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Symbolism as a literary tool essay
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In the short story “The Ring”, a young bride Lovisa finds herself face to face with a thief,
and in their brief interactions she realizes how spoiled she has been, and how imperfect the
world actually is. I think that this is best demonstrated in one of the last lines of the short story:
“Have you any idea where you lost it?” asks Sigmund, the husband, and she answers “No, I have
no idea at all.” (Dinesen 5). This is an important quote because it symbolizes her true coming of
age and her growth from a childish figure into a more mature woman.
The ring represents who Lovisa was before and the life that she lived. This is most
clearly shown in her childish act to hide inside the bushes to see her husband’s reaction when
she was
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not around. To playfully hide from parental or higher figures is a very childish thing to do, and as a result we can see that the woman who entered the grotto was, although the age of a young woman, of the mind of a small child. Her period in the grotto is representative of the growing up part of her. When she gives the ring to the thief, she still shows signs of foolishness within her fearlessness, similar to the fearlessness that a child would show. However, when the sheep thief refuses to take the ring, she suddenly grows up and her ignorance is shattered. She suddenly realizes that poor people also have needs and are human, not simply sacks of flesh driven by greed. With this, she also gains a mutual understanding for others, and can start to empathize with them.
This is shown when she leaves the grove to regroup with her husband
instead of continuing to play tricks on him.
The quote mentioned above, where she lies about not only losing her ring, but also that
she doesn’t know where she left it, is a culmination of the idea of coming of age. The ring
represents not only their marriage, but also the blissful and ignorant life she was living. When
she attempts to give the ring to the sheep thief, she is giving away what she sees as a happy life.
However, when the sheep thief rejects it, she realizes that the sheep thief does not want this
ignorant life either. She then comes to realize that the poor are not incarnations of greed, rather
they are human who have needs just as she does. She does not pick up the ring, not only
because she does not want it, but also because the knowledge that she has gained cannot be
forgotten, and she can no longer return to the ignorant life. As stated previously, when she
reunites with her husband, she is already a different person, one that is more mature and
understanding. When he asks her if she knew where she left the ring, she repeatedly denies it,
saying that she “Has no idea at all.” This is because although it would be fairly trivial for her
to retrieve the ring, the life that the ring represents has already disappeared, and it is impossible to go back to something that doesn’t exist. Ultimately, beyond the face meaning and plot of this short story, it also contains many deeper meanings, and one of the most prevalent of these hidden meanings is the element of coming of age, and the shedding of childish, rose tinted glasses. The premise of this story is also a prime example of this, in which a girl takes off her rose-tinted glasses to transform into a true woman.
While she might think that her plans are working, they only lead her down a path of destruction. She lands in a boarding house, when child services find her, she goes to jail, becomes pregnant by a man who she believed was rich. Also she becomes sentenced to 15 years in prison, over a street fight with a former friend she double crossed. In the end, she is still serving time and was freed by the warden to go to her mother’s funeral. To only discover that her two sisters were adopted by the man she once loved, her sister is with the man who impregnated her, and the younger sister has become just like her. She wants to warn her sister, but she realizes if she is just like her there is no use in giving her advice. She just decides that her sister must figure it out by
feels free and discovers many new things in life that she has not noticed before.
meantime she goes through a series of maturing experiences. She learns how to see her
for the worse and a few for the better, but in the end she finds her true
She tells him "You 've got good blood". All her begging proved futile as she was shot. To me, her ultimate point was when said she would have Mr. Teagarden. Mr. Teagarden died wealthy from buying a Coca-Cola stock when the business started. The way she said that it seems as if she wanted to marry him because he had money rather loving him for being a gentleman.
When the family arrives in Welch, they notice that their newly purchased house is dull-looking and depressing, matching their moods when they first start living there. Jeannette notices that their glum house is contributing to their glum moods so she suggests painting the house yellow, a colour that is symbolic of happiness, to try and boost morale. Nobody in her family is willing to help so she paints by herself and notices an improvement in the look of their house. Unfortunately, she leaves the paint outside in the wintertime causing it to freeze, meaning that she is unable to finish painting the house. One day while playing outside, Jeannette and her brother stumble upon a diamond wedding ring lying on the ground. The wedding ring symbolizes hope to the children because they realize that it can be sold for a substantial amount of money. They bring the ring to their mother and tell her that, “it could get [them] a lot of food” (185), to which she replies, “but it could also improve my self-esteem. And at times like these, self-esteem is even more vital than food” (185). Rose Mary decides to keep the ring because she values her own selfish needs over the welfare of her children. Both the yellow paint and the ring represent positive changes for the family but neither of them ends up actually changing their
...s that her family will come to her and beg her to return home. When she realizes that they are not going to do this, she will run back to them, and life will go on as she has always known it.
She proclaims her husbands love throughout the story, I feel, in an attempt to bind the disconnection she feels with her husband.
After she did give a statement to police she allegedly to Frida Smith that her husband had also assaulted her earlier that day.
her emotional soul when she forgives Angelo; at the same time proving she has a
... by it. This is symbolic of her marriage which started out as happy and desirable and in such a short time she doubts her love for him and starts to see him as undesirable and animal-like. Women are afraid not to submit to the male species in fear of losing what they have and not being able to make it on their own.
even in her writing. Although her husband seems to love her, he doesn’t understand what
herself and by others. It is this journey which persuades her to move on when
by claiming that the hardships that she went through in life, was what she deserved, believing
She then puts her plan into overdrive, as she has back up and has a safe place to go back to. She manipulates her former husband, Jason, into believing that she is