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Symbolism In Winterdance By Gary Paulsen

607 Words3 Pages

Do you believe that dogs are man's best friend? Winterdance by Gary Paulsen is a true story about himself, it starts when he moves with his wife to a small house in the woods of minnesota, driving them broke in the process. He starts to run a trapline with dogs and finds his passion, running dogs. Paulsen unconsciously decides to run the Iditarod and we follow him throughout his journey, training, traveling, and finally actually running the race. Gary Paulsen uses symbolism, motifs, and theme to further the reader's understanding and enjoyment of the book. Paulsen uses many symbols in winterdance, a symbol is “The use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense.” One example of a symbol in Winterdance is the beaver that Paulsen comes across in the introduction while running his dogs. “The beaver was there, sitting up on his back legs, his two inch teeth exposed, making a low kind of chuttering sound in threat, ready for the attack.” This quote shows how the beaver represents courage, and independence. It highlights how the beaver was ready to attack eight dogs who were all at least twice the size of itself to defend its wilderness and home. A literary motif is a recurring event that is present somewhat universally in many works of art and …show more content…

One theme that is very prominent in Winterdance is the idea that hard work can bring great rewards. One time when this theme appears in the book is in the prelude when, after a night of luck and survival Paulsen takes in the gorgeous scenery all around him. “I let them run until they settled and immersed myself in the run and the beauty of the mountains.” This quote shows how after a night of barely surviving Paulsen is rewarded with great beauty and peace. All throughout the book this theme pops up when, after long hard journeys he is surprised and delighted in the rewards to be

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“He was immense,” “Full of winter death.” In the book Dogsong by Gary Paulsen the main character Russel Susskit encountered many difficult situations which he was able to overcome with his bravery. He is a 13 year old boy who goes on a long trip in north america during the mid 1980’s, to find his true self with a team of sled dogs. Russel is a strong, courageous, and brave boy who is able to overcome any obstacle.

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Gary was training the dogs so that they are ready to run with snow. In iditarod there was lots of people more people with dogs. They made them run 1000 miles and in gary paulsen they made them run 100 miles. In iditarod they made them use husky’s and in gary paulsen they used dogs. In the gary paulsen book and iditarod they were at a snowy place to

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262 Words | 2 Pages

Question: Describe an important setting in the novel. Explain how it helped you understand a key character The autobiographical novel Winterdance, written by Gary Paulsen, is based on the author's experience both training for running the Iditarod dog sled race in Alaska. An important setting that helped me understand the key character, Paulsen, was the Iditarod race. The physical conditions of the race helped us understand Paulsen running the race in a difficult and harsh manner can give a hope to never give up no matter what happens.

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632 Words | 3 Pages

Imagery is one of the crafts that is very well used. I think that as a reader and our culture always view fire as a bad thing because it have the power to destroy a lot on its path such as we see here in the Desert when we have wildlife fires but ice has the opposite effect. It is supposed to bring peace and beauty. At Christmas, many around the world eagerly await snow to fully bring the season of the joy. I think the same is said in this story.

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1221 Words | 5 Pages

“Nothing is more wretched than the mind of a man conscious of guilt,” said the historical Roman playwright, Plautus. A motif is a recurring narrative element, such as a pattern or symbol. Authors often use motifs to reveal an underlying theme of the literature or symbolize a specific character or idea. Alice Hoffman utilizes the motif of minnows in her book “The River King” to reveal that Carlin had to let go of her guilt to overcome the grief of losing Gus. When Gus died, Carlin felt that she was at fault because they had been in a fight before his death, and this led to extreme feelings of guilt eating her alive every day.

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229 Words | 1 Pages

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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1494 Words | 6 Pages

Strong metaphors and vivid images, like the winter and snow motif, are potent representations for the loneliness, coldness, and emotional numbness brought on by trauma. The harsh realities and emotional distance connected with traumatic memories are embodied by the winter season and visions of snow, as stated in the quotation, "Winter was a country of ice and snow that encased the land like a hard shell" (Wagamese 13). Additionally, as the following remark illustrates, the symbolism of dreams and visions is essential in communicating the concept of trauma. "The residential school was in my dreams. Of children's cries and all innocent things' quiet" (Wagamese 157).

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401 Words | 2 Pages

In the book The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, the author uses a variety of motifs. Which is a distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition. Each color used represents the feeling or characterization of objects and people in the book. With each color bringing an important piece to the theme. One of the colors that is used more than once is green.

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627 Words | 3 Pages

Winterdance Have you ever had a bond with something so strong that it completely changed your outlook on life? Would you travel across frozen tundra, fall from cliff sides, be chased by dangerous animals, and be dragged over the icy ground of the Last Frontier just so you could understand your animals better? In the autobiography, Winterdance by Gary Paulsen, it talks about the author’s encounters while running the famous Iditarod race in Alaska. This book goes in depth about the connection Paulsen had to form with his dogs through his ignorance as a beginning sled dog racer. The dogs themselves are the biggest symbol throughout the book.

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983 Words | 4 Pages

Theme is an idea that is repeated or developed throughout a piece of work. Justin A. Reynolds uses The Opposite of Always to portray the idea of the importance or lack of time. Jack has the archetype of the rebel. Jack and Kate share the star-crossed lovers archetype. In the novel Jack also goes through the hero’s journey as a situational archetype (Volger’s Hero’s Journey).

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Frost uses imagery by witting “I have looked down the saddest city lane”(541). The speaker attaches the emotion sadness to the city lane because he is in a lowest emotion, and everything seems sad as well. The imagery enhances the emotions of the speaker by transferring his sadness to a city lane. The most significant point in this stanza is the watchman, who is the only alive thing in the whole poem. However, the appearance of the watchman in the night catches the narrator’s attention, and the narrator escapes any contact with the watchman, which seems that the speaker is in no mood to convert or connect with another human.

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515 Words | 3 Pages

This shows Victor realizing the inhumane activity he has done and how mentally unstable he has become. Ice and cold symbolize death in the story because someone always died by someone's hands. Usually it was the monster who killed someone and it happened in a cold and isolated place. Also at the beginning of the story, Walton is exploring the icey cold

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803 Words | 4 Pages

As said in the documents I read, the theme is "the fundamental and often universal idea of a literary artwork". One major theme that I have learned throughout this play is Intolerance. The society set in The Crucible is theocratic. That means that the church and the state are one.

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1560 Words | 7 Pages

By the end of the story he cannot have the girl, and his dreams are ruined. The author illustrates Dexter Green as a wishful boy longing for what the future holds. Fitzgerald incorporates many symbols as one being solely Judy Jones. The author uses style in the story by separating the story into 6 sections. Fitzgerald in “Winter Dreams” depicts the fantasy of the American dream and how no matter how hard one works he may never achieve his dream.

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1207 Words | 5 Pages

The use of lighting and filters for colours is not just used for simple illumination but it is more meaningful. It helps to understand the characters and focus our attention on certain objects and actions. The colour can be used as a motif, an occurring manifestation in which the shades themselves become an important part of the story, reflecting emotions, altering situations and underlining scenes. (Bordwell, Thompson and Smith, n.d.)

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