A Short Story : A Story?

Elizabeth Jolley uses symbolism throughout the short story that demonstrates the family’s low income status in society. The car keys are a symbol of an open high way, shows

Automobiles are such a significant part of our culture today and have been for the past century as a whole. From the big screen to the pages of a book they can play seemingly important roles that cannot be ignored. Often times these vehicles can assume almost human like characteristics which can cause you, the viewer/reader, to develop a relationship with these inanimate objects whether they are the new, beautiful and sleek sports car or the old, ratty and beat-up truck. In Louise Erdrich’s “The Red Convertible” there are many occurrences in which the state of repair that the Olds is in gives you the sense that it closely represents Lyman’s current feelings towards his brother and how these feelings change and evolve throughout the length of the story.

McMahon wrote, “What remained of the family was often a strained, overburdened, over-crowded household that often contained severe domestic troubles of its own” (McMahon 1). The author McMahon wrote about how women were treated back than in Great Depression time and how some live in a domestic household. She felt like it was normal for a household to be held with lots of people as well how some women felt trapped in their home. Her quote proves my statement on how the car was a symbolism towards the women in the novel. Her quote also proves why some of the females especially Pearl felt a sense of trap in her home.

Admiration for individuality, a common theme throughout “The Pink Car”, was constantly mentioned through the words of the Mark Halliday. Furthermore, Halliday personifies the cars in the poem as people; specifically focusing in on the pink car. He repeatedly describes the other cars in a jaundiced way; for example, he would characterize these cars as boisterous, rowdy, and big. However, he identifies the pink car as disparate, one who does not worry or care about other “cars’” perspectives. The author wrote, “Other cars might honk their horns to seem big- // the pink car doesn’t honk and doesn’t worry” (Halliday 25-26). Halliday symbolizes the car as ‘pink’ because society commonly construes the color as feminist, sweet, playful, the color of love, flowers and romance. His intention of this poem was to help one find peace within themselves.

The automobile is a major motif that makes a regular appearance in the story. The automobile has always been a kind of status symbol in the United States. Expensive cars are associated

The surroundings outside the truck are not much more promising than the inside, and their new home is not what Alma had hoped it would be. Henríquez shows this through visual clues as Alma looks at her new apartment. “Pieces of broken Styrofoam in the grass, a chain-link fence along the perimeter of the lot, cracks in the asphalt. I had expected it to be nicer… The way American houses looked in movies” (4). The inside of the apartment reflects the outside, as it is falling apart. Doubt fills Alma’s mind as she tries to sleep that night, and she questions whether they have done the right thing by coming to

She had been stolen in her sleep. In her sleep! It was humiliating, creepy, and panic-inducing all at the same time. Delilah knew about the giants coming to capture geckos every moon or so, and she was always on the lookout for giant attacks at those times, but she couldn't keep watch while she was asleep!

When I got home that afternoon, a dented clunker was parked in the drive. I recognized the green station wagon right away. It belonged to Miss Asher, my best friend Mason’s mom. She used to be a real beauty before Mason’s absentee dad, Owen, got a hold of her. At least, that’s what people said—auburn hair, pink cheeks, a tilt to her chin, tall and angular with a sway that made men stand a little taller.

First it started when she went to the high-end car shop on Hastings Boulevard. They had a deal where for only five-thousand dollars, you could rent any car for a month. Taking advantage of the deal, she decided to rent a Ferrari. It was white with a black top, and comfortable seating. Might as well drive in style for a month, Lauren had thought that at a time. But now, she really wanted to ride in style forever.

This creates the setting for the story, which revolves around the car and their mutual experiences. By introducing the car as a thing with its own history, she introduces is as if it was a person of its own. This show the strong bond the two of them has together and how she views it as more than just an object. This essay is a personal essay, which is seen through the style of writing and personal experiences.

We have to leave and go back to our dangerous lives in a new town." Dean said cockily as he walked out of the school building with you. There, you saw your parents sitting in the car, a red '67 Camaro. It had been decided that this would be your car one day. You weren't surprised that you were right but the other car did surprise you. A black ‘67 or ‘68, you couldn't tell, impala. Dean looked just as shocked as you did. “We leaving Dad?” He bounced back from his shock quickly as he stomped over to the black car. You tried to listen to whatever they were talking about but couldn't as your parents called you

Nia Rae Dayne pulled her green 1971 Ford F-100 into one of the numerous empty parking spots and let the engine idle. Coppery brown eyes lingered intently on the license plate of the junker car parked a few spaces in front of her. That was the one. That damn car had her driving up and down these backwater roads for weeks searching for it, well, not so much the car but its owner. He was a certain type of fellow that Nia liked to get up close and person with, along with her sawed off shotgun. Bertha was the name, not of the guy, the shotgun. She wasn't sure why she gave it that name, or even bothered naming it at all, but she looked like a Bertha. She (Bertha) had been aching to come out and play with this fellow; he had been calling out for a

car is used by the author, to symbolize the poverty of the character’s family and serves as the biggest humiliation for her and her siblings. Their first problem with the car, began when their mother began to drive the beat up car to the shop and around town against all of their objections out of fear of what others will think. At this point they often had to tell their bus driver to stop and give way to their mother since the car had no brakes. This was most humiliating to the narrator because they were exposing the fact that they were so poor, they couldn’t afford a car with brakes. The main character struggles a lot with the fear of what others think of her and her family or how their appearance is perceived. Their mother is seen as most detrimental to how they appear to others. The narrator, is put in a typical, loving daughter role, where she is supposed to be grateful for what she has. The author uses the mother to show that the

Mrs. Sen is overwhelmed by how quickly paced the American culture is. The intersection is the biggest obstacle she has to overcome in order for her to assimilate. Because the car represents independence, Mrs. Sen will be fully adjusted once she learns to merge her car with others. She needs guidance so she can learn how to merge into the American

‘Alright. I have everything I need for my stay up at Aunt Keren’s house for the summer!’ Livna double checked her bag for everything she needed then began to zip it closed. Her mother thought it was a bad idea for her to go so far from home all alone but her father convinced her that Livy needed some space. At fourteen years old, her mother’s proper Jewish upbringing was suffocating her. So, when her long unseen aunt popped up and asked if she wanted to spend the summer break with her, she couldn’t turn it down.