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An essay about figurative language
An essay about figurative language
Poetic devices and figurative language
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The poem, “The Century Quilt”, by Sarah Mary Taylor demonstrates the meaning of The Century Quilt through the use of tone, imagery and symbolism. This complex quilt has a way of bringing family together through means of remembrance, as the quilt will be passed on and on. Symbolism in this poem is most prominent in the title itself. “The Century Quilt” makes its implication of being passed on by the word, century. A century is a long period of time and within that time period the quilt will have been passed down through means of connecting with family.
Family reunions are often used to dwell upon the past and reflect upon one’s life. Richard Rodriguez, in is his passage, goes to extreme lengths to explain to the reader his carefully taken observation of his family’s life. Looking deeper into the words and feelings of the passage, Rodriguez portrays a sense of strong family values. It is apparent (by his selective use of diction and narrative structure found throughout the passage) that Rodriguez is writing to a more mature, experienced audience. As a mature writer, Rodriguez knows that the best way to connect with his audience is through the one day responsible for some of their greatest childhood memories -- Christmas.
For many, people hold objects within their lives as sentiments of greater value than price. Whether it be pictures, necklaces, or a father’s watch; there lies an emotional connection beyond the object’s materialistic presence in which people hold dear. Themes of reminiscence as well reverence are displayed throughout the poem by the use of imagery to further convey the character’s hope that the quilt will represent her family’s heritage just as her grandmothers did, alongside an ethos application of symbolism that further portrays as well connects the emotional links of generations, diversity, and values. The first theme of reminiscence is displayed by tone as well diction in which the author portrays that the quilt allows the woman to create a feeling of connection to her family 's past as well her own. The quilt allowed the woman to feel as though she could potentially “have good dreams for a hundred years,” as mentioned throughout lines twenty and twenty-one just as her Meema.
The intriguing texts, “My Mother Pieced Quilts” by Teresa Palomo Acosta, and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker contain two main ideas that explain how everyone’s culture has a direct influence on the way that we view the world. In other words, each of our backgrounds are full of experiences and knowledge, and we use what we know in every aspect in life. Specifically, Acosta expressed in her poem, “... how the thread darted in and out / galloping along the frayed edges, tucking them in / as you did us at night.” This passage is suggesting when the author remembers her mother mother making quilts, she remembers the memories that she associated with the quilts, making the quilts have a special meaning to her and her culture growing up. Additionally, Walker had a similar idea in her narrative about quilts but she includes another example where she writes,”...
She loves them for the way they look. Mama, on the other hand, views the things from her mother as artifacts. She loves the items more than how they look. She admires the quilts because of their everyday use. Transformations take place between these characters.
There is a sentimental value that is attached to every families’ collection of heirlooms and keepsakes. No matter how long these items remain in storage or are hidden away; their representation always stays the same, they keep people connected to their family roots. Author John Updike’s short story, “The Brown Chest” uses symbolism and imagery and sensory writing to focus on the idea that family memories never fade away and material things can maintain a deeper meaning no matter what they endure. John Updike appeals to the reader’s senses to allow them to connect with what is occurring in the story on a more profound level. He begins the story by writing from the main character’s childhood perspective.
In The Family Romance of the French Revolution, Lynn Hunt examines the significance of the family and politics in relation to the French Revolution. Looking at ideas of romance that transferred over into family life, Hunt is able to investigate a shift in ideology that played a part in precipitating the French Revolution. Lynn Hunt attempts to make an intervention in the historical literature of the cultural history of the French Revolution. Lynn Hunt is a historian of the French Revolution and Professor of History at University of California at Los Angeles. More broadly, Hunt is interested in the changing of ideas and political spheres in 18th century Europe.
Is it possible for strangers to have similarities? Every single person shares a similar experience with another person, but it is not always the same. In the novel The Seamstress, Sara Tuvel, a young Jewish girl who has lived through the holocaust, tries to conquer the struggles in her life. Although I never lived through anything like the holocaust I can relate to her in some ways. Sara and I share similarities in that we were both caretakers and have experienced discrimination, however, Sara is more assertive while I am more introverted.
“the quilts are the central symbol of the story representing the connectedness of history and intergenerational tries of the family” (“everyday use”). This means that the quilts mean heritage and remind the daughters of grand mom dee. The quilts are fought over at the end of the story because of the meaning of them. One daughter wants them for everyday use and one wants them just to have them because it means heritage to her. The mother at the end of the story agrees that they should be used for everyday use.
Family, for most people, is defined as a sort of safe haven for people to go to. For others, families may be fragmented, split, or may have wrong ideals as a whole. Broken families, while they may have a long lasting effect on the spouses, can also have a detrimental, long-lasting effect on the children of these marriages which can lead to certain mental illnesses. For example, in the story of the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Deborah faces the emotional effects of her mother’s death. Other stories such as “A Rose for Emily”, show how Emily 's fathers parenting techniques and a lack of a mother figure burdened her future.
Family Through According to Alice Walker Alice Walker had a lot to say about family in her book, The Color Purple, in this book family had loose conditions and was often inter tangled. Celie’s friends and family were remarkably confusing and complicated at times, because many people were sleeping with people they were not married to and that was married to their friends. However, no family is perfect, so why would this one be, in the end it was all Celie and everybody else really needed.
“ ‘Mama, Wangero said sweet as a bird. Can I have these quilts?’... ‘These are all pieces of dresses Grandma used to wear. She did all this stitching by hand. Imagine!’...
In the essay “What Is This Thing Called Family”, Lee Herrick reflects his life as a Korean adoptee raised by a Caucasian couple in America. He suffered a difficult life when he was a child because of the differences of his physical attributes from his sister and parents. Through the essay, Herrick has a chance to express his ideas about family and what family means to him. Everyone has something called a family but whether the definition of the family of each person is the same or not is debatable. I also have my own idea about family which I think is similar to Herrick’s opinions in the essay.
As she looks at her quilts, Mama remembers that a certain patch came from her grandfather's paisley shirts, that some pieces came from dresses that Grandma Dee wore 50 years earlier, and even that there was a very small piece of her great-grandfather's Civil War uniform. From this, we can all see how and why they mean so much to her. To Dee, the quilts are a quaint "primitive" art. To Mama and Maggie, they represent more than that. They are family memories, very personal and very special mementos of loved ones who are gone.
Having done so, she goes on to highlight the ‘womanist’ culture. Afro-American tradition, for Mama, is symbolized by churn. It is a tradition of bonding, of mutual nurturance. Similarly, the symbol of quilt for Mama is not just a utilitarian item but a living tradition. Alice Walker, in fact, uses the imagery of the quilt to suggest what womanism is all about.
