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Symbols In Margaret Laurence's 'Horses The Night'

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Through her use of a changing narrative perspective, Margaret Laurence creates a contrast in character development. Laurence shows the reader the male protagonist of the story, Chris, through the eyes of a child first, then of an adolescent, and finally through an adult’s eyes. At the beginning of “Horses of the Night,” the narrator, Vanessa notices that Chris looks completely oblivious towards Vanessa’s Grandfather’s belligerence, as he is displaying “no sign of feeling anything.” This is the first sign Laurence provides about Chris escaping in order to cope with reality. Next, when Vanessa visits Shallow Creek she comes to a realization that most of the stories Chris has shared with her about the farm, only exists “in some other dimension.” …show more content…

The symbols help her make clear that Chris is indeed taking refuge in a world of illusion, a world he finds better suited to the sensitive person that he is. Firstly, the miniature saddle that is mentioned in both the beginning and end of the story is a symbol of Chris’s need to escape reality. The saddle has criss-crossed lines sewn on which is a brand for Chris’s “ranch” in Shallow Creek. When Vanessa asks Chris about the ranch he only ever talks about the imaginary ranch. Chris describes the ranch to be like a place of refuge or paradise. His reason for creating this fantasy is, because the real ranch is bleak, and depressing. Secondly, Chris’s innocent and childlike behaviour is symbolized by Vanessa and the other children. His love for children and innocence is illustrated by the stories he shared with Vanessa about the dinosaurs and the ranch. Finally, the horses “Duchess and Firefly” are another symbol for Chris’s need to escape from reality. These imaginary horses show just how much Chris prefers imaginary over reality. As they are presented, the symbols suggest that the result of Chris’ attempts to escape reality will end in frustration, or failure, or even in

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Margot wants to see the sun on one of the days it is to come from behind its veil of clouds. This is prevented by a group of kids that bully her and lock her in a closet. “They surged about her, caught her up and bore her, protesting, and then pleading, and then crying, back into a tunnel, a room, a closet, where they slammed and locked the door.” Furthermore, in these examples it is evident that these characters frequently meet tragic ends. Such as Henry from “Dark They Were and Golden Eyed”, Margot from “All Summer in a Day” and the house from “There Will Come Soft Rains.”

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Symbolism allows the author to create a story that would otherwise be bland and monotone. Without this dark romantic element, books, short stories, and poems would not have as much meaning nor appealing detail. Symbolism in "The Raven," "The Devil and Tom Walker," and "The Minister's Black Veil," creates layers of meaning and interesting characters. Symbolism has been used for centuries to spice up the literary world. Sometimes it is used in obvious ways, but other time it has to be thoroughly studied to be imperturbably understood.

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Another crucial aspect of a quality bildungsroman piece is the search for a meaningful existence carried out by the main character or protagonist. In a bildungsroman, the main character must have an epiphany somewhere throughout the story which causes them to realize their place in society. This epiphany is influenced by their journey away from home, and gives them insight to the meaning of their existence (Casano). John Grady Cole’s search for existence in All the Pretty Horses is long and painful when looking at his journey to Mexico as a whole. Cole decides to stay in Mexico after meeting the love of his life, Alejandra, which is when he discovers the meaning of his life (Delafuente).

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