Draft 1 for essay
(Somewhat effective but could use improvement)In life fire represents so many different physiological elements as well as multiple physical things. Its an element that has both positive and negative traits : traits that have been vital for human survival throughout time. Physically, fire can destroy, destabilize and provides an essential resource for humans. Physiologically fire can provide protection, hope, and direction. (thesis) In Jean Rhys’s novel Wide Sargasso Sea fire is the symbol used to represent the motif of trauma. This motif of trauma connects to Rhys’ theme that unless people who suffer trauma eventually learn to cope with it, it will build psychologically and will eventually be released
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Throughout Rhys’ novel Antoinette uses the word fire consistently and perpetually but unknowingly. Antoinette doesn't understand the significance of this word. For example : “Underneath, I will write my name in fire red, Antoinette Mason.”(34) and “We watched the sky and the distant sea on fire - all colours were in that fire and the huge clouds fringed and shot with flame “ (65) In general conversation Antoinette uses it regularly which provides many instance for the reader to become aware of the reality of the situation.
As in the beginning of the novel the novel ends with the burning of Rochester's house in England. The initial instance that fire became significant was when the house in Coulibri burned down. Fire sparked an subconscious trauma within Antoinette. This trauma is harnessed within her until she sets fire to Rochester's house in England. “But I looked at the dress on the floor and it was as if the fire had spread across the room. It was beautiful and it reminded me of something I must do. “(149) The last few pages of the novel serve as summary to expose all of her subconscious trauma that she suffered throughout her life. She expresses acknowledgement of the trauma build up inside of her. All of the buit up trauma within her leeds up to the climax, setting fire to Rochester's home.
Throughout the novel fire has developed as a significant symbolic element. Antoinette
Dad also thought I should face down my enemy, and he showed me how to pass my finger through a candle flame.” (15) Even after Jeannette severely burned herself with fire, it didn't stop her from being around it. In fact, she became ‘fascinated’ with it. Both, attacking with full force and not being scared of fire, shaped her a woman because it taught her not to be afraid of anything and to face her fears, even in the worst
Fire represents a lot of the things in this novel. A woman name Mrs. Schachter was howling, pointing through the window. “Look! Look at this fire! This terrible fire! Have mercy on me!” (pg 25) Elie said him and the other saw a real fire this time. “This time we saw flames rising from a tall chimney into a black sky.” (pg. 28) Elie said they stared at the flames, “We stared at the flames in the darknes, A wretched stench floated in the air.” (pg. 28) And in front of them the the flaming smoke was the smell of burning flesh.
In the inspiring memoir “The Glass Castle” Jeannette uses the element of fire to discover and comprehend the disfunction of her family and the harm that is caused do to it. Allowing her, to use fire to understand that she does not have to continue hurting herself even if that is what her heart and society tells her to do. Throughout the memoir the symbol is developed through her episodic stories and ties in with the overwhelming theme in the book which Jeannette must admit is true.
Lastly, fire representation has many positive qualities because of the symbolic meaning of the phoenix. The phoenix symbolizes rebirth after destruction by fire. The phoenix represented fire in a good way because it gave people the hope that since the society was burning books it would end in fire and go back to people reading
In addition to mirroring life, the Sea of Flames sets the stage for Doerr’s most pervasive yet inconspicuous analogy. When asked what he wants readers to take away from his novel, Doerr replies “that war is more complicated than they [the readers] might have thought, that there were civilians on both sides making really complicated moral decisions, [...] [that] little miracles” sprouted in the least expected of places (Schulman 27). The Sea of Flames is a central messenger for this theme at individual points of the novel but also in its overarching structure. The reader is first introduced to the Sea of Flames when it is housed at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, marked only by “an iron door with a single keyhole,” a series ending with a “thirteenth [...] no bigger than a shoe.” (Doerr 19-20). All the Light We Cannot See is partitioned into fourteen fragments- but it is labeled zero through thirteen. Just as passing through each door brings one closer to the gem, Doerr seeks to guide his reader through the locked gates of compassion and conflict to arrive at his own gem, which is revealed after passing through the thirteenth gate, into the last chapter of the novel, as Marie-Laure contemplates all the invisible electromagnetic waves, “ten thousand I miss yous, fifty thousand I love yous” passing “over the scarred and ever-shifting landscapes.” Transient messages connecting ephemeral people who eventually fall away, like the Sea of Flames, and “rise again
Fire is a symbol of emotion in the novel and is involved in deep moments of love and hate. There were various examples of ‘fire’ that develop love and hate in the story. The two most important ‘fires’ in the novel are literal and both committed by Bertha Mason. The first act of arson occurs in Volume 1, Chapter 15 when Bertha sets Rochester’s clothes on fire. “Something creaked: it was a door ajar, and that door was Mr. Rochester’s, and the smoke rushed in a cloud from thence” (148). Out of love, Jane doused her crush in
In some cases, it is a symbol used in some cases for rebirth or new life. Jane is often compared to fire while Antoinette is intrigued by fire. Jane is referred to as “a ridge of lighted health, alive, glancing, devouring” (Wide Sargasso Sea, Chapter 4). Also, in Wide Sargasso Sea, Rochester loves the immense fireflies as he also loves the candles that Antoinette repeatedly puts out around the house. This theme of fire is obvious in two particular cases. One of these cases is when Coulibri is burned and Anette falls into insanity, and the other being when Bertha burns Thornfield down, ultimately killing herself and seriously injuring Rochester (Symbolism in Wide Sargasso Sea). In addition, Rochester, in Wide Sargasso Sea, describes the West Indies as “fiery”. This shows his dislike of the land he is not familiar with until it increases and reaches the point when he decides to shoot himself. This scene relates to the scene in Jane Eyre when Jane hears Rochester’s voice as she walks through the woods. Fire relates Jane and Antoinette in different ways. Fire additionally describes Jane’s love for Rochester, while on the other hand; it describes Antoinette’s pain and fear, whereas it also links Jane and Bertha. The fire that Jane possesses is her love for Rochester as she describes it as “fiery iron grasped my vitals,” and Bertha’s literal setting of the fire that kills her. This is symbolic of the new
In Vergil’s The Aeneid, imagery and description of fire is used heavily throughout each book. It is sometimes seen in moments of love and creation, but is most frequently seen at times of destruction and rage. The common thread of each appearance is that fire is the catalyst that prompts the characters to make a decision or to further an action when otherwise there likely would be no change.
It echoes development of pre-historical civilization or Prometheus in Greek mythology. Hereof the using of fire symbolizes the domination over the world more than the method of survival. Aftermath, the monster is ready to march to the next period of self-education, studying language.
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys shows the delicate balance between madness and sanity. Throughout both novels there is a lot of unusual behavior to say the least from Antoinette. There are many factors that can have a detrimental effect on one’s mental stability which is shown blatantly through the relationship between Antoinette and Bertha. This shows the relationship and balance between inherited factors and environmental influences such as other people and events that are happening around the person.
Fire is a symbol that cannot be described in one word. Fire represents destruction, death, hostility, unpredictability, and the potential for limitless violence. Fire, however, also has a good side to it. Fire can be health, hospitality, control, food, shelter, light, and strength. With these characteristics in mind, fire has a number of different connotations. Many of these connotations can be found in one book. Fire, in William Golding’s book, Lord of the Flies, is a complex symbol, representing anarchy and the darkness inside of us, civilization and the light in all of us, and hope, the constant motivator for our survival.
In Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, fire is a recurring idea. Bradbury used the main character, Guy Montag, to present the fire motif throughout the story. Montag, a fireman, had doubts about his career and society. He sought answers and enlightenment to cure his curiosity about the truth in books. He did not have faith in his society, nor did he understand why intellect was so terrible. In his search Montag realized that fire (and books) were not so evil after all. Montag began to see fire in a different light. Therefore, fire, in Fahrenheit 451, represented rejuvenation through cleansing and renewal.
The Hearth and The Salamander, the title of the first chapter, is another symbol. The hearth which provides warmth and comfort and the salamander which is believed to live in fire and not get burned contradict each other. One symbol shows the bad side of fire and the other shows the good side. The salamander was also a symbol on his firefighters badge: He stood in the hall of his house putting on his badge with the orange salamander burning across it. (19) It was also on the fire trucks he used to make the fires, They sat there looking out the front of the great Salamander as they turned a corner and went silently on. (40) Both of these sentences show that the fireman are proud of what the salamander represents, whether it means the same thing or something different, it was important to them.
In discussing fire imagery in the Aeneid I will attempt in the course of this paper to bring in an analytic device to aid in assembling the wide array of symbols into a more uniform set of meaning. Consistently throughout the Aeneid, fire serves to provoke the characters to action. Action which otherwise it is not clear they would enter upon. Fire clears the way for the juggernaut plot to advance. Juno, first of all, described as burning - pondering (with her hatred of the Dardans) goes to Aeolus with the idea of sending the winds to create an under-handed storm to destroy the Trojans, at the sight of their fleeing ships and successful escape from the Greeks (I.75)1. Fire from the Greeks burns down
When the fire is maintained, the boys want to be rescued. However, when the fire burns low or goes out it symbolizes how the boys have lost sight of their desire to be saved, and how they have accepted savagery into their lives. The signal fire also symbolizes the measurement of the strength of the civilized instinct and hope remaining on the island.