The Century Quilt was written by Marilyn Nelson Waniek and she tells us about the history of her families quilt. The meaning of the quilt is expressed through literary devices such as symbolism, vivid imagery, and tone. The author used symbolism as a major technique to get the meaning of the quilt across to the reader. The author uses flashbacks to describe the past she has with the quilt.
The poem, “The Century Quilt”, by Sarah Mary Taylor demonstrates the meaning of The Century Quilt through the use of tone, imagery and symbolism. This complex quilt has a way of bringing family together through means of remembrance, as the quilt will be passed on and on. Symbolism in this poem is most prominent in the title itself. “The Century Quilt” makes its implication of being passed on by the word, century. A century is a long period of time and within that time period the quilt will have been passed down through means of connecting with family.
In the poem Heritage by Linda Hogan, Hogan uses the tone of the speaker to demonstrate the shame and hatred she has toward her family, but also her desire to learn about her family’s original heritage. The speaker describes each family member and how they represent their heritage. When describing each member, the speaker’s tone changes based on how she feels about them. The reader can identify the tone by Hogan’s word choices and the positive and negative outlooks on each member of the family.
This sets up the poem for the audience to understand the importance of the quilt and how family is effortlessly tied to it. Wherever the quilt goes, or is mentioned, memories of family follow. The second stanza is setup to show the audience that the speaker has now gotten a quilt she can call her own. The mentioning of death within this stanza shows realism, and the awareness the speaker has on life and eventually worldly possessions die off. She talks of the quilt and how she wishes “to die under”(line 14).
In the poem “The Century Quilt” by Marilyn Nelson Waniek, Waniek is able to craft a complex, contemporary poem using a variety of literary devices. Through enjambment, imagery, and chronological succession, Waniek describes the complexities of her quilt and reflects on it’s beauty and uniqueness. In lines 1-2 of “The Century Quilt” Waniek uses enjambment to start her poem with ambiguity and suspense. In addition, her use of enjambment slows the pace and forces the reader to digest each line as an individual thought, rather than a cohesive statement. In turn, the slowed pace and ambiguity of the opening couplet offers a preview to Wanieks unique style and syntax.
The intriguing texts, “My Mother Pieced Quilts” by Teresa Palomo Acosta, and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker contain two main ideas that explain how everyone’s culture has a direct influence on the way that we view the world. In other words, each of our backgrounds are full of experiences and knowledge, and we use what we know in every aspect in life. Specifically, Acosta expressed in her poem, “... how the thread darted in and out / galloping along the frayed edges, tucking them in / as you did us at night.” This passage is suggesting when the author remembers her mother mother making quilts, she remembers the memories that she associated with the quilts, making the quilts have a special meaning to her and her culture growing up. Additionally, Walker had a similar idea in her narrative about quilts but she includes another example where she writes,”...
The function of imagery serves to give a vibrant presentation to the readers not only visually, but also to the readers’ other sense. In The Seamstress, the women are treated as properties of men. This is shown through the use of imagery. Therefore, the problem of the research is how imagery is used in relation to Marxist
In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the meaning of heritage is admired differently by a family of the same background. Dee who now has an education and understands her heritage feud with Mama and Maggie who appreciate their heritage. Although they all come from the same household, their differences get in the way when it comes to the most valuable items in the house; including the churn and dasher that Mama and Maggie still use daily, the handmade quilts made by Grandma Dee, and how Dee is blinded by the truth of her own heritage. Dee wants the churn and dasher for decoration purposes only stating “I can use the churn top as a centerpiece for the alcove table,” (Walker 272.)
This shows that Maggie views the quilts as a way of remembering her deceased grandmother. It’s not as much about the physical looks of the quilt, but more about them being a passed down memento from her grandmother. In addition, Sarnowski states, “Losing the quilts would not extinguish or reduce Maggie’s sense of heritage, but it would rob her sense of heritage of an affirming token” (Sarnowski 280). Maggie knows what her heritage is and does not necessarily need the quilts to define it. She is happy with the life she lives and although she would be losing this “affirming token” she would still know where she comes
“the quilts are the central symbol of the story representing the connectedness of history and intergenerational tries of the family” (“everyday use”). This means that the quilts mean heritage and remind the daughters of grand mom dee. The quilts are fought over at the end of the story because of the meaning of them. One daughter wants them for everyday use and one wants them just to have them because it means heritage to her. The mother at the end of the story agrees that they should be used for everyday use.
The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, is a good representation of what it was like to join the war in the past and some that also apply to people joining the war today such as Henry’s mother being sad, seriousness of guns and war, and people not coming back the same as they did when they left. Henry was very young when he wanted to join the war and knew nothing about the war. Stephen Crane wrote this book not knowing what life would be like now and how different it is now. Now days we have much more advanced ways of communicating what the war is really like. War now days lasts longer than Henry’s war that only lasted four days.
This new outlook on her life caused Dee to place different values on the items with which she had grown up. She wanted to take the items as things to put on display like art hanging on a wall. Dee even wanted the cherished quilts to “hang them” (Walker, 1973) instead of using them as blankets. As she saw it, to use the quilts for their original purpose would destroy them, or as she said, “Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they 'd be in rags” (Walker, 1973).
The writer, Edgar Allan Poe, utilizing figment or confusion keeps the peruser is tension all through this story called "The Masque of the Red Death". Imagery, for example, the shaded rooms, the amazing clock, the sentiment festivity being at a gathering all influences this story to feel like a tall tale. In the "Masque of the Red Death," the main sentence, "The “Red Death” had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous,"(1). It Sets the tone for gothic and dark for the entire story.
The quilts are the main symbol for the reason that each character has different views on them and their meaning, just like the readers. Near the end, the mother needs to choose whom to give the quilts to, to keep. Both of them have quilts with opposite views on what their use will be. Dee only wants to just hang them up, while Maggie wants to appreciate their appearance. I conclude that Alice Walker wanted Maggie to have the quilts because she thinks would actually mean something.
Having done so, she goes on to highlight the ‘womanist’ culture. Afro-American tradition, for Mama, is symbolized by churn. It is a tradition of bonding, of mutual nurturance. Similarly, the symbol of quilt for Mama is not just a utilitarian item but a living tradition. Alice Walker, in fact, uses the imagery of the quilt to suggest what womanism is all about.
