When she was younger, they would decorate the Christmas tree together. There would be Christmas music playing and cups of warm apple cider. They would argue laughingly over whose topper got put on the tree. Once all the ornaments had been hung and before the tissue paper and boxes had been put away, they would sit on the floor around the tree with all of the lights off, just the strands of white bulbs lighting the space.
Gradually, as the years passed, hanging the ornaments became less and less of an ordeal. One year, no one remembered to make the cider. The next year, there was no cider and no music. Finally, she was the only one left. She knew that if she didn’t step up to the plate, they might not have had a tree at all, let alone one with any sort of decoration.
The last year before she moved out, no one even mentioned getting a tree. She drove out alone on Christmas Eve to the lot to pick one out and hung ornaments in silence. She made herself a mug of apple cider and heated it in the microwave. She turned off the lights in the living room and sat looking up at the tree.
No one was even at home. Her parents were shopping for a new mattress, trying to take advantage of any last-minute sales. Her brother was over at a friend’s, playing some violent killing video game. Her sister was at her boyfriend’s house, spending time with his family instead of her own.
In the corner of the room were five stacks of presents, each stack rather small and each present unwrapped. There was merely a sticky-note on each one to identify whose presents were whose. No more festive wrapping paper to be torn off impatiently and gleefully. No more bows with tape on the underside to stick on heads. No more surprise.
She unearthed the giftwrap from the ...
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...gital camera but no batteries. A check for $500. Not a terrible collection of gifts, but still not ones that she would pick out for herself. She didn’t even know what anyone else had gotten outside of the gifts she had picked out. Vegan cookbooks and a set of handmade ceramic bowls for her sister. A new, more supportive gaming chair for her brother. A painting of the place her parents had met for her mother. New ski gear for her dad.
She looked up at the tree as she wiped her eyes. An ornament near the top caught her eye. A silver filigree Nativity scene. What a loving family they must have been. What community and unity they must have enjoyed that night. Mary and Joseph celebrating the birth of their son, instead of leaving him at home while they shopped for a mattress. They never would have celebrated Christmas isolated from each other. They would have been happy.
In the story “A Christmas Story” By Annie Dillard she begins the story describing a fest in a banquet hall that look amazing. At the banquet there were two thousand Chandeliers that were hanging from the ceiling. The author describes how the floor was looking and how it has many different colors of woods and details. Also, there were different activities at the fest like games and dancing. At the banquet there was a section that was for people that were not feeling good or was hurt. Children play with one another and they are having fun and enjoying themselves at the barguest. The fest lasted all night long and guest sat at a long table that went down the middle of the hall. The table was decorated with many colors and theme sand tableware;
Have you ever asked yourself how Christmas was celebrated in the late 20th century? The song, “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree,” was written by Brenda Lee in 1958. In this song, the author uses three literary devices to express how Christmas was celebrated in the late 50’s. For instance, the literary devises that were used by Brenda lee were repetition, alliteration, and sight. These literary devices were used to explain how Christmas was celebrated in the late 1950’s.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson uses literary devices such as personification and imagery, in the passage Milk Glass, to convey the narrator values Christmas time and the milk glass.
this one contained the usual supply: a tee shirt of a new color, loose-fitting jeans, a few boxes of food, plenty of water for a day but hardly enough for a week, a new lighter filled with fluid to heat her house, and this time a tube of waxy chapstick. After seeing the boring contents of the first box, she opened the next box with more enthusiasm, hoping that it would be something new. She was not disappointed. Inside this wooden box was a dress catalogue, a makeup catalogue, around 900 of what her mother had told her were American dollar bills, and a note. The note said, in a fancy and unfamiliar handwriting,
Our traditions are what keep families together. From a gold locket to an old photograph, these items are irreplaceable. What they hold to them are memories of those before us and moments in history that have passed. In the story, “Emperor of the Air” by Ethan Canin, an elderly man is forced to give up the one thing that his family has left behind: a two hundred year old elm tree. It holds the memories of his childhood and still shows signs of life that may still last for years to come.
The Christmas tree can be seen as the first symbol in the play A Doll's House, where women have to be obedient to men and hide their true emotions. For example, at the start of Act Two, the stage directions order that “The Christmas tree is in the corner by the piano...” (Ibsen 29) This instruction represents Torvald, Nora's husband, directing Nora to do whatever pleases him even though she might disagree. She sees herself as being isolated by her husband and feels rejected as her opinion is never considered by him. In addition, the directions if Act Two continue to instruct that the Christmas tree is "…stripped of its ornaments and with burnt down candle-ends on it dishevelled branches.” (Ibsen 29) The image that is created by this order reveals that Nora also feels burned out by always having to listen to her husband. The "dishevelled branches" of the Christmas tree indicate that her life is bedraggled and she has t...
The small legs that whisked back and forth in the open space of the vehicle were full of energy. The young girl spent the day with the two people she admired the most. A bigger version of herself sat in the passenger seat with her husband driving next to her. They laughed over conversation. Every so often, the girl would stick thin fingers against her mother’s shoulder to receive her attention. She would say something trivial and obvious, but her mother would still entertain her. She absorbed every phrase her daughter said as if each filled her with a tremendous joy and was the greatest thing ever spoken. Her mother had selected a black dress for her today with a large white ribbon tied around her midsection. Her hair had been combed back in two braids so that the tips were touching her shoulder blades. They were coming home late from a Christmas party at church.
The Christmas tree in itself is symbolic and it means the play takes place during Christmastime. Ibsen uses Christmas tree to mainly construct the character of Nora. The Christmas tree symbolizes the feelings of Nora. At the start of the play, Nora enters the room carelessly and her mood is festive. The Christmas tree, a festive object used for decorative purposes, represents the function of Nora in her household who is pleasing to look and who adds the charm to their home. Nora dresses the tree just as Torvald dresses her up for the Stenborgs’ party. Like other married women during the period, Nora is simply decorative and is not allowed to make familial decisions. Nora instructs the housemaid, “Hide the Christmas tree carefully, Helen. Be sure the children do not see it till this evening, when it is dressed” (Ibsen 793), the same as when she tells Torvald that no one can see her in her dress until the evening of the dance. The Christmas tree also imitates the psychological state of Nora when it is described to be “…stripped of its ornaments and with burnt-down candle-ends on its disheveled branches” (Ibsen 812). This describes Nora when she receives the bad news from Krogstad; as a result her min...
Further, the tree gives literally all of her beings to the little boy. Silverstein makes us ponder over the question, was the little boy really worthy of the unconditional love the tree showed him time after time? For the simple fact, there’s nowhere in the story, where little boy even gives the tree a mere “thank you” for all that she had provided for him. Furthermore, it makes the reader wonder would the little boy have found another route, if the tree didn’t kindly assist him with his every need (Cousin 3). Would the little boy have learned the proper skills and hard work that goes into being a man? Or would he have found a way to make money without selling the tree’s apples, build his own home, take care of his own family, and also develop his own contentment and pleasure (Kimmel
It was finally fall break. I was visiting my grandma for a few days. Well past dinnertime, I pulled up to the white stately home in northern rural Iowa. I parked my car, unloaded my bag and pillow, and crunched through the leaves to the front porch. The porch was just how I had seen it last; to the right, a small iron table and chairs, along with an old antique brass pole lamp, and on the left, a flowered glider that I have spent many a summer afternoon on, swaying back and forth, just thinking.
The beginning of the play portrays the Christmas tree as being well put together and beautiful, the same way as the protagonist, Nora. Her relationship with her husband Torvald can be considered to be picture-perfect, a fact that can be contributed mostly to her subservience. As long as Nora knows her place in the home and remains compliant, their relationship seems wonderful. Nora’s blind obedience at the opening of the play is evident as she adorns the tree with beautiful flowers and candles, promising to “do everything [she] can think of to please,” even offering to sing and dance for his pleasure (Act 1). This exemplifies the way Nora still works to maintain the appearances of both her family and her tree, dressing the tree so that it is “splendid” and also promising to do Torvald’s bidding to ensure his contentment. It also establishes a correlation between the ...
A Christmas tree itself is a symbol of joy, so that is why it is used. Through all times and even in the Bible trees and flowers have been a subject of wonderment; a symbol of life, that is why Ibsen uses this as a symbol of Nora’s feelings. The play, “A Doll’s House” has a very symbolic title.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Ever since I could remember, I have spent Christmas at my grandmother’s house, a house which is full of comfort, warmth, and happiness. At Christmas, I have always been able to escape the cold and dark real world allowing myself to truly enjoy just several moments in time. These moments have left impressionable memories from my childhood making Christmas a holiday that is special to me and my family. It is a time for my family to get together, share stories, laugh, and even cry.
‘She wanted to warm herself,’ the people in the town said. No one had the slightest suspicion of what beautiful things she had seen” (**). The little maiden saw the stars in Heaven, and one fell down and formed a long trail of fire (**). Before the maidens cold and freezing death, she dreamed of the roast goose steaming with stuffing, the apple pie, dried plums all sitting on a pure white table cloth (**). The matches brought comfort to the little girl for a little bit, but the short stick burnt fast. Lighting the match for the little girl was a small get away, away from her very miserable life. “The little maiden stretched out her hands towards them when-- the match went out” (**). Dreaming and visualizing the Christmas trees, roast goose, and the warm stove was a way for the maiden to cope with the harsh conditions she was living