Essay on Elevating the Power of a Novel through Symbolic Objects

Ellen Hunnicutt once said “. . . figurative language adds pizzazz. It raise work above the plain, the dull, the ordinary.” This quote explains how using figurative language helps create a more interesting and useful way of expressing a tone of a character or event.Figurative language is a uses of words, phrases, and sentences to help to make the characters and story line come more to live in the reader’s mind. Some examples of Figurative languages are similes, metaphors, hyperbole, personification, onomatopoeia, and many more. Figurative language help the reader see tone and mood in each of the example of figurative language because the reader can see or image the event or character in their mind. In a story, poem, or any form of writing, figurative language is extremely important to a reader because if a sentence didn’t have figurative language the reader may not find the story or poem interesting or even find it confusing and difficult to understand.In addition the use of figurative language is crucial when an author is writing. In the stories “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter Dean Myers and The Pigman, By Paul Zindel, the authors used Figurative language to develop the tone of their stories so that that the reader can visualize it in their mind.

Butler tells readers, “But I got my giant cage and I guess I’m happy enough about that” (218). The parrot is content with his new home, however the parrot’s new home is significant to the parrot’s current situation. Butler chooses the cage as a symbol of imprisonment, just like the husband and the wife’s marriage. In their marriage, the man would lock himself into the bathroom, whenever he almost said something about his wife’s actions. The man locking himself into the bathroom is the same way the parrot is trapped inside the cage. When the parrot wanted to talk to the wife about what he seen in her home, he was not able to. The cage parallels with the human and the parrot’s life. Both lives are represented by this cage because the parrot and the human have no way out, except for death. Death was the only gateway for both situations as a human and as a parrot.

Many pieces of literature have comparable characteristics, including the use of literary elements to portray deeper meaning. “The Story of an Hour” and The One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest are great pieces of literature which keep their main focus around the use of symbolism, hidden in the plot. Whereas Mrs. Mallard, from “The Story of an Hour”, appears to be insane due to her husband, characters from The One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest gains their insanity from Nurse Ratched, both authors incorporate symbolism in order to display themes and reveal character traits

Throughout the novel, the bird is continually used to connect Edna’s status. In the beginning the caged bird shows that Edna is trapped by the cage of society. She eventually moves out of Mr. Pontellier’s house, yet moves into the pigeon house. She is still trapped under the grasp of society.

How many times in your life have you found something so simple, yet it symbolizes something so important in your life? An object that means nothing to somebody could mean the world to you. Such as how a picture could mean nothing, but hold a thousand words. Different words for every person, because it is seen more complex and unique through each eye that looks. Symbolism holds a story, like the ball or balloon in this novel, as a reader we see "just a balloon" but to Bobby that is his child.

What phenomenon has the ability to transform a meager string of text into a lively, immersive adventure? The answer is literary devices. Literary devices such as foreshadowing and imagery can be an author’s most powerful tool when it comes to formulating an effective conflict or theme in a story. This is made evident by Sinclair Ross’ ability to effectively utilize the literary devices at his disposal to develop a powerful, efficient short story in “The Lamp at Noon”. In the story, imagery, dialogue, and the omniscient point of view from which the story is perceived are formidable examples of how literary devices provide a significant role in shaping the plot, conflict and themes for the reader to experience.

Throughout the story, symbolism is used to connect readers to real life house that represents perfection and slavery, showing how important it is to pitch in around the house. The lions and children are some examples. These symbolize fear and intimidation along with ruling and ownership. Imagination is so powerful and these symbols exercise this theory. The nursery in the short story shows an endless array of imagination and dreams. Symbolism is an author's craft

“The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, and “A Rose for Emily” are among some of the most famous short stories. Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner use vivid imagery and great detail to lure you into their stories. The greatest component of their stories are their characters and strong usage of symbolism. Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. O’Connor’s Mr. Shiflet and misfit and Faulkner’s Miss Emily Grierson are used to symbolize emotions and circumstances due to choices that happen in everyday life.

Sue Monk Kidd’s three key literary devices go as follows: hyperbole, indirect characterization, and symbolism. Through her stellar integration of these devices, the reader is more interested in her reading, making for a more successful time in persuading them to agree with her theme. In her novel, The Secret Life of Bees, her desire to integrate these devices becomes transparent.

Madame Lebrun’s caged parrot is a symbol of the caged feeling that Edna and women of her time experience.

Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and Alice Munro’s “Boys and Girls” both use symbols to highlight significant meanings in the characters’ lives. This essay will examine two differences and one similarity in the authors’ use of symbols:

During Mrs. Wright's young days, "she was kind of like a bird herself--real sweet, and pretty, but kind of timid and--fluttery." (450) However, her marriage had changed her. She soon became more like the dead canary: lived without a purpose, (no kids) life continuously sucked out of her, (no freedom) and no longer felt beautiful or the need to sing (no happiness). In addition, the bird cage was a symbol of Mrs. Wright being trapped away.

Sylvia Plath’s novel, “The Bell Jar”, tells a story of a young woman’s descent into mental illness. Esther Greenwood, a 19 year old girl, struggles to find meaning within her life as she sees a distorted version of the world. In Plath’s novel, different elements and themes of symbolism are used to explain the mental downfall of the book’s main character and narrator such as cutting her off from others, forcing her to delve further into her own mind, and casting an air of negativity around her. Plath uses images of rotting fig trees and veils of mist to convey the desperation she feels when confronted with issues of her future. Esther Greenwood feels that she is trapped under a bell jar, which distorts her view of the world around her.

Sylvia Plath uses many literary devices to convey her purpose in The Bell Jar such as symbolism. The Bell Jar itself is used as symbolic representation of the emotional state Esther is in. The glass jar distorts her image of the world as she feels trapped under the glass. It represents mental illness; a confining jar that descends over her mind and doesn’t allow her to live and think freely. Symbols of life and death pervade The Bell Jar. Esther experiences psychological distress which is a major motif in the novel. The death of Esther’s father and the relationship with her mother is a possible reason for her illness. Sylvia Plath expresses the difficulties Esther faces and parallels her struggle with depression and illustrates it using various symbols such as a fig tree, mirrors, beating heart and a bell jar throughout the novel.

Throughout the novel, the narrator is referred to as Fred but in reality, he is a nameless entity that embodies a sense of being an "outsider" in all ways. The novel itself seems to be about a girl who is constantly trying to escape the circumstances. The fact that the narrator doesn't have a name embodies, quite similarly, the same ideal as Holly's Cat this omission of a name creates an aura of alienation from the society and his life because he "doesn't belong." The narrator and Holly are quite opposite in all their views. The Narrator seems quite content where he is at the moment; while the narrator, or Fred, is quite happy Holly is constantly trying to be free thus she gives him the Birdcage and asks that he doesn't confine any living thing