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Symbolism In The Secret Path

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The Stranger is the most significant song in the Secret Path because it highlights the trauma forced upon the residential school students using symbolism. In addition, the song emphasizes the theme of hope in adversity using contrasting imagery. “The Stranger” is the most significant song because it uses symbolism to highlight how residential school students have been robbed of their identity. In addition, the song uses figurative language to describe how the appalling measures effectuated in the residential schools were disregarded. In the chorus, “I am the Stranger/You can’t see me” , the diction reveals Chanie Wenjack speaking of himself and labelling himself ‘the Stranger’ and further saying ‘you can’t see me’(Downie) ‘The Stranger’ …show more content…

The crow represents his Indigenous culture It appears throughout his journey which represents reminders of his old life (his family and Indigenous life) As it flys away it shows how he has been alienated by the school since his Indigenous identity has left and instantly switches to his hair being shaved off (the feathers are pieces of his identity being shaved off) After reminiscing about his past life, Chanie looks up to see a crow. As the crow flies away it leaves a feather, and as Chanie is looking at it, it becomes a lock of Chanie’s hair that was shaved off at the residential school. This transitions to the evocation of the events at the residential school. Animals play a very important role in Indigenous culture and are often seen as symbols. Likewise, the crow symbolizes Chanie's Indigenous identity in this song and appears after the memories to show their relation. In other words, Chanie seeing his past self served as a waking reminder of the trauma he had experienced. When it flies away, his identity flies away with it, which represents how Chanie has been alienated by his residential school. The feather that had fallen from the crow is a piece of his identity and it transitions to a lock of his hair being shaved off. Thus indicates that pieces of his identity were being shaved off as

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That is what Mattie is trying to do is trying to get rid of Chaney so she can feel that she got the man back who did her father wrong. “As it relates to Mattie, “ Women are more expressive about their loss, more emotional about it and more likely to look for support from others” (Wallace 1). She goes to find help from Rooster while feeling hurt. She hates Chaney for killing her father over something that wasn’t his. She is angry about why Chaney will kill her even though all her father was trying to do is help Chaney.

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In a book “Among the Hidden” by Margaret Peterson Haddix, symbolism is used to create a powerful feeling with a place or thing. For example, Luke (the main protagonist) was "... always safe and protected by the house and the barn and the woods. Until they took the woods away." (pg. 11) The woods were Luke’s playground where he didn’t have to worry about being seen, his only safeguard and protection from the Population Police.

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“A bird the size of a chicken, with scarlet feathers and long legs, was perched precariously, Its wings hung down loosely, and as we watched, a feather dropped away and floated slowly down through the green leaves.” In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” a bird that was out of it's environment fell from a tree and died. The bird is a symbol for Doodle and the bird represents him. When the bird dies it foreshadows Doodle's death. Hurst uses figurative language and symbolism to create a gloomy tone in his short story by using symbolism and figurative language.

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In the book Secret Life of Bees, there are many important symbols that show up throughout the book. These symbols help us understand the theme and the meaning behind the book. Many times, these symbols are not obvious, and are hinted but not told directly to the reader. This book in particular, has many symbols that we must find to understand the book. One symbol told in the book is the statue of Mary.

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Residential schools are significant to the people of Canada; it was an awful occurrence that happened for over 150 years. Settler Canadians recognize the pain they caused and are trying to resolve the complication, one way Settler Canadians are working towards reconciliation is by participating in events such as orange shirt day and by participating in campaigns like the Moose Hide Campaign, where you are supporting your commitment to honour, respect and protection for the women and children in your life by wearing a little square of moose hide on your shirt. Another way that non-Aboriginal Canadians reconciliate is by listening to the stories of children who survived or didn’t survive their experience. Two stories of children and their stories during this time are, Sugar Falls and Secret Path, the reader gets a better understanding of what happened during these times, and how these people felt and why they felt it. The themes of these stories is not only the hard times and experiences they had, but the strength they gained through it.

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The bird, representing Edna, foreshadows her one-way trip into the sea as it, with an injured wing, falls into the water just as Edna, with a damaged mind, walks into the sea. She feels as though suicide is the only way to find a reprieve from the gender standards that have been forced onto her. As she stands underneath the bright sun “[s]he felt like some new-born creature” signifying her awakening (120). Edna departs this world with dignity as she ultimately found her freedom

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In the story "Dead Men's Path," the villagers strongly uphold their traditional beliefs and engage in acts of defiance against the school and its progressive ideas. Their commitment to their cultural customs and rituals is unwavering, with the path that passes through their village being particularly significant. Described as an "ancient, straight track" used by their ancestors, the path holds sacred value for the villagers, representing a connection between the living and the dead. When the headmaster tries to close the path, one villager declares, "We shall not abandon the path... We shall use it like our fathers did.

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