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Imagery And Symbolism In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

484 Words2 Pages

Symbolism is the use of images, colors or items through a story or time used to represent

something more meaningful. For example, one may look at America's flag and think it is just a flag. False, it is red for the valor and bravery of our soldiers, the white stands for purity and innocence of our nation, and the blue signifies justice, perseverance and vigilance; it is not just a flag, it is a symbol of all the things the United States of America have been through. However, in literature symbolism plays a much more heavy role in the story. Authors used symbolism with a flower, perhaps, then continue talking about growth and blossoming within the flower throughout the story only to reveal to the reader the flower is not a flower, but a growth in her struggling protagonist. Although the author of Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson, denies her use …show more content…

Pain” (65). The sculpture itself is assembled of a block of wood, with bones arranged to look like a turkey skeleton, with forks and knives thrashing into the bones, but in the middle lies a long barbie doll head and a half melted Lego palm tree. “I see a girl...with her flesh picked off day after day as the carcass dries out. The knives and forks are obviously middle class sensibilities. The palm tree is a nice touch. A broken dream, perhaps? Plastic honeymoon, deserted island? “ (64) The art teacher in the story list all kinds of ideas that could be symbols in Melinda’s sculpture. However the newfound artist changed her sculpture after hearing these words. The palm tree that once resided peacefully is now evicted. The knife and fork are moved to appear like legs. The Barbie herself receives the most dramatic change as she gets tape placed over her mouth. The new sculpture is appraised in a way different the Melinda hoped. The tape over the mouth shows someone covering any chance to cry for help, the bones now resemble a cage, forever entrapping the young girl.“This sculpture has meaning. Pain”

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What role does the animal motif play in the novel? In Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, the animal motif helps illustrate characters and asserts that people often act in primitive ways. In Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, the animal motif helps illustrate characters and asserts that people often act in primitive and predatory ways.

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Trees have been used throughout the years to symbolize many different things. A popular one is that trees represent life overall. This meaning has been around for many years and goes across many different cultures. However, trees have had many other meanings. In Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, she uses trees to represent different life traits that the main character, Melinda, learns throughout the book.

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In “Lord of the Flies,” there are many literary tools used through it. The literary tools use more often in the book are characterization, foreshadowing, personification, symbolism, and theme. These literary tools are essential in order for the book to progress. Characterization, a description of the distinctive nature or features of someone or something, is one of the literary tools present in “Lord of the Flies. This tool can be seen used in at the beginning of chapter 10.

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For such an emotional tale of fear and guilt, the art is markedly stark in its design and execution,

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She at first thinks the task of drawing a tree is easy, but she soon realizes it is harder than it seems. Melinda can easily picture a tree in her mind, but she can not draw it. This relates to Melinda before and after she was raped by Andy Evans. Before the rape, Melinda is represented by the tree when she says, “I can see it in my head: a strong old oak tree with a wide scarred trunk and thousands of leaves reaching to the sun”(78). Melinda was completely fine before the rape occurred, and she was happy with herself and her surroundings.

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Michael Valderrama Hodgins AM Studies Block A 12/5/16 Gatsby’s Mansion Symbolism is the use of symbols to supply things with a representative meaning or to represent something abstract by using an existing object. Gatsby’s mansion is a symbol of himself, his love for Daisy, and a representation of the 1920s. James Gatz, the small town boy from North Dakota, dreamed of obtaining his American Dream. He perceived the American Dream as a way to obtain wealth and status in order to win the hand of the love of his life Daisy.

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She writes many novels on difficult subjects in society (“Laurie Halse Anderson-Mad Woman in the Forest”). In Speak, the main character, Melinda Sordino, was raped at the end of the summer before her freshman year. The novel follows her hardships as an outcast in the jungle-like environment of high school and her struggles to speak up for herself when she needs to the most (Anderson 3-198). In the novel Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson

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The poem Barbie doll by Marge Piercy is about a little girl who grows up only to kill herself for not living up to society’s standards. The speaker shows how she had a normal childhood and was happy playing with here baby dolls and toy stove. However, during puberty, her body changed and everyone noticed. She was criticized for her “fat nose and thick legs”. She tried to change by dieting and exercising, but soon tired of doing so.

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This shows how the speaker could not cope and the only way she found to make her failures go away, was to kill herself. In the poem by Margie Piercy, “Barbie Doll” shows how the pressure and the views of other effect how one views themselves, which

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“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.

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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.

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Symbolism is when the author uses objects to add deeper meaning to the story without mentioning it in the story. In Flannery O’Connor’s story, “Good Country People”, she uses symbolism to illustrate the antagonist and protagonist with more insight; for example, Manley’s hollow Bible signify how he really does not believe in Christianity, Hulga’s wooden leg portrayed her personality, and her name change represents how she is not the same girl she once was. First of all, the author introduces Manley Pointer as a young man that goes around homes selling Bibles, but little did she know that was not the case. When Manley Pointer goes on a date with Hulga the truth is revealed. Hulga has the impression that Manley is a young nice man that sells Bibles

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Symbolism is one of the most important properties a story can have. It's often used to develop a character or a theme throughout the story that is being told. Symbolism in literature is best described by as the use of symbols and objects to signify ideas and qualities by giving them a symbolic meanings that are very different from their literal sense. The short stories "Where are you going, Where have you been?" and "The Yellow Wallpaper" have very obvious examples of symbolism.

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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

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In the short story ''Barbie Q,'' Sandra Cisneros portrays that Barbie dolls can impact girl's lives as they grow up, and influence the way they act and perceive themselves. These girls grow up in a poor family environment considering that they acquired the rest of the dolls in a toys sale after a store burned down. In ‘‘Barbie Q,’’what is the thematic significance of the damaged dolls after the fire? The girl’s enthusiasm to get the new dolls -when they said that they prefer to receive new doll’s clothes- suggests that the meaning of these Barbie dolls is more than just a new toy.

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