Checkouts By Cynthia Rylant

A key aspect in writing an interesting story is having symbolism. It allows the reader to dive just a little bit deeper into the meaning and core of the work. Birds are a fairly common symbol, serving as representations of freedom, breaking free, and not afraid to be loud or to speak their minds. In Kate Chopin’s novella, “The Awakening,” birds are used to show Edna’s true feelings and desires, to explain the courage required to defy the standards, and to show Edna’s final defeat.

Reading literature allows people to imagine, create, and believe certain things that reality or other written works are not capable of. The same way writers create their literature is the same way readers interpret it. Both readers and writers use imagination to do so. Literature opens a world where every thought/thing is brought to life. In literature, any person, place, or thing could possibly mean more than its’ literal meaning. When writers do so, he or she uses a literacy device called symbolism. Symbolism is when the author uses objects to represent a certain idea, an idea that is beyond its’ actual meaning. In Robert Olen Butler’s “Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot” and “The Paring Knife” by Michael Oppenheimer, the authors

Because of the supposed similarities between humans and birds, birds are a useful tool for authors wishing to symbolize human emotions or thoughts. Mynott offers that birds are often “distinguished partly by the different human emotions they seem to be revealing” (Mynott 282). He references several examples of the use of human-specific traits in the description of birds, such as “kind,” “stern,” and “astonished” (282). It is not such a huge leap from the attribution of such human characteristics, to “anthropomorphic misdescription” (282). The birds in The Ant of the Self are said to be looking “as though they [had] placed bets” on who would lose Spurgeon’s and his father’s confrontation. While Spurgeon is taking a stand against his father by ordering him out of the car and onto the shoulder of the road, the birds’ curious glances are exposing Spurgeon’s own thoughts. The birds, a symbol for Spurgeon, wonder whether he or his father will “go down in flames” (Packer 95). The caged birds, which are so capable of human expressions, are expressing Spurgeon’s thoughts. ZZ Packer endows the birds with a look of human quizzicality, having them glance from the nervous Spurgeon to his angered father. Spurgeon wonders whether he or his father will win, and the birds, as his symbol, express this.

The first sign of symbolism in the story was when the girls first came into the A&P store. Updike wrote, “The one that caught my eye first was the one in the plaid green two-piece. She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit, at the top of the backs of her legs”(Updike pg1). This was the first sign of symbolism used because; this quote gave the audience a visual of the way one of the women who came into the A&P store looked like. A person reading this story would had

A freezing winter breeze prowls into the skin of a pubescent twelve year old, leaving his breath visible to his naked eye. All amidst butterflies maneuver in his stomach. Using few words and variations of figurative languages like the example above from “Oranges” by Gary Soto, authors alike can construct a powerful and vivid image of their novels. When people speak literally, their words lack the imagination that literary devices crate. In turn, readers lose the ability to capture the tone that the writer or the author’s characters are trying to convey. Figurative language is the gateway to an author's mind and allows others to interpret the novelist’s way of thinking. Although everyone thinks differently, figurative language is a “language” that everyone can understand. Utilizing the different symbols in “Oranges”, Gary soto harnesses figurative language to strengthen his poem and expresses the feelings of a young boy in love, as he adventures through his first date.

Blues Ain't no Mockin Bird has many instances of symbolism used throughout the story. Some examples of objects throughout the story with a symbolic meaning are the hammer, the cameras, and the land upon which the narrator and her family lived. In this part of the essay, I am going to discuss the hammer that Granddaddy Cain used to both hammer the first hawk to the toolshed door and to stop the hawk which according to Cathy, had "come to claim his mate." In the beginning of the story, the narrator, Cathy, the neighboring twins, and the narrator's grandmother discovered a group of men with cameras in the meadow. The narrator's grandmother (referred to as Granny) approached the men. Granny did not like cameramen, which is explained in a story

In our world today black people are scorned or looked down upon. In Blues Aint’ No Mockin Bird the family is black and the grandmother is not treated right because she was old. In this case it could also be because she was black. The filmmakers would not listen to her when she said that she wanted them to leave her property. In the end they had to be told off by the grandfather who was a very powerful looking man.

In the novel, The Purse, the author is trying to convey to the reader that a relationship relies on honesty, acceptance, appreciation, communication, trust, and forgiveness. The author tells the reader this by showing the reader that the narrator grew to be a better character as he came to have all of these characteristics with his relationship with his mother.

Literary terms are incredibly vital to short stories. Literary Terms such as symbolism, setting and conflict give the reader a better understanding of the text. In two short stories, “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry and “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury, literary terms are used to develop each of the short stories’ central ideas.

Looking at the girls, he starts comparing them to the “sheep” at the store. The girls stop at the store only to buy Kingfish Fancy Herring Snack in Pure Sour Cream for Queenie’s mother. This is significant difference between them and other customers who are buying pineapple juice, asparagus or applesauce. With his imagination, he visions “her father and the other men were standing around in ice-cream coats and bow ties and the women were in sandals picking up herring snacks on toothpicks”, whereas his family was drinking in “tall glasses with "They'll Do It Every Time" cartoons stencilled on.” The bathing suits they are wearing also symbolize their disregard for social rule in the small town. Under Sammy’s eye, the girls represent freedom and escape from the boring world he’s trying to fit in. Coming from a low income family, Sammy admires the girl’s liberty. He feels like he’s being trapped by his family and his community. He does not want to be like 22-years old Stockie with two kids who will be working at A&P all his life and “thinks he’s going to be a manager some sunny day”. Sammy wishes to be like the girls, different from anyone in his

The bird motif enables Jim to escape psychologically as a coping mechanism due to his affinity with the birds. This is evident through Jim’s ability to manufacture a separate reality by envisioning himself “tak[ing] on the nature of a bird” that “float[s] and see[s] the scene from high above”. This provides an escape from adversity for Jim as Jim is mentally separated from his textual world. Furthermore, the physical presence of the birds at the trench warfare also helps Jim to cope with his discomfort during his displacement in a foreign setting, as Jim is able to mentally transport himself back to his harmonious moments in the estuary through imagination. This enables Jim to stay in a “world of his own” that transcends the harsh reality of the Western Front. Jim cherishes the singing of the birds as it is reminiscent of those familiar sound from home. Therefore, the leitmotif of the birds singing on the Western Front further helps Jim to manufacture a separate reality as a coping mechanism. It helps to distract Jim from the adversity of war and places him in a peaceful moment all to himself. The singing of the birds is evident through the onomatopoeic “thu thu” where they emit with a “soft whistling” that culminates in a quiet “wut”. This presence of the birds provides Jim with “a kind of private reassurance for himself” where

Sammy is clearly bored at his job, I go through the punches, 4, 9, GROC, TOT -- it's more complicated than you think, and after you do it often enough, it begins to make a little song, that you hear words to, in my case “Hello (bing) there, you (gung) hap-py pee-pul (splat)”-the splat being the drawer flying out. His job is boring, not stimulating or exciting just a repetitive routine. As mentioned earlier in the synopsis, Sammy also feels superior to his coworker Stokesie, he wants something better than just what Stokesie has. Stoksie’s character symbolizes one of the possible futures that Sammy can have however, he doesn't want. Lengel symbolizes another future that Sammy could have, Lengel is a manager, Sunday school teacher, and dry not the life that Sammy is envisioning for himself. Quennie represents the third possible future. When Quennie and the other girls enter A&P they cause a distraction. All the customers are going about their routine as sheep, they do not pay attention to anything else other than getting their groceries and leaving. When the customers see the girls instead of going through the motions and shopping they stop and they heard to see the spectacle. Quennie and the girls represent adventure and excitement, different from the other two possible futures. When the girls get to the register and the argument begins with Lengel and the girls, Sammy is at a crossroad. Lengel represents the

In this short story Katherine Brush uses literary devices to not only give the reader an image of the scenario, but also to give them a deeper feel and understanding of the current situation. Brush uses imagery, alliteration, and atmosphere to give her story a deeper meaning. She uses imagery to place an image in the readers mind, to allow them to form the detailed scenario in their heads as they read. For example, Brush writes "...in the form of a small but glossy birthday cake, with one pink candle burning in the center.

Characterization is considered to be an element of literature. Analyzing characterization is the key to finding a fictional story’s theme, and it is made known through direct and indirect characterization. Direct characterization tells the personality or traits of the character, while indirect presents the character by their actions. Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a short story that reveals its theme through characterization and used by exposing the characters values, heritage, and insecurities. The literary sub¬genre of “Everyday Use” is realistic fiction. This story focuses its writing and plot around the values of a rural family. Walker’ story is about two sisters and a mother who live in a rural section of Georgia. The oldest daughter left and pursued a college career and after a while she decides visit her mother. At the end of her visit she intends to leave with some of the family heirlooms two quilts. The mother finds out her daughter only wants the quilts as a pretense of displaying heritage. Alice Walker story exposes the theme of heritage. Throughout the story, Walker uses indirect characterization to describe Dee, and direct characterization to describe Maggie and Mama, in order to reveal the different ways that people embrace their heritage.

To Kill a Mocking Bird follows Scout through her narration of life and witnesses the events that society produces. As Scout's understanding of the prejudice society she lives in grows her innocence is destroyed in the process. In her novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, Harper Lee symbolically uses Mocking Birds to show the destruction of innocence.