Eyes in Steinbeck’s The Snake Essay

The Eye of the Sheep, written by Sophie Laguna is a strong example of how memorable texts can both disturb the reader as well as instil hope. The novel follows the story of the narrator Jimmy Flick, a young, unusual boy and his family. Laguna’s writing style and use of language throughout the text enables the reader to feel the pain and distress in Jimmy’s family without ever losing hope that things will work out. One of the ways in which she does this is through the use of Jimmy’s voice, as it allows the reader to feel the positive energy bubbling inside of Jimmy, while still witnessing the problems that Jimmy’s family have to deal with, such as his father’s drinking habits. Another way is the manner in which the characters are constructed. All the members of Jimmy’s family have multiple facets to them. They are all complex characters that have both light and darkness within them. Through these cleverly constructed characters, Laguna how even good people can do disturbing things. While reading the Eye of the Sheep, there have been multiple different perspectives that have enriched my own interpretation of this text, that again show different facets to the story.

Eyes are the gateway to the soul, or so the old saying goes. People’s eyes can convey their feelings - their anger, excitement, or worry. Eyes can also convey subconscious emotions, revealing hidden depths that might not otherwise be apparent. In The Great Gatsby we are introduced to many characters whose eyes effectively reveal their personalities. The author explores the symbolism of eyes as Nick, the narrator, observes the lives and interactions of his friends on Long Island. One of his acquaintances, Daisy, is a flighty girl, married to a retired football player. Her husband, Tom Buchanan, embodies the classic tough-white-male

In the morosely reluctant passage, “The Rattler,” the author depicts a conflict between a man’s consciousness and his duty to kill the snake. With the detailed images of the scene, the reader comes to understand the man’s internal conflict. He must decide whether or not it is necessary to kill an innocent rattlesnake; however, when the obligation to protect others is greater than the life of the snake, the man has no other choice but to kill the snake. Throughout the passage, “The Rattler” brilliantly utilizes diction, detail, syntax and overall organization to convey his message.

When in times of danger, people must often take the actions they see best fit. In "The Rattler," the author depicts a vivid story of a man who has to make a difficult choice while facing a rattlesnake in the desert. Despite the man seeing a threat in the snake, it is him that becomes a threat to the other. By using the descriptions of the man, the snake and the specific setting, the author affects the reader by creating a sense of empathy for the narrator and sympathy for the snake. With such a connection, it adds a greater depth to the story for the reader to analyze.

Elie Wiesel used eyes as a motif in his narrative, Night, as windows to characters’ inner souls. He used eyes to assist the theme of surviving at all costs throughout the story by giving the audience an insight of people’s true emotions and status. Without eyes, we would have been blind to see past characters’ outer layers of fake emotion. There is more than the eye can see. One has to look deep into another’s eyes to see the true light or darkness within them.

The author’s diction heightens the intensity and power the snake brings as it also aids in describing the inner thoughts of the protagonist. When the main character saw that the snake was “waiting for him”, he “stopped short” and the snake continued to “[hold] his ground”. The snake created anticipation as he completed these actions, therefore causing the man to feel curious and uneasy. Like a “live wire” the snake “drew his head back,” preparing to strike, this action seemed effortless and almost as if it was a “mechanical reflex”. The reptile is seen as being extremely lethal due to its quick and natural reflexes. Snakes similar to this one are born with the same instinct as their hominid adversaries; to survive. The diction in “The Rattler” effects the tone that is understood by the audience. Detail is another key factor when trying to convey the deeper meaning within the narrative.

As the initial path of conflict between snake and man is developed, literary devices such as imagery allow the reader to more easily visualize and connect to the story. Descriptive imagery is the first literary device used in “The Rattler”. The use of “ Light was thinning; the scrub’s dry savory odors were sweet on the cooler air. In this, the first pleasant moment for a walk after long blazing hours” (The Rattler 1) in the opening of the piece encourages the reader to delve into the narrator’s life and experience what he feels. After the narrator abruptly sees the snake, the imagery changes from the peaceful rural life to a dark, intense description of the snake, “a six-foot black snake thick as my wrist, capable of long-range attack and armed with powerful fangs” (The Rattler 2), changing to the viewpoint of the snake for the reader. The switch in the use of imagery takes the reader through a completely different path and alters their emotional response to the story. The snake’s presence illustrates the narrator’s obvious fear and anxiety while allowing the reader to feel the same emotions

The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, symbolic of a higher power, loom over the Valley of Ashes, ever-present and watchful, passing judgment on not only the immorality of individual characters, but also on the East as a whole. When Nick first notices the painted eyes, he comments, “above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T.J.

From the pessimistic introduction, it foreshadows a later downfall. Starting from the first encounter, Nick has an indescribable feeling derived from the cogent stare. For example, as Nick and Tom slowly “walked back a hundred yards along the road under Doctor Eckleburg 's persistent stare” (Fitzgerald 24), Nick feels uneasy about the inanimate billboard even though no one is staring at them. The location of the eyes, on the road half way between West Egg and New York, symbolizes the different paths of life. When one arrives at the turning point, they have their power to choose their path, but God will watch you as you make those decisions. Nick, for instance, faces the decision of whether to inform Daisy about Tom’s not so secretive affair or dissimulate the unfaithful relationship after the visit to Tom and Myrtle 's secret apartment.

O’Brien uses a recurring metaphor of snakes devouring each other until one plus one equals zero. This element of figurative language is indicative of the main character’s overall vision of love and warped reality throughout the story. This metaphor is mysterious in its meaning and in the few instances the author refers to this comment by John Wade. Yet, this specific metaphor recurs consistently and further serves as an indicator or clue of the main point of the novel that love is devouring according to his main character.

These eyes, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, represent many things to the characters in this novel. He represents, hope, despair, and God, all while staring

Animal motifs add significance to the narrative when Mildred, the wife of Montag, is treated with a snakelike mechanism. Bradbury’s intent to use an animal metaphor is to enlighten the reader about how wildlife is misrepresented during the work of literature. Within the world of destruction he created, Bradbury explains the lack of construction; therefore, the natural order is distorted. Over the course of the writing, creatures portray the corrupt environment; for instance, Montag describes, “They had this machine. They had two machines, really. One of them slid into your stomach like a black cobra down an echoing well looking for all the old water and the old time gathered there. It drank up the green matter that flowed to the top in a slow boil” (Bradbury 12). As Mildred lays unconscious in her bed the operator uses a snakelike pump machine to drain and replace Mildred’s blood; evidently, the symbol of animals is used to connect the meaning of altered

In Mary Oliver’s poem “The Black Snake,” the narrator contemplates the cycle of life with the unpredictability of death. Mary Oliver’s work is “known for its natural themes and a continual affirmation of nature as a place of mystery and spirituality that holds the power to teach humans how to value one’s life and one’s place” (Riley). In the poem, The Black Snake, the narrator witnesses a black snake hit by a truck and killed on a road one morning. Feeling sympathy for the snake, the narrator stops, and removes the dead snake from the road. Noting the snake’s beauty, the narrator carries it from the road to some nearby bushes. Continuing to drive, the narrator reflects on how the abruptness of death ultimately revealed how the

Among the ash heaps, the dark bridge, and the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg, there is no greater sense of religion. In this purgatory of New York, however, where sins bite and consciences nag, "the giant eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg [keep] their vigil" (131). He watches, as God does, as the worlds of George Wilson and Myrtle, Gatsby, Daisy and Tom collide and dissolve, leaving the tangled mess that had arisen shattered and dead among the debris of his universe.

Another major symbol in this novel is the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. These are a pair of spectacles painted on an old billboard in the Valley of Ashes. The significant aspect is that this symbol only has meaning when other characters instill it with meaning. The eyes represent a higher power looking over the