Sheila Heti’s short story “The Raspberry Bush” presents the theme of the realization that Life is short through imagery, metaphors and characters. The imagery used to describe the raspberry bush represents the change between the young and elderly, and the physical life of the raspberry bush parallels metaphorically to the passing of human life, alluding to the belief that life is short. The realization of this belief is seen through the protagonist’s reaction to the death of her raspberry bush and how it greatly affects her entire mental state. Each of these techniques help to portray the meaning and theme of Heti’s short story.
The use of adjectives to describe the raspberry bush paints a picture that leads the reader to believe, that this
…show more content…
Heti mentions twice in this short story that the raspberry bush “had died overnight” (MLA Format). The quick and short death of the flourishing raspberry bush overnight, suggests metaphorically that life is short and passes by quickly. This idea is also reinforced by the description of what the protagonist planned to do with the raspberries, “she had planned to eat [them], one by one, every last one of them. But overnight the bush had died and there wouldn’t be raspberries ever again” (MLA Format). The concept of eating the healthy raspberries one by one proposes that the protagonist took one step at a time, one day at a time during her youth. The incredible sadness the old lady expresses in this scene, that the raspberries would never “ever again” be alive, implies that her life will never again be the same, for she cannot go day by day anymore because she cannot get back the days of her youth. The perspective that the raspberry bush represents life and it’s passing, is also linked to the imagery of the raspberry fruit itself. Heti states, “[H]er beautiful raspberry bush that had died overnight” alludes to the notion that the raspberry bush is the protagonists life and that it was once beautiful, but now has passed by quickly, and she is nearing her end (MLA Format). This metaphorical parallel between human life and the raspberry bush’s life is an essential technique that Heti …show more content…
The imagery, parallel metaphors and character development enhances the readers understanding of the meaning of this short story; realizing Life is short. One’s life can be beautiful, fruitful and young, taking one step at a time, but in the blink of an eye or overnight one can realize that life has quickly, slipped passed and the days, hours, minutes that one has left on this earth are numbered and can have stagnating effects on one’s mental state. For realizing that Life is short, presents the inevitable end of Death, and one begins to question if their life has been meaningful or purposeful, and if it has not, leaves one in great
The story describes the protagonist who is coming of age as torn between the two worlds which he loves equally, represented by his mother and his father. He is now mature and is reflecting on his life and the difficulty of his childhood as a fisherman. Despite becoming a university professor and achieving his father’s dream, he feels lonely and regretful since, “No one waits at the base of the stairs and no boat rides restlessly in the waters of the pier” (MacLeod 261). Like his father, the narrator thinks about what his life could have been like if he had chosen another path. Now, with the wisdom and experience that comes from aging and the passing of time, he is trying to make sense of his own life and accept that he could not please everyone. The turmoil in his mind makes the narrator say, “I wished that the two things I loved so dearly did not exclude each other in a manner that was so blunt and too clear” (MacLeod 273). Once a decision is made, it is sometimes better to leave the past and focus on the present and future. The memories of the narrator’s family, the boat and the rural community in which he spent the beginning of his life made the narrator the person who he is today, but it is just a part of him, and should not consume his present.
The plot of The first strawberries is simple and clear: a loving couple who separate after an argument is finally reconciled. Since the very beginning of the story, the reader feels empathy for the couple and participates in their happiness, anger, sadness, and reconciliation. The clean style maintains the outline of early retellings. There are not moral lessons to be learned, just a beautifully told story of love and forgiveness.
The theme of this novel is to look at the good you do in life and how it carries over after your death. The moral of the book is; "People can make changes in their lives whenever they really want to, even right up to the end."
Context statement : Joe Fassler’s short story “The Ghost of Berries” is the narrative of a young boy who struggles with temptation and his journey to find real fruit to grant his mother’s dying wish.In the short story, the author explores society’s use of desire as the mean of void for stability results in affliction. Through Fassler’s use of setting, characterization and symbolism, he argues that in societies were poverty is present, desire is a cycle that is sometimes an unknown feeling for those in the down and outs and that once it is a known feeling, desire overpower individuals leading to more suffering.
The nature of the wife’s interaction with the berries solidifies this metaphor. She puts them “in her mouth” (13), and “Bends or straightens” (5) repeatedly to each bush, while they “taste good to her” (15). These actions aid in demonstrating the flirtation and sexual imagery that exists between the wife and the berries. Moreover, the jealousy the speaker has towards the berries, as well as the wife’s love for the berries over him, further strengthens this metaphor of another man with the speaker’s wife. Another way Layton shows the negative effects of the natural world on the relationship is by using diction, the “word choice” (p.1488) in the poem, to link and distance specific individuals or objects in the poem. The speaker describes the berries as lying “easily” (17), which connects them to the wife’s “easy soul” (21). Similarly, he describes the wife as having “quiet hands” (7), which connects her with the silent berries and the “quiet summer” (7). Additionally, the natural berries are “unoffending” (18), which presents a contrast between them and the husband, who is “vex[ing]” (9), “perplex[ing]” (9) and “barbarous” (16). Finally, Layton utilizes the rhyme scheme of the poem to mirror
The story that the woman describes is about an incident that happens when her brother takes her to a glade where there is a grape tree standing alone. Her brother starts to climb the tree while she admires the tree filled with the grapes. Climbing even higher and picking some grapes to eat, he bends the tree to try to let her have some. As she picks her own grapes, he tells her to hold the top of the tree. So she holds the tree as she was told. The tree, however, catches and suspends her, and it keeps her there for a minute with its grapes. She starts to cry like a baby and does not know what to do. But she clings to the tree, even though her brother is telling her to let go. Trying to bend the tree down, her brother tells her to wait until he leads her down. Finally, against his advice she falls off the tree and feels the ground with her feet. Since the incident happened, the life that she has been living is something different than what she expects or what people expect. She knows sh...
Through many writers’ works the correlation of mortality and love of life is strongly enforced. This connection is one that is easy to illustrate and easy to grasp because it is experienced by humans daily. For instance, when a loved one passes away, even though there is time for mourning, there is also an immediate appreciation for one’s life merely because they are living. In turn, the correspondence of mortality and a stronger love for life is also evident in every day life when things get hard and then one is confronted by some one else whom has an even bigger problem, then making the original problem seem minute. This is seen as making the bad look worse so then the bad looks good and the good looks even better. The connection of mortality and one’s love for life is seen in both T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland and Yulisa Amadu Maddy’s No Past No Present No Future.
In “The Black Walnut Tree” by Mary Oliver, the narrator debates her mother to try to decide whether or not to sell a walnut tree that is in their backyard to try and help her father pay off the mortgage. The poet’s use of diction and imagery presents the theme that simple, ordinary things can have a huge emotional impact on people.
...ots her memory, the blossoms her dreams, and the branches her vision. After each unsuccessful marriage, she waits for the springtime pollen to be sprinkled over her life once again. Even after Tea Cake's death, she has a garden of her own to sit and revel in.
Pushing aside the veil, a serene, dainty clearing holding a plaintive tree looms ahead. Encompassing the woodland surrounding it, crisp, sun-kissed air and numerous vivid, colorful trees brought the feeling of autumn. Its amber, leafy arms arch, extending upward, begging for help in a world cold to its desperation. The vermilion crown clasped varied carmine berries within its grasp, some decaying others fresh and fuzzy. Wind glides through the clearing, causing the berries to quiver; they stumble towards the ground, disheartened, and unwilling to continue any longer. The tree feels the same as the berries. Branches intermingle fabricating an unyielding shelter to the candid animals. The trunk, withered and wistful, arches with the pressure
In life, stories are an essential component of human survival and success. Stories enable people’s legacies to continue even when they pass away. Also, stories allow the storyteller freedom to share what he chooses to. The significance of stories is demonstated throughout literary works. Some works that show the significance of stories include, The Things They Carried, The Big Fish, “The Evolutionary Case for Great Fiction” and “For Better Social Skills, Scientists Recommend a Little Chekhov.” Stories are an essential aspect to human life because of their ability to keep memories alive as they aid man in coping with death and post-traumatic stress. Also, stories play an important role in many different areas ranging from the survival of a species to preparation for a job interview.
The first thing I thought about after finishing the story was how routine the old woman’s trip to town was. The walk is described as a long dreaded walk through countless fields and an endless line of forest trees. In describing her routine I will point the different quotes and given situations that made me see a link to our societies circle of life. Her innocence can be seen as the representation of a child. As she walks she bends over and sips from a nearby stream she sensed, “sweet-gum makes the water taste sweet”. (A Worn Path, 1276) Here her curiosity also shows a strong relation between the child-old woman analogies.
“The Swimmer,” a short fiction by John Cheever, presents a theme to the reader about the unavoidable changes of life. The story focuses on the round character by the name of Neddy Merrill who is in extreme denial about the reality of his life. He has lost his youth, wealth, and family yet only at the end of the story does he develop the most by experiencing a glimpse of realization on all that he has indeed lost. In the short story “The Swimmer,” John Cheever uses point of view, setting and symbolism to show the value of true relationships and the moments of life that are taken for granted.
The author Eugenia Collier of the story “Marigolds” uses diction, connotation, and imagery to touch the hearts, and create pictures in the minds of her audience. One example of when diction is used was when the author wrote “Old witch fell in a ditch picked up a penny and thought she was rich.” The story “Marigolds” is a true story based on actual events that occurred in the author Eugenia Collier’s life. When the author wrote this, she showed how rude and childish her young self once was. By doing this, the author Eugenia Collier is able to emphasize the big change of when she transitions from a childish 14 year old, into a more mature young adult. Also, one example of imagery used in this story “Marigolds” was when the author Eugenia Collier,
Many people have common experiences during their brush with death, like time passing slowly. In the story,