn and isolated lives. This is shown when Freeman describes Caesars house as "half hidden among the tall grasses and flowers" (258). Given the setting of where Louisa lives, she is fairly isolated as well. There is only a little road running through "the quiet and unguarded village" (265) which she lives in. Because it is quiet, one can make the conclusion that there is little interactions between the townspeople and Louisa. They fear her dog, for it has bitten once when he was a puppy, and tend to stay away. Freeman does a good job in portraying the solitude among the characters. By showing their day-to-day routine and the setting of the houses and town, it is clear that Louisa is isolated and Caesar is hidden from society.
The location of the home of Louisa and Caesar's dog house is not the only way Freeman depicts isolation in the story. Louisa's dog Caesar, who Freeman compares to a hermit, was chained up in the yard. He lived a lonely existence with only his dog house and a couple feet of chain to restrain him. The dog became accustomed to solitude and seemed quite content. Her little yellow canary is also constrained to his cage. Comparable to the dog, the bird is usually found "turned into a peaceful yellow ball night after night", which could mean that it feels at ease in its tiny cage. Caesar was a prisoner of his home, and the canary is prisoner to his cage, similar to how Louisa was...
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... wildly, beating his little yellow wings against the wires" (259). When Joe is around Caesar, he threatens to take the dog off his chain and release him into the town. To Louisa, taking the dog off his chain symbolically relates to her being freed from the constraints Joe is putting on her. Because she, like the dog, have been alone for so long, it would be frightening to go out and experience new things. People tend to do what they know, and for fourteen years, Louisa and her pets have been accustomed to solitude. The man's influence is seen as disruptive since it threatens change on Louisa's life. The symbolism Freeman portrays between the pets and Louisa is immense and obvious. Because of this, it is easy for the reader to make such connections. Freeman's choices make this an easy to read story that appeals to all readers at all different skill levels.
Henry was an extremely lonely nine-year-old boy whose greatest wish was to get a dog. His parents were busy with their work most of the time and it seemed that Henry did not have any friends, perhaps because they moved so often. A dog would have provided Henry with unconditional love - something in short supply around his house - and would have been the perfect companion. The problem was, his parents did not want dog, which would have been another obligation and something else to take care of. As emotionally detached as his parents were, something else to take care of was just not desirable.
She then moves on to describe each of the characters, and in doing so, their surroundings and how they fit in: "He was cold and wet, and the best part of the day had been used up anyway. He wiped his hands on the grass and let the pinto horse take him toward home. There was little enough comfort there. The house crouched dumb and blind on the high bench in the rain. Jack's horse stood droop-necked and dismal inside the strand of rope fence, but there wasn't any smoke coming from the damned stove (28)."
This leads to the allegories used in this short story. The protagonist life paralleled both of her pets' lives, her dog Caesar's and that of her little yellow canary. Both comparisons are of restriction and fear of freedom. The animals and the woman of this story are irreversible tamed by their captivity, and no longer crave freedom. Ideas of sin guilt and atonement are also present between the woman and the dog.
My introduction : Throughout the novel, many are lonely. Of the characters, Curley's wife, Crooks and Candy all show signs of desperate loneliness, though they respond quite differently. Each is isolated because of special mistreatment. Because Crooks is black, he is shunned and separated from the other men. He spends most of his time in his room, alone and bitter. Curley's wife also spends her days hounded by her mean, spirited husband; her attempts to reach out to the other men backfire and win the the undeserved reputation of a flirt. Candy has a disadvantage being handicap, and he has an unconditional love for an old and feeble and after his dog is shot he looks for new companionship. Throughout the characters of Curley's wife, Crooks and Candy, Steinbeck proves that one can be lonely, even if he's constantly surrounded by people.
In class we watched a video about the Nun study, in which researchers study a group of sisters living in the Notre Dame convent in terms of aging. The study started as as one on Alzheimer’s disease, but instead researchers found the key to successful aging as demonstrated by the sisters. Researchers determined that the nuns of the Notre Dame convent were aging better than many elders, they concluded this after the researchers found that although each of the study sisters held the brain functions of one having Alzheimer’s they showed no psychical symptoms of it, such as memory loss. This researcher’s argued was due to a number of factors within the nun’s lives. The factors range from the activity of each of the tested sister’s, to the strong supportive community, to the strong faith that the sister’s held, that led to the pause on the the outward appearance of Alzheimer’s disease.
Its one thing to hear an urban legend but it’s another to actually put you in the place the legend happened. Realizing the truth for you is one of the biggest reasons behind the many different stories told of myths and legends. But one of the problems with these stories being passed down is the lack of historical evidence. Anyone can come up with their own personal experience of something that may or may not have actually happened, but the solid background information is key in making it actually believable. This is why I’m lead to believe that story of The Nunnery, based in Logan Canyon, has too many fictitious angles surrounding the legend.
Canturberry Tales - The Nun's Priest's Tale This is a charming little fable cleverly disguised as a barnyard
Candy also feels the burden of loneliness and shows it by his relationship with his sheep dog. The dog, being described as “ancient”, “stinky”, and “half-blind”, had been in Candy’s life for a very long time and Candy had grown attached to it.
Mays, Kelly J. ""Puppy"" The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2013. N. pag. Print.
The implementation of isolation within the lives of John Steinbeck's characters in his novel Of Mice and Men allows him to discuss the effect isolation has on an individual's life. Through the characters of Lennie, Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife, Steinbeck is able to fully illustrate how isolation influences one's attitude towards life. Lennie, Crooks, Candy and Curley's wife all live a life led by isolation. Isolation interacts differently with each character, but ultimately negatively influences each of them. Although each of the characters in Of Mice and Men experience solitude, neither of them do so by choice. Steinbeck is able to demonstrate how the concept of loneliness is essential to the unfortunate but inevitable conclusion of the novel.
Simon Legree, the novel’s epitome of the cruel slaveowner, owns several of the animals. In one scene, Legree tells Tom, while “caressing the dogs with grim satisfaction” at the animals ability to incite fear, "Ye see what ye 'd get, if ye try to run off. These yer dogs has been raised to track niggers; and they 'd jest as soon chaw one on ye up as eat their supper.” This scene is echoed later in the novel when the character of Cassy tells Tom that even “down in the darkest swamps, their dogs will hunt us out, and find us. Everybody and everything is against us; even the very beasts side against us--and where shall we go?" The dogs serve to convey the barbarity of Legree and illustrate the all-encompassing corrupting power of the
A magnificent creature that just want to feel simple things like freedom, be social, a caress. In this poem I can appreciate the suffering of a creature in captivity whose desire is to experience such elementary things as being the companion of a human and give his love, feeling a touch, a little affection and attention; things that should not be denied to any living creature. This poem is a desperate cry for freedom and what for me are the basic rights of any household animals, such as dogs. Once again I will use some of my work during this course to better explain the feelings of this animal in captivity that only wanted to feel
In “A Bird In The House”, the first paragraph introduces us to Vanessa, the main character, and tells us that she has skipped an important parade. The time of year is also pinpointed by mentioning the Remembrance Day parade and the “snowy wind”. This makes us want to read on to discover why Vanessa missed the parade and what made it, and the time of year, so important to her family.
In the short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid is a story that everyone can related to. The story is about a mother telling her daughter what to do, what not to do and how to do things. Kind of like society or parents or a friends of what to do. There has also been always been expectations of what to do and how to do things in life regards of gender, nationality or religion. The male has he’s duties and the female has different duties. However, in the typical society today, a person is supposed to graduate from high school and go straight in to an Ivy League university, to get a degree in a field of study that makes lot of money. While working a person must save money for that dream big house with the white picket fence. At the same time, you have to look for that perfect spouse so you can have the big beautiful dream wedding. After the wedding it’s the romantic honeymoon to Bora Bora. After a couple years the baby comes, and you are a happy family. Typically, that is what parents teach their children of what is what is expected of them.
In his dramatic monologue, Robert Browning uses irony, diction, and imagery to achieve a haunting effect.