Dinaw Mengestu’s novel The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears is a story about an immigrant from Ethiopia named Sepha Stephanos that discovers the freedoms he travels to the United States for are not easily accessible and that sometimes you can lose yourself trying to figure out who you are. The passage that most clearly represents this notion comes as Stephanos is reflecting at the end of the novel, he says: “What was it my father used to say? A bird stuck between two branches gets bitten on both wings. I would like to add my own saying to the list now, Father: a man stuck between two worlds lives and dies alone. I have dangled and been suspended long enough” (Mengestu, 228). This paper will examine the metaphor of the two worlds Stephanos …show more content…
Stephanos plays a game with his two friends that are also from Africa. They connect because they have a common past, and hope for a similar future: hope of progress both from where they left, and progress in their new lives. The most apparent symbol representing the hope for progress for Stephanos is the store. The store represents a sense of shelter it symbolizes a home because there is personalized ownership attached to it. Stephanos uses the success of his store as a vision for the foreseeable future, for the potential success of the world outside of his store. An example of this occurs at the beginning of the novel when Kenneth asks Stephanos, “if he hates America today?” [as a result of the lack of success the store is having, Stephanos replies,] “…with all my heart…” (Mengestu, 5). Stephanos measures the potential of his own success and America 's success as a country from the success of his store; this creates an intimate connection between Stephanos and his store. When he leaves the store and observes the physical environment that surrounds his store he is unable to find the same comfort as he has when he is in the store. And finally when he receives the eviction notice he is left separated from a part of himself, the only place where he is comforted appears to be missing and everyone else that creates a sense of family is also gone when the store goes. Similarly, …show more content…
Stephanos is stuck between two worlds from the most intimate friendships he makes in the novel. The memory of his father from which he is unable to reconcile, and the intimate friendship Stephanos makes with Judith and Naomi are the two worlds he is stuck between. When Judith and Stephanos share a passionate kiss Stephanos momentarily has a sense of family that was missing; but the closer Stephanos gets to fitting in Judith’s life the more real it becomes that it will not happen, he only becomes close to having what he wants but never entirely fills the hole created from the loss of his father. From the friendship Stephanos creates with Judith and Naomi he is able to create comfort somewhere outside of the store; at least momentarily he is separate from the store and can find good in the world that is happening outside of his store. Stephanos is stuck between the memory of the past and his hope for a future, but as we notice from the novel he is left “...dangled and suspended…” when things don 't work out between Judith and Stephanos. By the end of the novel Stephanos has nothing but the memory of the past; much like he started as an immigrant he embodies the same image of having nothing but what was left behind. With no store or family, he is lost again, “…a man stuck between two worlds lives and dies alone. I have dangled and been
Okita and Cisneros’ stories are written from very different standpoints, and from first glance do not even appear related, yet through all of this emerges the idea that you can create your own identity. This common theme would not be achievable if it were not for the eloquent use of literary devices such as tone, mood, and shifts by Okita and Cisneros. Not only do Okita and Cisneros’ works bring together a common theme they manage to bring to light the very real problem of racism in America, that has existed since it’s very foundation, in an attempt to bring about change. Although Both authors used a wide variety of literary techniques to write their works they show that commonalities can be found in the most different of
Symbolism In "The Things They Carried" In Tim O'Brien's story "The Things They Carried" we see how O'Brien uses symbolism in order to indirectly give us a message and help us to connect to what the soldiers are thinking and feeling. During a war, soldiers tend to take with them items from home, kind of as a security blanket. The items they normally take with them tend to reveal certain characteristics of their personality. Henry Dobbins is the guy who loves to eat, so he made sure he took some extra food. Ted Lavender was the scaredy cat of the group, so he carried tranquilizers with him.
Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima is a magical-realism novel about Antonio, a young boy at the mere age of six turning seven, realizing the many cruelties the world has to offer. As he matures, Antonio is conflicted while trying to choose between the career expectations from his two divergent families and attempting to figure out a true religion. Anaya depicts hidden messages to help the reader comprehend a perceptive insight of Antonio’s inner schism through symbolism.
Thus, both novels, full of tragedy and sorrow, began with the promise of new land, new beginnings and a better life, but all three were impossible to find within the pages of these novels. In the end, it was broken relationships, broken families, broken communities, but most importantly, broken dreams and broken hopes that were left on the final pages of both woeful, yet celebrated, stories.
In the novel “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, the story is a direct letter to his son. This letter contains the tools and instructions that his son will need in order to be a successful “black body” in the modern society. Coates explains his life experiences and hardships he had to overcome because of the color of his skin. Coates pushes an urgent message to the world; discrimination is still prevalent and real in today 's society, and the world is still struggling to accept an equal life for blacks. Coates writings alter the minds of his readers and allow them to experience life through a black man 's eyes. Ta-Nehisi Coates does this by the use of rhetorical strategies like, repetition and tone, metaphors and similes, and
These two novels spoke about real powerful momentous events that occur in the authors’ lives. The authors emerged from the shadows and transformed their mishaps into motivation of overcoming life’s hardships. These two stories exemplify ways of overcoming Life’s hardships and finding sense of oneself. These authors break their vows of silence to prove the beauty of a broken person. They both converse on racial discrimination, relationships with God, & coming into themselves.
There is no safe place in the world. “Ballad of Birmingham” proves that by telling the tragic tale of a young girl and her mother. No matter what a building symbolizes or how much determination is spent on keeping love ones safe, life or destiny will occur. “Ballad of Birmingham” approaches the bombing of Birmingham in 1963 from a sentimental point of view, providing a unique insight into the story. The story of a mother and daughter, as described in the “Ballad of Birmingham,” cannot be understood unless the loss of a loved one has been experience first-hand.
In every single novel, the importance of the symbolism is probably as important as the language the novel is written in. Author uses symbolism to create memorable scenes that have a hidden meaning behind their original face value. Symbolism especially plays a huge role in the novel by Albert Camus, ”the Outsider” , where author’s examples imply various emotional short-cuts and serve as a helper to understand the inner world of the main character – Meursault. This is a thought-provoking novel, which brilliantly illustrated Albert Camus’s theme of absurdity. One interesting aspect about “The stranger” is the protagonist, where in his life there are no certain meanings and motives for his actions and his life overall. The absurdity of the protagonist has no rational explanation. Each of the many actions by Meursault have huge influence on the description of the indifference of the world, where symbolism used by the protagonist underlines the human’s dignity and unimportance of the world. In the provocative novel “The stranger” by Albert Camus uses symbolism such as the crucifix, th...
This essay has compared the differences between the societies in these two novels. There is one great similarity however that both make me thankful for having been born into a freethinking society where a person can be truly free. Our present society may not be truly perfect, but as these two novels show, it could be worse.
In her story “Currents” Hannah Vosckuil uses symbolism, and a reverse narrative structure to show the story of how unnamed sympathetic and antagonistic characters react differently to a traumatic event. Symbolism can be found in this story in the way that Gary does not mind sitting in the dark alone at the end of the day as well as how both of his girls are affected by the symbolism of hands. One holding a boy’s hand for the first time and the other becoming sick after seeing the dead boy’s hand fall off the stretcher. The sympathetic and antagonistic manner of these characters is shown when both girls are told by their grandmother that they must return to the water to swim the next day. The grandmother sees this simply as a way of encouraging them and keeping them from becoming afraid of the water. However, the girls see this as a scary proposition because of what had happened, showing the grandmother as an antagonist character to the little girls.
In this passage from the novel Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates utilizes meaningful, vivid imagery to not only stress the chasm between two dissonant American realities, but to also bolster his clarion for the American people to abolish the slavery of institutional or personal bias against any background. For example, Coates introduces his audience to the idea that the United States is a galaxy, and that the extremes of the "black" and "white" lifestyles in this galaxy are so severe that they can only know of each other through dispatch (Coates 20-21). Although Coates's language is straightforward, it nevertheless challenges his audience to reconsider a status quo that has maintained social division in an unwitting yet ignorant fashion.
This poem dramatizes the conflict between love and lust, particularly as this conflict relates to what the speaker seems to say about last night. In the poem “Last Night” by Sharon Olds, the narrator uses symbolism and sexual innuendo to reflect on her lust for her partner from the night before. The narrator refers to her night by stating, “Love? It was more like dragonflies in the sun, 100 degrees at noon.” (2, 3) She describes it as being not as great as she imagined it to be and not being love, but lust. Olds uses lust, sex and symbolism as the themes in the story about “Last night”.
In “My Two Lives”, Jhumpa Lahiri tells of her complicated upbringing in Rhode Island with her Calcutta born-and-raised parents, in which she continually sought a balance between both her Indian and American sides. She explains how she differs from her parents due to immigration, the existent connections to India, and her development as a writer of Indian-American stories. “The Freedom of the Inbetween” written by Sally Dalton-Brown explores the state of limbo, or “being between cultures”, which can make second-generation immigrants feel liberated, or vice versa, trapped within the two (333). This work also discusses how Lahiri writes about her life experiences through her own characters in her books. Charles Hirschman’s “Immigration and the American Century” states that immigrants are shaped by the combination of an adaptation to American...
Most objects are often regarded based on its physical appearance but often more times than not there is a deeper meaning behind them. Objects often have more symbolic meanings to them than what meets the eye, and if we take the time to really look below the surface we can often come to a much deeper understanding. In “The Glass Menagerie” written by Tennessee Williams, he uses a glass unicorn to symbolize one of the main characters, Laura Wingfield, to represent her life as an outcast, her fragility, and her prosperous ways when she is in the right company.
The short story The Last Lesson by Alphonse Daudet is a lesson that is given by Mr. Hamel. The division between two countries, France and Germany is the reason that he will be delivering his last lesson. The author tells readers how it impacted many people through the eyes of a child, Franz. He is observant to nature and shows empathy but has little interest in attending school and careless about education. Mr. Hamel is a dedicated teacher, who is proud of being French. The narrator characterizes Mr. Hamel as a strict teacher, passionate, and loyal. As Mr. Hamel teach his final lecture. Franz regrets not being attentive and blames himself for not learning French. Franz realizes the importance of literacy.