Imagery And Symbolism In Monkey Beach By Eden Robinson

confide in the conch and when the conch is held up, it is a sign of

The night is crisp and black as the moon lets off an eerie glow, leaves rustle and fall somewhere in the distance. A silhouette dwarfs the blackberry bush in the corner as one’s footsteps refrain, they move closer; you run. Suspense is a state of tension and anxiety which was used in the sentence above and is common in books and short stories. In the short story “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W Jacobs suspense is created in a variety of ways. Jacobs demonstrates this by using foreshadowing, conflict and surprise endings.

The idea of death can be, and is an enormously disturbing, unknown issue in which many people can have many different opinions. To some individuals, the process of life can progress painstakingly slow, while for others life moves too fast. In the excerpt We Were the Mulvaneys, by Joyce Carol Oates, a innocent farm boy named Judd Mulvaney has an eye-opening encounter by a brook near his driveway. During this encounter, Judd faces a chain of feelings and emotions that lead to his change of opinion of the issues of life and death, and change as a character. This emblematic imagery of life and death, as well as jumpy, and retrospective tones benefit the development of Judd as an innocent child as he begins to change into a more conscious and aware adult.

[Lead in sentence/Hook] “Son of a Trickster,” by Eden Robinson, is the story about the coming of age and rough period of adolescence of a young Aboriginal boy. Through her novel, Robinson is able to convey a message that the Aboriginal people, mainly focusing on the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations, are dark and grating societies of Canada. In order for her readers to understand her perspective of the society, she first demonstrates the selfishness of the societies with the symbolism of raven along with its traits and attributes. Secondly, she uses supernaturalism which shows the mysterious and deceiving society of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations. Lastly, the connection of Jared’s relationships with his peers reveal the negative influences, trends, and issues within the Aboriginal societies. Overall, all these factors contribute the darkness of both reality and the story.

When You look at an animal, you can sometimes see a person in them. It’s like when a dog starts to look like his owner, or when an animal represents a symbol, like with the Bald Eagle and Freedom. Well in Gary D. Schmidt’s book, Okay for Now, he uses animals, like birds, in John Audubon's book to represent different characters in the book like Doug, his mom, and his dad.

Oftentimes authors will use symbolism through the characters in order to represent a larger encompassing theme. William Golding’s book Lord of the Flies is no exception to this pattern—as various characters in the book have such allegorical meanings. In the case of Jack, he could be said to represent the evilness in humanity, proven by three established concepts in the story: the true nature of his hunting tendencies, the progression of events that happen in his dancing rituals, and his interactions towards other symbolic figures. These three reasons, furthered by evidence shown throughout the novel, fit Jack into a role of symbolic evilness (add something here).

Abuse can have a large psychological effect on an individual. Both Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson and The Death of Jayson Porter by Jaime Adoff demonstrate that abuse leads to mental instability within the characters. This is evident through the literary criticism of the psychological lens shown in the behaviour of the characters in relation to many of Freud’s theories. Some of these theories included the Oedipus complex, the interpretation of dreams and the unconscious mind (Britannica Encyclopedia, 2014). Both authors demonstrate this through three types of abuse; substance abuse, verbal abuse and neglect.

Death is inescapable. In the same way, life is inescapable. The Appalachian short story, “Jake Pond”, portrays this inevitable cycle through the depiction of a young boy enjoying nature. Lou Crabtree writes of the many inner workings of life through symbolism. While some would say this story is a literal telling of a boy and his surroundings, it does, in fact, include a plethora of metaphors to display the complexities of life through figurative language (Crabtree). In Lou Crabtree’s “Jake Pond” symbols such as the young boy, black snakes, pond, hollytree, and other natural entities portray themes of life and death, while detailing multiple aspects of change.

journey. Two of the inner forces that hinder Jay Berry is his fear of the

The conflict of the Haisla people's spirituality and modern "white washing" of their culture has a major influence on Eden Robinson's novel Monkey Beach. The protagonist Lisa struggles to understand her spirituality and her family often dismisses any hint of spirituality. Lisa finds herself connected to nature but is does not fully understand why, leaving her to contemplate there meaning or existence by herself. Robinson’s use of allusion and imagery illuminate many key themes and implicit meanings throughout the passage.

Probably one of the most important uses of animal imagery in the book comes early on, when McMurphy describes the group sessions as a “pecking party”. McMurphy explains a pecking party to Acutes as:

Lisa hears crows telling her la'es, which means go to the bottom of the ocean. Lisa, Jimmy sister received a call from the coast guard saying that Lisa brother, Jimmy is lost at sea Everyone is anxious about Jimmy's disappearance. Glady's and Albert, Lisa parents flight to Namu to help find Jimmy. They believe this is where Jimmy disappeared, while Lisa stayed home with her aunt Edith. Lisa experiences flashbacks of their childhoods, which intertwined with the present life and how the memories lead to her life now. Lisa dreams of his brother being on Monkey beach. Firstly, Lisa remembers of their father telling them stories about Sasquatch when they were children's. They went on Monkey beach, where Jimmy wanted to take a photo of the Sasquatch because he wanted to win a reward for a photo of Sasquatch. Lisa sees a sasquatch, but does not tell Jimmy.

Virginia Woolf’s “Death of a Moth” may, at first glance, seem lackluster; however, her creative and impactful message is brilliantly hidden within symbolism that demands an abstract perspective. She uses imagery to describe a moth and personify its actions in order to present it as a symbol for life. Additionally, pathos throughout her work evokes emotions and prompts the analytical thinking needed to understand her underlying meaning. Thus, Woolf’s analysis about life is composed using symbolism, imagery, and pathos that combine to create a contemplative style and motivational purpose.

The story begins on a rainy evening with Mrs. White, Mr. White, and their son Herbert gathered in the parlor. Mrs. White is sitting in her chair knitting as she looks on as her husband is losing to Herbert in a game of chess. From the inside, Mr. White can hear the footsteps of someone walking along their walkway and onto their porch. Mr. White immediately gets up to answer the door and is happy to see his longtime friend Sergeant-major Morris. Mr. White introduces Sergeant-major Morris to his wife and son and invites him into the parlor where they could have drinks. After a couple of drinks, Sergeant-major Morris begins entertaining the family about his adventures in India, when Mr. White

The Flying Circus, by Susan Crandall, is set in the early 1920’s. The story follows Henry Schuler, a boy on the run, who meets Gil and Cora, two other people with rough pasts. Together, the three of them, along with an old plane and cute dog named Mercury, form Mercury’s Daredevils. This flying circus act brings the trio all across the country, but each of the characters have a secret that could destroy the makeshift family they’ve become. Throughout the novel, you see the three of them torn apart and brought together as they deal with conflicts ranging from plane safety and love triangles, to kidnapping and murder. My favorite passage in the book is, “Disaster lived by its own rules. Most times it crept up from behind, wiping out everything