Use of Imagery in D.H. Lawrence's The Horse Dealer's Daughter

357 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolism in the horse dealers daughter

Use of Imagery in D.H. Lawrence's The Horse Dealer's Daughter

Circumstances force three brothers and their sister from home in D.H. Lawrence's "The Horse Dealer's Daughter." The brothers, and their friend Jack Fergusson, worry because the sister, Mabel, will not tell them what she intends to do with herself. The author uses Imagery to symbolize a rebirth in Jack and in Mabel.

Lawrence uses dog and horse imagery to describe the family members. Joe stands in "horsey fashion," Fred Henry is an "animal which controls," and Malcolm has a "jauntymuseau." In fact, the entire family has an "animal pride." Lawrence describes the brothers in terms of horses apparently to emphasize the importance of the horses in their lives; once the horses are gone, life as they know it will be over. Joe, the eldest, is reluctant to leave before his siblings resolve their plans, but eventually he retreats with his "tail between his legs."

The author uses water imagery to symbolize death. On an afternoon "moist" with "heavy coldness," Mabel walks straight into a pond until the water is over her head. The pond's dimensions suggest a grave. Jack, who can not swim, risks his own life when he steps into the "dead cold" water to save her. He stumbles while in the water and feels as though he is "suffocating" for "eternity." When he recovers, he knows he is back in "the world" Jack and Mabel, by going into and under the "rotten" water, seem to experience a sort of death.

Fire then would symbolize the rebirth Jack and Mabel experience and the passion that fuels it. The house is "empty" when Jack carries Mabel there, but fire is "burning in the grate." Likewise, "Mabel was unconscious of her surroundings," but "she was conscious of herself.

Show More
Related

  • The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls: Literary Analysis

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first thing that symbolizes something to Jeannette is fire. “I was on fire. It’s my earliest memory.” (9). Fire is the first impression of the book. Fire represents chaos in Jeannette’s

    Read More

  • Courage For His Father In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    The imagery of fire continues in the story; the building of their fires, how the man molds the fires, and how they stoke the fire. When the boy gets sick the father is referred to many times of how he builds and rekindles the fire. This actual fire is a symbol for the fire that the man and the boy discuss carrying within in them. The man fights to save his son and the fire within the boy

    Read More

  • The Greasy Lake Theme

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    Proximity to death is more than a reoccurring theme in “Greasy Lake”. Mortality is almost synonymous with growing up and the inevitable change from adolescence to adulthood. The older people get and the more life people have, the closer death is to everyone. After each incident, the narrator grows and finds himself one step closer to demise, barely able to escape from the vise of

    Read More

  • Cysts Essay

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    The breast is a muscle connected to the chest wall made up of fatty tissues containing milk-forming glands that drain into the breast ducts during breast-feeding, and then leave the ducts through the nipple (Newson et al). These glands can decrease or increase in number and size. Breast lumps or cysts can form in various tissues or components that make up the breast. The English diction cyst comes from the Ancient Greek word kystis, meaning “bladder” or “pouch”. A cyst is an organ or cavity containing a liquid, semisolid or gaseous secretion. Cysts appear within tissue and can affect any part of the human body. They range in size from minuscule to the mass of team-sport balls such as tennis or baseballs. Cysts are also referred to as any normal bag or sac in the body, such as the bladder.

    Read More

  • In the Fall, by Alistair Macleod

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Mother is among a family of four who lives on a small farm and takes immense pride in what interests her, however her passion does not particularly lie in her two children; James and David; nor in her husband and their interests; but instead lies within her chickens. Though chickens bring the most joy to the Mother, they are not the sole animals that live on the farm. The animal that draws the most interest from the father, James and David is their horse, Scott. At a young age, Scott was used as a working mule for the family and grew up alongside the Father and two Sons. To the father, Scott was like one of his own sons, and to James and David, Scott was like their brother; but according to the Mother, “He’s been worthless these last few years”(Macleod, 267). Ever since Scott was young, he was a burden on the Mother’s lifestyle; she never took a liking to the horse even when he served as a source of profit for the family. The Mother had never appreciated the sentimental value that Scott possessed because he had never been a particular interest to her. Once Scott had aged and was no longer able...

    Read More

  • All The Pretty Horses Analysis

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy may seem like an ordinary tale of a young man and his heroic Western journey but in reality, it is a complex web of the actions and reactions of characters, specifically the actions of the women in John Grady Cole’s life and his reactions to them. His actions can be directly tied to a decision that one of the female characters in the story has made. Their roles directly affected the path he took throughout the story, suggesting that this is not just a coincidence but moreover a correlating sequence of events. As a Western novel, the plot development that women principally dictate John Grady’s fate is unusual, yet important to his character and the story’s events.

    Read More

  • Narrative Essay: Jack And The Wild Horse Race

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jack had heard about this wild horse race and he knew about the cash prize. Back at home it was only his wife, 3 year old daughter, and himself. He spent everyday working in the fields

    Read More

  • Supply And Demand of Gasoline

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 2004, crude oil producers around the world expected a 1.5% growth in the world’s demand for crude oil. The actual growth rate was more than double the projections at 3.3%. This growth was due to rapidly industrializing of foreign countries such as, China and India. Therefore the lack of crude oil affected the supply of gasoline to consumers at the pump.

    Read More

  • Olds’ Effective Use of Linking Devices in The Elder Sister

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    When writing poetry, there are many descriptive methods an author may employ to communicate an idea or concept to their audience. One of the more effective methods that authors often use is linking devices, such as metaphors and similes. Throughout “The Elder Sister,” Olds uses linking devices effectively in many ways. An effective image Olds uses is that of “the pressure of Mother’s muscles on her brain,” (5) providing a link to the mother’s expectations for her children. She also uses images of water and fluidity to demonstrate the natural progression of a child into womanhood. Another image is that of the speaker’s elder sister as a metaphorical shield, the one who protected her from the mental strain inflicted by their mother.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In All The Pretty Horses By Cormac Mccarthy

    713 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, symbolism is shown in multiple different ways. Symbolism is the usage of symbols to represent ideas and qualities. When reading the book, in the beginning these symbols do not tend to stand out, but as the plot continues symbols are found everywhere. Multiple symbols are used throughout the story like horses, blood and water. Some more less-noticeable symbols are dust, religion, and sunsets.

    Read More

  • The Role of Earth, Air, Fire and Water in The Wars

    509 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fire  Fire is the element of change, passion, authority and leadership. Household (domestic) fire represents comfort, friendliness and human strength.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Mary Oliver's 'When Death Comes'

    1381 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the first instance, death is portrayed as a “bear” (2) that reaches out seasonally. This is then followed by a man whom “ comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse / / to buy me…” This ever-changing persona that encapsulates death brings forth a curiosity about death and its presence in the living world. In the second stanza, “measles-pox” (6) is an illness used to portray death’s existence in a distinctive embodiment. This uncertainty creates the illusion of warmth and welcomenesss and is further demonstrated through the reproduction of death as an eminent figure. Further inspection allows the reader to understand death as a swift encounter. The quick imagery brought forth by words such as “snaps” and “shut” provoke a sense of startle in which the audience may dispel any idea of expectedness in death’s coming. This essential idea of apparent arrival transitions to a slower, foreseeable fate where one can imagine the enduring pain experienced “an iceberg between shoulder blades” (line 8). This shift characterizes the constant adaptation in appearance that death acquires. Moreover, the idea of warmth radiating from death’s presence reemerges with the introduction to a “cottage of darkness” (line 10), which to some may bring about a feeling of pleasantry and comfort. It is important to note that line 10 was the sole occurrence of a rhetorical question that the speaker

    Read More

  • How Seamus Heaney's Language in His Poems Death of a Naturalist and Blackberry Picking

    2031 Words  | 5 Pages

    death is of the way the poet feels about the frogs. In the first verse

    Read More

  • The Impact of the Oil Crisis on the American Economy

    5564 Words  | 12 Pages

    Throughout the past twenty years there have been several drastic changes in oil prices. These dramatic shifts are helpful to look at because of their impact upon the economy and the oil industry. During this time period there are three major shifts in oil price that can be linked to specific events in world history (Miller, 1998). First, the Arab oil embargo of 1973 caused a widespread oil crisis and brought crude oil from three dollars a barrel to a staggering twelve dollars a barrel. Second, the 1979 Iranian revolution caused another crisis that brought crude oil prices to an all time high of thirty-six dollars per barrel. Finally, the third major shift occurred in 1991 due to the Persian Gulf War (Miller, 1998).

    Read More

  • Consequences of the World War II

    1300 Words  | 3 Pages

    The foreign policy of a government in a free society is to protect its people from any foreign aggression in the form of threats to the territorial integrity of the nation. All the other matters are personal and private affairs of the people themselves. If people of United States, or any other country believed that people of some other country need their help and support against oppression then they as a private citizens are free to volunteer to fight for the freedom of that country. It is also their personal matter to support people of other countries with their income and wealth. But Americans have to pay taxes so that Americans can have their favorite foreign cause subsidized. No matter how it is labeled it remains a forced redistribution of wealth. But most Americans are incapable to understand the most fundamental principals of freedom.

    Read More

More about Use of Imagery in D.H. Lawrence's The Horse Dealer's Daughter

Open Document