Symbolic Characters in The Scarlet Letter Symbolic characters are very important in most powerful novels. One classic that uses characters as symbols is The Scarlet Letter. This novel is about a woman in Puritan society, Hester, who commits adultery with her minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. She has a daughter, Pearl, and is forced to wear a scarlet letter the rest of her life. Arthur hides his sin and becomes extremely troubled. Hester's husband, Roger, takes it upon himself to judge and punish Arthur
Analysis of Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway In “Hills Like White Elephants” Ernest Hemingway relies on symbolism to convey the theme of abortion. The symbolic material objects, as well as the strong symbolic characters, aid the reader’s understanding of the underlying theme. The material objects that Hemingway uses to convey the theme are beer, the good and bad hillsides, and a railroad station between two tracks. The beer represents the couple’s, “the American” and “the
Thesis: In Steven Galloway's “The Cellist of Sarajevo,” the city is symbolic for the occurrences in its citizen’s lives. As the city's symbols for pride deteriorate with the effects of war, so do the character's symbols. Both the city and the citizen’s are faced with inner conflict, that, unless they can overcome, will destroy their very core. Finally, with the grace and healing power of the cellist's music, both the city and the citizen's lives can be seen as they previously were, and reclaim themselves
short story "Hills Like White Elephants" relies on symbolism to carry the theme of either choosing to live selfishly and dealing with the results, or choosing a more difficult and selfless path and reveling in the rewards. The symbolic materials and the symbolic characters aid the reader's understanding of the subtle theme of this story. The hills symbolize two different decisions that the pregnant girl in our story is faced with. Both hills are completely opposite of each other, and each "hill"
grew up in a world engulfed in these democratic ideals. He grew up to be, as many would grow up in this atmosphere, a political satirist. This satirical nature of Irving's shows up well in "Rip Van Winkle", as he uses historical allusions and symbolic characters to mockingly compare colonial life under British rule to the democracy of the young United States. The reader assumes the appearance of Rip from the preceding paragraphs in which the author sets the general timeframe in the colonial era before
Phlebas the Phoenician Sailor, who must sacrifice his life to save that of the dying Fisher King in hopes of restoring the dry and fertile land once again. Although based off of an ancient myth, the poem is drenched with Biblical references and symbolic characters that offer connections to the life and death of Christ leading any reader to believe that Phlebas has every right to represent the person of Christ. Section four of the poem contains a problem that must be solved before the end of the work
grew up in a world engulfed in this democratic fanaticism. He grew up to be, as befitted his childhood atmosphere, a political satirist. This satirical nature of Irving’s shines brightly in Rip Van Winkle, as he uses historical allusions and symbolic characters to mockingly compare colonial life under British rule to the democracy of the young United States. The first historical satire occurs attached to the name Peter Stuyvesant, whom is mentioned twice with exaggerated praise. Stuyvesant, a harsh
in his science fiction novel Brave New World written in 1932, presents a horrifying view of a possible future in which comfort and happiness replace hard work and incentive as society's priorities. Mustapha Mond and John the Savage are the symbolic characters in the book with clashing views. Taking place in a London of the future, the people of Utopia mindlessly enjoy having no individuality. In Brave New World, Huxley's distortion of religion, human relationships and psychological training are very
The Grapes of Wrath: Symbolic Characters Struggling through such things as the depression, the Dust Bowl summers, and trying to provide for their own families, which included finding somewhere to travel to where life would be safe. Such is the story of the Joads. The Joads were the main family in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, a book which was written in order to show what a family was going through, at this time period, and how they were trying to better their lives at the same time. It
Symbolism, Imagery and Allegory in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Williams said, in the foreword to Camino Real, "a symbol in a play has only one legitimate purpose, which is to say a thing more directly and simply and beautifully than it could be said in words." Symbolism is used, along with imagery and allegory to that effect in both Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire. Both plays tend to share the same kinds of symbols and motifs; sometimes
leaves a lonely feeling. The character is set to know the consequence of the sea but something keeps calling him back to it. "And yet my heart wanders away, My soul roams with sea, the whales' home, wandering to the widest corners of the world, returning ravenous with desire, Flying solitary, screaming, exciting me to the ocean, breaking oaths on the curve of a wave." (lines 58-64). This poem also grasps the concept of religion and how it plays a role in this work. The character sets himself on religion
As the source of the book’s title, this symbol merits close inspection. It first appears in Chapter 16, when a kid Holden admires for walking in the street rather than on the sidewalk is singing the Robert Burns song “Comin’ Thro’ the Rye.” In Chapter 22, when Phoebe asks Holden what he wants to do with his life, he replies with his image, from the song, of a “catcher in the rye.” Holden imagines a field of rye perched high on a cliff, full of children romping and playing. He says he would like to
series of complex steps that have to take place beforehand. The loss of the real is the first step which later leads to the unconscious, then leads to the symbolic which creates the birth of desire. In novels such as The Hunger games there are a series of events that take places where the reader can witness the birth of desire. The main characters Katnies and peeta both have their own series of events that lead to the birth of some kind of desire. In the story Katnis takes the place of her younger
this essay since his theories have a greater emphasis on the use and formation of language in the individual than other key figures in his field, such as Jung or Freud. Lacan believed that when we examine literature, we do not merely analyse the characters of a text, but also the text itself as an effect of the linguistic wordplay of the unconscious. For this reason I feel that Lacan is particularly well suited to the discussion of poetry. In this essay I shall be making reference to Lacan’s analysis
Thesis: In Beloved, power is the having the authority to name and to thus define reality and perception. The abundant discrepancies that exist between name and reality in Beloved point to the destructive power implicit in the control of symbolic orders. The resistance of the black, female community to the dominant mode of self-construction (claiming oneself by naming an Other) and their subsequent discovery of a new, self-referential, musical method (that mimics Morrison’s own) of telling, and thus
word-product. Although these inconsistences are debatable, they are all united on the basis that proclaim commodification and consumer discourse, in general, creates a dynamic and influential force in transforming the nature and behavior of each and every character. But what Joyce does is more than just underling how consumer discourse and advertising affect the boy’s pursuit of realism, nor does he present this as a quest of discovery of his own identity. In fact, he presents the total dynamic of the commodification
the Law of the Father it places her outside the phallocentric order and she is whole again. That part of herself she lost through abortion can be raised again outside the phallocentric order that she has left. Her journey from her position in the Symbolic to the Real is now complete and she feels whole, the goal of becoming an adult in Lacanian physchoanalysis. Lacan’s theories of development and the structure of society explain the actions of the narrator in the novel. Her psychological breakdown
over the characters and slowly dissolve their lives and relationships. Furthermore, the problems that plague the members of the family are not only related to health issues, but they are also linked to their own conscious. The Tyrone’s are greatly affected by certain past events which proved to be turning points in their lives. Lacan’s theory can be applied to O’Neill’s play because the characters exhibit symptoms which belong to the three orders: the Real, the Imaginary and the Symbolic. Jacques
postulates a perspective of life where one’s present and future always reflects their past in some way. Diaz incorporates symbolic figures to convey how a person’s past can be carried into the future. Diaz’s use of symbolic figures includes the dirty sheets washed by Yasmin, the letters sent by Virta to Ramon, and the young girl who begins working with Yasmin at the hospital. These symbolic figures and situations remind the readers that the past will always play a major role in one’s present. Additionally
with imagery, atmospheric tones and moods, symbols, and themes influenced by nature. David Guterson too used nature to mold and shape his novel, Snow Falling on Cedars. Guterson was able to make is themes flourish and shine through his artistic and symbolic use of nature incorporate in the novel’s plot. Guterson achieved capturing and touching readers’ hearts through his themes unfolded from the help of nature being used symbolically. The snow storm that citizens of Amity Harbor endured and last throughout