Symbolism In Catherine Called Birdy

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The theme change is explored through the attitude and personality of the persona. The novel “Catherine Called Birdy” by Karen Cushman and the song “Hazy Shade Of Winter” by the Banlges explore the concept of change.The personas in the texts experience change in perspective, world and self which throughout the text inevitably leads to growth and development. A change in perspective is shown throughout the novel through the protagonist’s personality and maturity. In the text “Catherine Called Birdy” symbolism is used to show how Catherine’s perspective has changed. Catherine owns a number of caged birds in her chamber. The birds symbolise freedom and the cages she keeps them in symbolises lack of freedom. “I told all this to the cages of birds in my chamber and they listened quite politely. I began to keep birds in order to hear them chirping, but most often now they have to listen to mine”. Symbolism helps show how her perspective changes as she matures. Catherine relates to her birds as she keeps her birds in cages and she feels as if she is being trapped in her position as a noble women who is to be married off and do the duties a women should do. The contrast in her perspective at the end of the novel, which is when …show more content…

“For these alone, I’m prepared to love him” and “The world is full of possibilities” are two lines from the text, containing a positive tone, showing how the novel ends with the protagonist feeling optimistic and accepting in comparison to the negative tone at the beginning of the novel. The contrast in tone reveals to the reader that change in self is evident through the development of her maturity. The audience becomes more attached to the character and the story and further moved by using tone. The use of tone ultimately leads to the exploration in change in self and the development of the protagonists journey through