Imagine living your everyday life in a town named Tangerine, where natural disasters commonly occur. This is the situation that the protagonist, Paul Fisher, has been enduring ever since his family moved to Tangerine, Florida. The novel, Tangerine written by Edward Bloor, describes how Paul Fisher sees the world through his thick-rimmed goggles due to his damaged eyesight from “staring at an eclipse.” Paul has to be circumspect around bullies and his older brother, Erik, who seems to have dissoluteness living inside of him.
He does this when Peyton Farquhar says “The black bodies of the trees formed a straight wall on both sides, terminating on the horizon in a point, like a diagram in a lesson in perspective.” This pathway symbolizes the long journey of death. This technique also appears when Bierce says “He stands at the gate of his own home. All is as he left it, and all bright and beautiful in the morning sunshine.” Bierce is alluding to heaven’s
In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses three symbols to contribute to the overall theme of sin, these three symbols are the scarlet letter, Dimmesdale and Pearl. Dimmesdale is the minister of the town, he is also the father of Pearl. Pearl is the daughter of Dimmesdale and Hester, who to are not married. Hester committed the sim of adultery with Dimmesdale by having sex while she is married, then later ended up being pregnant.. They live in a puritan society, in which if they commit a crime they have a very harsh punishment.
There is no clear interpretation of the theme or message of this story but after closely reading it, one might suggest that there is a high correlation between sin and the kiln that was used to burn the marble to create the lime. Toward the beginning of the story, Hawthorne describes how Birtran and his son (two
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” he tells the story of a young Hester Prynne who is committed for adultery. “The Scarlet Letter” was written in the 1800’s, set in a Puritan society. Words written from the book went against the beliefs of that era, which is to be expected from a Anti-Transcendentalist writer. The themes of the book are shown in many ways mainly with symbols expressed throughout the story. In “The Scarlet Letter” Hawthorne uses the Scarlet Letter, the leech, and Pearl as the symbols to express the theme of sin within the story.
The agony the writer is feeling about his son 's death, as well as the hint of optimism through planting the tree is powerfully depicted through the devices of diction and imagery throughout the poem. In the first stanza the speaker describes the setting when planting the Sequoia; “Rain blacked the horizon, but cold winds kept it over the Pacific, / And the sky above us stayed the dull gray.” The speaker uses a lexicon of words such as “blackened”, “cold” and “dull gray” which all introduce a harsh and sorrowful tone to the poem. Pathetic fallacy is also used through the imagery of nature;
In the novel The Scarlet Letter we are taken to a much stricter time in life. Where laughing and dancing were considered to be out of norm. The year is 1642 and we are introduced to a young woman who has been convicted for adultery. The author fills the book with many characters, each character committing their own sin. As a reader we are challenged to base an opinion on each character based on the sin they have done.
How can a gift from God be wrapped in sin? The distinction between good and evil was a prevalent topic in the early 19th century. Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, was fostered in an era in America in which transcendentalism challenged traditional Puritan and Calvinist views. He was raised in a strict Puritan family in Salem, Massachusetts, where people were burned, hanged, and drowned for being suspected of sin. He resented this way of life, and he moved away to follow the transcendent movement with Ralph Waldo Emerson.
There are many themes present throughout this novel but only one is truly visible in every chapter within the book. The one theme that sticks out, is sin. Sin is a huge part in puritan society back in this time. If a huge sin was committed, a public punishment must have taken place because of their beliefs. They had symbols for specific sinners, such as Hester.
The saying “to kill a mocking bird is sin” is a common saying back then, maybe until now it’s still being used. The saying says “killing a mocking bird is sin” because mocking birds doesn’t really do any harm they just sing out with their hearts a tune. The book refers to this saying meaning that the innocence are taken away intentionally by the the accusers or townsfolk. In the book there are two or three “mockingbirds” they were misunderstood, accused, or just fighting for justice but the townsfolk just turned their backs on them.
In this autobiographical narrative A Summer Life, Gary Soto vividly recreates the guilt felt by a six-year-old boy who steals an apple pie. Through his visceral reminiscence he shows us the adolescent ignorance about morals and the understanding of religion. The story is a journey about his guilt, paranoia and then - understanding of what he has done. When people have to choose a decision that is based between right and wrong, and they choose wrong, it is often that they then battle the guilt that eats at them after. Soto uses somewhat of a humorous telling of the experience that is shown through imagery, diction, and biblical allusions.
one of the many times he uses imagery throughout this story is when the narrator says, “on his way he would see the cottages and homes with their dark windows, and it was not unequal to walking through a graveyard where only the faintest glimmers of firefly light appeared in flickers behind the windows” (Pg 1). By using imagery to compare walking through the neighborhood as walking through a graveyard shows that it is completely silent and there is no activity in any of the houses. Most people wouldn't describe their neighborhood as a graveyard, this also develops the mood. Another time he uses imagery is when the narrator says, “The street was silent and long and empty, with only his shadow moving like the shadow of a hawk in mid-country” (1). This shows mood because the narrator describes him as a hawk in mid-country, that means that he is all alone in what he feels to be like a barren or abandoned place.
Regardless of where one lives, nature surrounds them. It is quiet in the winter, blossoms in the spring, flourishes in the summer, and then finally it lays to rest in autumn. Often in literature, writers utilize natural imagery because it is something that can be easily understood by everybody regardless of race, gender, religion, creed, and ethnicity. This imagery provides a deeper understanding of the book, play, story, or poem for the reader. The prominent playwright William Shakespeare uses natural imagery throughout his play Macbeth to foreshadow upcoming events in the plot (or provide a deeper understanding of the play/its characters).
Once the piece of literature begins, the reader begins feeling captivated in the imagery that the author created to be envisioned. In John Muir’s extraordinary essay, The Calypso Borealis, he creates a vivid picture in the reader’s head of his experience to find a beautiful flower. In particular, he creates an image of his adventure into a swamp surrounding The Great Lakes through his writing. When his journey began, he was introduced to several diverse flora. During his journey, he is able to admire and soak up nature’s beauty as well as
Pie and Religious Guilt On April 12.1952 Gary Soto was born to Mexican-American parents who lived a traditionally Catholic lifestyle. He grew up indoctrinated in his family’s religious lifestyle. When he grew older and decided on becoming a writer, he realized he could find humor and solace by looking back on instances like that of The Pie Essay. To convey to the reader how guilty he felt from his naivety he approaches the subject with an infantile and an overtaxed narration.
