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Effective Use Of The Motif In Makeshift By Kekla Magoon

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In the short story “Makeshift” by Kekla Magoon, the author uses a motif to show it’s important not to complain about what you have. The author does this by introducing a bruise on Kayses's mother after Kayse feels guilty. According to Kekla Magoon, Kayse feels the bruise is alive; “Her cheek is swollen, red-purple. The bruise has a life of its own” (Magoon). The bruise is shown as a motif because it represents the theme. Almost like a living person, it argues against Kayse for being ungrateful and reminds her she left her old home for a favorable reason. This goes with the theme since she feels guilty complaining about what she has although it’s better for her. Magoon mentions the motif again after Kayse says something she regrets to her mother.
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“Nothing is more wretched than the mind of a man conscious of guilt,” said the historical Roman playwright, Plautus. A motif is a recurring narrative element, such as a pattern or symbol. Authors often use motifs to reveal an underlying theme of the literature or symbolize a specific character or idea. Alice Hoffman utilizes the motif of minnows in her book “The River King” to reveal that Carlin had to let go of her guilt to overcome the grief of losing Gus. When Gus died, Carlin felt that she was at fault because they had been in a fight before his death, and this led to extreme feelings of guilt eating her alive every day.

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The motif and the symbols basically balance eachother out, from what i interpret is because they both have to do with the veil. The veil gets emphasized roughly, it is such a huge piece of context in the story and it is really a matter of life or death in the story because when Hooper dies, he gets buried with the veil on still and that's what leads the story on insane as

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