Symbols In A Rose For Emily And Popular Mechanics

Symbols can come from anywhere and can be anything. They can be colors, objects, places, or even someone’s actions. These symbols have more meaning in a particular context than they normally do. In other words, symbols stand for something. In William Faulkner’s thriller “A Rose for Emily”, and Raymond Carver’s hard hitting “Popular Mechanics” symbols are everywhere. An understanding of these symbols helps the reader really get inside of the story and gain a better understanding of what is going on. They help the reader feel more connected to the story as well as feel the emotions of the story. Leading to deeper meaning, Symbols are very powerful things. Symbols are used throughout “A Rose for Emily” and “Popular Mechanics” to enhance readers

The use of white is significant because it aligns with Emily in her early days. The story portrays Emily as “a slender women in white” (42) during her early years. Emily was still a pure person, who was living a put together life. This is why the author chose to specifically mention her clothing as being white. By including the specific details that these things were white in the story, it allows the reader to gain a deeper understanding of what Emily’s life was like during the early days. Knowing that white symbolizes purity and cleanliness the reader can make the connection of Emily’s life being pure and in order. However, the colors in the story are much different by the time Emily receives her rose. Emily’s rose was most likely a black rose, which would symbolize death. Black is a color that symbolizes death and despair. A black rose would represent the change in mood over the course of Emily’s life. Emily’s life that started so pure and good, symbolized by white, took many turns for the worse over the years. First her father died, and this greatly affected Emily, as “After her father’s death she went out

Outside of the home, it is changing from light to dark. The sun was setting and night was falling, “it was getting dark. But it was getting dark on the inside too” (217). Darkness is often associated with evil and chaos. The loss of light symbolizes the relationship between the man and the woman. By understanding the symbolism in the darkness, the reader can get a better idea of the deteriorating relationship between the man and the woman. Comprehending the symbol allows the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between the man and woman, which is a large part of the story. Another symbol found in the story comes to light when “she noticed the baby’s picture on the bed and picked it up” (217). Picking up the picture depicts the woman’s longing to keep the baby in her custody. The picture symbolizes the actual baby, and by picking it symbolizes the woman’s connection to her baby. Understanding the woman’s connection to her baby through symbols allows the reader to further understand the story and connect to how the woman feels. Continually, the flowerpot in the story also acts as a symbol. It symbolizes the family in unity and connected to each other. This view of the family as one is shattered when during a scuffle the couple “knocked down a flowerpot that hung between the stove” (217). Grasping the idea of the flowerpot symbolizing the family being united allows the reader to see that