A woman strangled her husband to death. Another woman died due to extreme happiness after she was told her husband passed away in an accident. “Trifles” and “The Story of an Hour” are the two short stories associated with these plots. The two texts are perplexing which is why they use symbols. Both stories use objects figuratively to reveal a hidden story that contributes to the theme which is pain and loneliness may provoke a person to act in selfish ways.
Symbols can display the characters feelings towards one another and the major conflict of the text. For example, in the play “Trifles”, Mrs. Wright’s feelings toward her husband and their marriage is demonstrated using the symbols including the bird, the broken birdcage, and the fruit preserves. Mr. Hale retrogresses the night when Mrs. Wright has told him that her husband was dead. Subsequently, the two men and the two women separates in where the women discover several trifles that are the key to understanding Mrs. Wright’s life. The women first find the broken birdcage in the cupboard then later on, the dead bird in the sewing kit. The bird represents Mrs. Wright herself as she was “real sweet and pretty but kind of timid and--fluttery” (Glaspell 7). However, as a result of her marriage, Mrs. Wright felt trapped like a bird in its birdcage. There is a possibility that Mrs. Wright has been physically or emotionally abused by Mr. Wright which can be inferred from the symbols. For instance, Mrs. Wright could not have killed the bird, because she liked the bird so it must have been Mr. Wright who killed it (Glaspell). In addition, Minnie’s decision to kill her husband is represented by the broken fruit preserves and the broken birdcage when she could not take her ma...
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...an might have been suffering of pain from her abusive husband that she was so joyful with the news that he died. Mrs. Mallard could have been alive if it were not for her husband, who provoked her to act the way she did.
Symbols play a major role in themes. Symbols can help predict what will happen in the story and give meaningful insights. Authors are not always straightforward, they can sometimes be very vague which is why the readers must find a way to understand the whole concept. The symbols will help readers achieve this tremendously. In addition, the symbols also contribute to the theme like the struggles of women demonstrated in the two stories previously mentioned.
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. Logan: Perfection Learning Corporation, 2001. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.
Glaspell, Susan. “Trifles.” Boston : Thomson Wadsworth, 2004. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.
The symbols that are used in literature can have a large impact on the story and what the reader pulls out from the story. If there was no symbol used in To Kill a Mockingbird, people would miss a lot of the story going on and they may not see the more innocent side of the story. Although symbols are used in many different forms, the one used in To Kill a Mockingbird made the story what it was. The mockingbird gave the story a whole different approach. By using a symbol in the story, the author was able to make th...
Deneau, Daniel P. "Chopin's the Story of an Hour." The Explicator 61.4 (2003): 210-3. ProQuest. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
In almost every story, one can find symbolism throughout the text to help the reader better understand what the writer wants the reader to takeout from his/her story. Symbolism is something that must be analyzed and explored to experience a deeper meaning to the story. Sometimes, symbolism throughout a story may not be noticeable when first read, but going back to analyze the text can add a deeper meaning to words and can also help to enhance the meaning behind the story line. In some instances, symbolism can leave a reader to ponder what the writer is trying to express with the symbolism used in the story; for symbolism can be interpreted differently and can have many layers of meaning to it. Some good examples of short stories that use symbolism
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Heritage of American Literature. Ed. James E. Miller. Vol. 2. Austin: Harcourt Brace Jovanich, 1991. 487. Print.
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Boston:
In the real world, different symbols are used to help people understand things, and to add different effects onto people’s lives. For example a pendent a women or man wears from the army helps someone understand what they’ve been through and helps portray them as a strong individual. In novels which may have complex story lines like The Handmaids tale it is important that these novels have some symbolism to help the reader decode what some details in the novel represent, helping them understand the plot more in-depth. Through the novel of the Handmaid Tale by Margaret Atwood, symbolism is present and that helps to enhance the story line, as well as contribute an important factor in which is helping the reader understand
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour”. The Seagull Reader: Stories. Ed. Joseph Kelly. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2001. 65 – 67.
Symbolism is what makes a story complete. In "The Great Gatsby" Fitzgerald cleverly uses symbolism. Virtually anything in the novel can
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Introduction to Literature: Reading, Analyzing, and Writing.2nd ed.
She would not have grieved over someone she did not love. Even in the heat of her passion, she thinks about her lost love. She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked safe with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. Her love may not have been the greatest love of all time, but it was still love. Marriage was not kind to Mrs. Mallard, her life was dull and not worth living, her face showed the years of repression.
Chopin, Kate. A. “The Story of an Hour.” Baym 1609-1611.
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Perrine's Literature: Structure Sound & Sense. 11th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2010. 540. Print.
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. 4th ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: St. Martins, 1997. 12-15.
In the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” author Kate Chopin presents the character of Mrs. Louis Mallard. She is an unhappy woman trapped in her discontented marriage. Unable to assert herself or extricate herself from the relationship, she endures it. The news of the presumed death of her husband comes as a great relief to her, and for a brief moment she experiences the joys of a liberated life from the repressed relationship with her husband. The relief, however, is short lived. The shock of seeing him alive is too much for her bear and she dies. The meaning of life and death take on opposite meaning for Mrs. Mallard in her marriage because she lacked the courage to stand up for herself.
A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. (2009 Open-Ended Question for AP English Literature and Composition).