Symbolism is used in many stories, novels, and essays. It is an extraordinary addition to make a story interesting. The use of symbols in stories make the most significant ideas strike out as well as make the reader have distinctive ideas of what actually is trying to be said. Symbolism makes the reader think critically about what the author wants us as the readers to transmit. In “Paul’s Case,” there are some examples of the use of symbolism. The author, Willa Cather used flowers as symbols to describe and explain Paul’s life. In “Paul’s Case” we first meet Paul while he is meeting with the staff of Pittsburg High school. During this meeting, Paul wears a red carnation in his “buttonhole”. The purpose of the red carnation that Paul is wearing seems to be an obvious symbol of his separation from the middle-class neighborhood. Paul extremely dislikes most of the things about his life. His teachers find the red carnation very disrespectful and to them it symbolizes his cocky attitude. Many times he is said to live in a dull and boring life. However, the red carnation in his eyes adds thrill to his world and allows him to imagine himself as a wealthy human being, which is what he …show more content…
When Paul finally escapes to New York he is in his hotel room and realizes his journey does not seem certainly accomplished until he is brought a elegant and magnicificant bouquet of flowers. Once the bouquet is in his room he feels alive and the happiest he has ever been. Even the scent of flowers is used in the story as a symbol, in this case, to basically rub away the boringness of his normal life. Paul "scrubbed the greasy odor of the dish-water from his hands with the ill-smelling soap he hated, and then shook over his fingers a few drops of violet water from the bottle he kept hidden in his drawer" (Cather 4). Even the few drops of violet water make Paul feel wealthier than the “ill-smelling soap” that their middle-class home
As said in the book, “the heavens had opened up to me.” This symbolizes the great opportunity Paul had. It also shows imagery on how the scene happened in the auditorium and how it was very noisy and too small. After the school
While symbolism was not supremely prevalent throughout the novel, there was some to be found. Kantorek and/or Himmelstoss were both little men that brought unhappiness into the world (p.10). These men symbolize Austria-Hungary and/or Serbia, for little countries brought unhappiness into the world in the form of World War I. On page 59, Paul recalls the geese flying through the air and correlates their symbolism to the shells being fired during the bombardment. The soldiers also became very hungry for food during the midst of the novel (p.107-108), symbolizing their hunger for German victory and an end to the war.
The symbolic meaning is that, for the second time the mailbox incident has come up again and that the muck fire, towards the end of the story burns strong. Paul has been
Instead, the answer conveys Paul’s strong desire to stick to his current behavior rather than to conform to anything that is promised to improve his current life. Furthermore, the most conclusive thing Paul steals money from his father, which is obviously illegal and a great risk, to help him run away from his dull life to New York. Yet, what stands out from his characteristic is that Paul never regrets any of the past deeds that he has done, after experiencing the life he so long yearned for. Even after he knows that his father is looking for him and that he will soon be caught, Paul feels relieved rather than
The flowers symbolize Paul’s position in society as an outcast. First, the flowers in the winter is like Paul in his community. For example, the flowers in the garden are “blooming against the sides of which the snow-flakes stuck and melted” (Cather). The snow-flakes on the flowers represents the coldness Paul receives from his teachers and neighbors because they express their aversion towards him and the flower he wears. Similarly, the blossoms are mock by the winter cold (Cather).
In a book “Among the Hidden” by Margaret Peterson Haddix, symbolism is used to create a powerful feeling with a place or thing. For example, Luke (the main protagonist) was "... always safe and protected by the house and the barn and the woods. Until they took the woods away." (pg. 11) The woods were Luke’s playground where he didn’t have to worry about being seen, his only safeguard and protection from the Population Police.
Symbolism allows the author to create a story that would otherwise be bland and monotone. Without this dark romantic element, books, short stories, and poems would not have as much meaning nor appealing detail. Symbolism in "The Raven," "The Devil and Tom Walker," and "The Minister's Black Veil," creates layers of meaning and interesting characters. Symbolism has been used for centuries to spice up the literary world. Sometimes it is used in obvious ways, but other time it has to be thoroughly studied to be imperturbably understood.
Finding yourself is apart of the journey and struggles of high school, and being a young person trying to find a strong sense of identity can be one of the toughest struggles to face. In Willa Cather’s short story, Paul’s Case, developing a stronger sense of self is troubling for art-loving Paul. Desperate and money-obsessed, Paul escapes the industrial city of Pittsburgh to live his luxurious fantasy in New York city. Paul’s creativity, pretentiousness and unhappiness play a large role in his downfall and ultimately leading to his tragic end. Paul moves through Pittsburgh quite differently than his peers and father, he never seemed to fit in at school or at home.
Paul’s obsession with achieving his dreams of luxury and riches took over throughout the entire short story which the reader is easy to catch onto when stated that “as the house filled, he grew more and more vivacious and animated, and the color came to his cheeks and lips.” (pg. 3, paragraph 5, lines 7-8) when referring to working at Carnegie Hall. Paul’s character views anything he considers a flaw in his life as something that can be fixed with being surrounded by luxury. Wealth resembles even more than that; it represents the opposite of his mundane lifestyle that he had been living up to the events captured in the short story. His addiction to a wealthier life causes to make poor decisions his character would have never thought to do in the first place such as steal and lie to his own parents.
Symbolism can use an object (like a tree of birds), or art, (like Melinda’s art project or Mr. Freeman's canvas) to represent an abstract idea. Laurie Halse Anderson uses symbolism to hint at a certain mood or emotion, rather than just blatantly saying it. So, the use of symbolism is important because it helps create meaning and emotion in a story. Symbolism makes a book fun to read, the symbolism produces a thought provoking work of art and it, (like in this book), adds meaning to seemingly unrelated objects and elicits emotions in the
Whenever Paul comes home, he feels overwhelmed with, “the nerveless sense of defeat, the hopeless feeling of sinking back forever into ugliness,” (Paul’s Case, 473). After doing the dishes one night he, “[scrubs] the greasy odour of the dish-water...with the ill-smelling soap he hated”, but then, in order to wash away the scent of dreaded ordinariness, “he shook over his fingers a few drops of violet water from the bottle he kept hidden in his drawer,” (Paul’s Case, 477). Here, the violet water acts as a remedy any unpleasant situation. Another illustration in which Paul uses flowers as a coping method for stress occurs when Paul has just run away from home to New York. After having arrived in his hotel room, Paul, “rang for the bell boy and sent him down for flowers,” and, “when the flowers came, he put them hastily into water...put the violets and jonquils on the tabouret beside the couch…
Symbolism is a literary element used in literary work. Imagery visually descriptive or figurative language especially in a literary work. Allegory is a story or poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. Irony in “The Story Of An Hour” begins to grow after Mrs.Mallard goes upstairs, and after thinking about the fact that she is now
“Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense.” Symbols can add a deeper meaning than just an object itself that the author is trying to make. Symbols can also foreshadow what is yet to come. The audience can interpret a symbol in many ways it depends on their experience. In Southside Chicago the Younger family is struggling to have hope as they are always facing society.
Symbolism in general is the building blocks to all sources of literature and can shape a piece of writing in many ways. Symbols in general can portray what something or someone represents, giving a deeper and metaphorical meaning to a symbol. Symbolism is often used within poetry, literature, music, or even art. This is how an author conveys a different meaning to the audience. For example artists may use the color “red” not only because of the color theory, but to convey love, passion, and maybe even health.
The author of Things fall Apart chose to use symbolism to describe a character and what type of personality they have. It also shaped the climax of the story and showed the reader why the characters would make the choices that they did. The Poisonwood Bible chose to use symbolism to describe a whole group of people and show the downfall of them in a tragic end. These two novels show that symbolism can easily be used to manipulate the plot and develop a story as a