Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The veldt examples of literary devices
Essay on symbolism
The function of symbolism
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Story Told in Reverse Why do people like to remember all their childhood memories, or is because your dreaming. The First Part Last is a novel written by Angela Johnson. Bobby is a 16 year old by, and the main character, Bobby and his girlfriend, Nia. They have found out that Nia is pregnant, and oh boy… do they have lots to learn. All these symbols have come to make me believe that Bobby has come of age.
One of the recurring themes of Anne Fadiman’s novel The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the cultural unawareness that is present, not only the American perspective, but the Hmong perspective as well. This is evident in the recountment of a Hmong American that returns to visit Ban Vinai, a refugee camp in Thailand, after establishing herself in the United States. Most of the book is written with a focus on the Western doctors lacking understanding of Hmong language, customs and culture which in turn made it difficult for them to treat patients such as Lia. They struggled to explain procedures, while practical to them, appeared harmful and life-threating to the Hmong.
The way that history is understood can change with a shift of perspective. The settler mentality in Canada has had an impact on the history of Indigenous people. According to Jennifer Hardwick's article Dismantling Narratives: Settler Ignorance, Indigenous Literature, and the Development of a Decolonizing Discourse, settler ignorance has an impact on the historical education of high school students in Ontario, and Canadians must unlearn what they already believe they know about Indigenous history to properly understand it. In her review of how students in Ontario are taught about Indigenous history, Hardwick demonstrates the flaws in the current system. In addition, Hardwick looks at the kinds of Indigenous literature that some students might
Mastery Assignment 2: Literary Analysis Essay Lee Maracle’s “Charlie” goes through multiple shifts in mood over the course of the story. These mood are ones of hope and excitement as Charlie and his classmates escape the residential school to fear of the unknown and melancholy as Charlie sets off alone for home ending with despair and insidiousness when Charlie finally succumbs to the elements . Lee highlights these shifts in mood with the use of imagery and symbolism in her descriptions of nature.
Did you know that only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported? Melinda was one of the 690 people that didn’t report her sexual assault. Speak was about this girl named Melinda and she had something happen to her right before school started and she didn’t tell anyone. Then as the school year progressed she wasn’t making any friends and even the only friend she had unfriended her. THen at the end she finally told someone.
In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda Sordino struggles through high school, all while dealing with the aftermath of a rape. Throughout the story, she creates artwork of trees for art class. These trees symbolize Melinda's growth throughout the novel as she deals with being raped, depression, anxiety, drama, her parents, her grades, and her rapist continuously teasing and tormenting her. On Page 12 of Speak, Melinda is in art class and is told to choose a slip from a broken globe.
This is just one instance of the symbol of a butterfly throughout The Things They Carried. In this case, the butterfly symbolizes the start of a new life; for the Vietnamese soldier, it is a life without the war, and for Tim, it is a new life where he has killed someone. This proves the book’s excellency because the symbols make the reader think deeper about the book and its symbols, so the book cannot just be read at surface level. Next, O’Brien uses graphic imagery in many parts of the novel, but in “The Man I Killed,” he used it obtain a visual response from the reader. For example, O’Brien writes about how the man’s, “skin at his left cheek was peeled back in three ragged strips...
Debra Thompson explores a wide range of significant themes, including racism, in her memoir. This journal entry will provide a brief analysis of this theme. The injustices Debra experienced in both Canada and the United States motivated her to take on this problem. By organizing the history of her family as African American slave refugees who used the Underground Railroad to flee the United States and find safety in Southeastern Ontario, Debra Thompson addresses racism in her memoir. Racist allegations against the United States are frequent.
The novel Indian Horse, by Richard Wagamese, depicts the societal injustices done to the Native Americans in the 1960s. The protagonist, Saul, endures an arduous journey that extends throughout his life. At the beginning of his life, he lived with his native family, only to get ripped away from them by an atrocious residential school. The horrid residential school, St. Jeromes, inflicted detrimental damage upon Saul, physically and emotionally. Saul was able to escape the confines of the school through hockey.
There are many objects or scenes that have immense symbolism in The Things They Carried. The Things They Carried is a novel written by Tim O’Brien. The book is essentially stories through the different perspectives of people he went to the Vietnam War with, including himself. The title of the book in itself represents the basis of the story.
Yichen Guo Ms. Carroll Lit of the South April. 12 , 2017 Symbolism in Flannery O'Connor's stories Flannery O’Connor is one of the greatest southern female writer, and her use of literary techniques is masterful. Most significantly, the uses of symbolism such as sky, name, and Christianity in Flannery O'connor's stories give more depth and meaning to those stories, as it links the themes and develops the plot of the stories. The sunset and the sky have important symbolisms in Flannery O'connor's stories; mostly they not only indicate the emotional stages of the characters, but also signify the start of character's epiphany.
In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the protagonist, Melinda, is assigned to create a tree a million different ways all year. In doing so she finds ways to convey her emotions through her drawings. There are many different types of trees in the world. A tree that shows symbolism and draws emotion out of me would have to be a weeping willow tree. The weeping willow tree is elegant, girly, but has a tragically beautiful side to it.
The Things They Carried “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a short story set during the Vietnam War. In the story, O’Brien lists many different items soldiers in the Alpha Company carried with them as they humped across the rugged terrain. Many carried necessities such as rations, matches, ammunition and things of that nature; however, many soldiers also carried quite peculiar objects such as condoms, pantyhose, and M&Ms. Readers can grasp a closer insight of the characters’ lives after further examination of the symbolism and meaning of the things they carried.
Although the heart is used with its concrete meaning as symbols in the short story, they are interpreted by more abstract meanings. For instance, the story begins with the use of the heart as a symbol by the character, Mel McGinnis who is a cardiologist - a heart doctor; thus, it gives him the right to speak first. He talks more than other characters in the short story yet; he cannot come up with a clear definition of love.
Art is way of expression. People can use actions and art or express themselves in ways other than speaking. In the book Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, symbolism holds a big significance. The trees mentioned throughout the book symbolize Melinda’s changing “seasons” (her “growing” as a person). People, like trees, go through phases, they freeze in the winter, becoming nothing but lonely limbs without leaves covered with white slush.