Meaning Behind Objects In Molly And The Red Hat

The Meaning Behind Objects : The symbolism of objects in “A Piano Lesson”, “The Glass Menagerie”, and “Molly and the Red Hat” A lot of times, authors love to use objects to symbolize a deeper meaning and message within a story. In the play “A Piano Lesson,” August Wilson uses a piano to symbolize the family's history and identity. Similarly, Tennessee Williams symbolizes fragility and uniqueness through a glass unicorn in his play “The Glass Menagerie.” Lastly, in the short story “Molly and the Red Hat”, Benjamin Rosenbaum symbolizes the dangers of being allured by cherished objects. Through these three works of literature, we can see how authors use objects to symbolize deeper meanings through literature. The central conflict in Tennessee

One day, her mother decided to buy her a blue hat. She politely said thank you, but did not feel any attraction towards the blue hat. Molly took it to school with her, but tucked it away in her cubby. “Molly was considerably less powerful without her hat, and the other kids knew it” (Rosenbaum). At school, all the kids messed with her, so she was in a rush to get back home. However when Molly got home, she discovered that her mother had thrown away her red hat. She was furious. This is when the story starts to mix reality and fantasy. To summarize, Molly visits the queen of owls to help her get to trashland to get her red hat. An owl volunteers to take her and they eventually find the hat. But, when they fly away, an angry molly flickering with fire grabs onto them and comes home with Molly. This Molly symbolizes the Molly from years ago, when her brother was just a baby. Molly returns to her bedroom and then her mother brings little brother Billy in there. The fiery green Molly began speaking about life before Billy. “We had Mama and Daddy all to ourselves, said angry green Molly. All the hugs, all the kisses. All the stories, all the songs. All the tickles, all the laughs. And then this thing came” (Rosenbaum). She then proceeded to say how their mother was so consumed with Billy, that it drove their dad away. This made Molly furious. Later at school, she used her red hat to defeat the other Molly when she was picking on Billy. Her and Billy then began to cry and the teacher sent them home with their mother. Her mom left Billy to play with some blocks, while Molly cried it out on her lap. Her mom then said “I love you and I’ll always want you”(Rosenbaum). Her mom kissed her goodnight that night and never forgot again. Although this all just sounds like a cute little