In the short story "The Birthday Party", author Katherine Brush conveys the idea of negligence towards small details. Through utilizing imagery, symbols and foreshadowing a turn of events, Brush successfully reaches the audience.
Brush utilizes the hat as a symbol. At the beginning, Brush depicts the wife as “fadingly pretty, in a big hat”, however at the end of the story the author mentions that she is hopeless and hiding under her best hat. The hat is a symbol for dissatisfaction and a possible transition in her life.
Throughout the short story, Brush foreshadows a turn of events. Brush says, "There was nothing particularly conspicuous about them, nothing particularly noticeable... the husband's birthday, and the wife had planned a little
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is about six of the worst children in the history of the world, they include Gladys, Claude, Imogene, Leroy, Ollie and Ralph Herdman. Mainly, because they lie; steal, smoke cigars, talk dirty, hit little kids, cuss at teachers, and take the name of the Lord in vain. A small town is turned upside down when the Herdman decide they want to take part in the annual Christmas pageant. According, to Charlie Bradley the best thing about Sunday school is that there are no Herdman there.
First, because Holden’s hat is so unique looking, he uses it as a way to set himself apart from all the fake people in the world. Holden looks down upon people who conform to society’s expectations, so he wears his silly looking hat to make himself feel special. Second, Holden’s hat represents his desire to emulate his late brother Allie. Holden idolizes Allie because “he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest” (43). Because Allie is dead, he would not be able to disappoint Holden or show himself to be a phony. Holden’s hat is childish which connects to Allie, because Allie dies of leukemia when he was young. The hat also physically represents Allie because Allie was a red-head and the hunting hat is read. Holden’s red hunting hat is used by Salinger to represent Holden’s desire to be different and his desire to connect with his. late brother,
Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, the author of Random Family, depicts a diverse perspective of unpleasant life experiences people suffer from within ghetto communities. Although Random Family was not my choice to read, I am privileged to have read this remarkable book as it conveys distinctive similarities that accurately represent the male populace who live in underprivileged urban communities. To expand on the earlier mentioned, young men who cohabitate in ghetto communities often have relatives who actively influence their participation in gangs, drug sells, and incarceration. As I read the book, I became conscious of the chapter headings as it correlates with the endeavors that young males face of a lower socioeconomic status. For example, chapter titles such as The Street I, Lock Down II, Upstate III, House-to-House IV and Breaking Out V represent the struggles young men face at a micro-level (Strong & Cohen, 2014, p. 51). Random Family conveys the message that men in ghetto communities is unable to overcome the adversities associated with the street life; however, this message is untrue as there are men who have prevailed over the life they inherited becoming successful individuals and not allowing themselves to become victims of their environment.
In Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, Waverly Jong is a dynamic character who shows her arrogance, selfishness and insecurities as the story progresses. On the first letter of Waverly’s name, W, sits a Mink, which symbolizes her desire for her mother’s approval. Throughout the novel, Waverly avoids Lindo’s criticism and fears her mother will not agree with her choices. This is evident in “Four Directions” when Waverly shows her mother the mink coat Rich bought her and Lindo responds, “This is no good… It is just leftover strips. And the fur is too short” (Tan 186). Waverly is destroyed by her mother’s criticism. After Lindo points out the coat’s flaws, Waverly can no longer see the good in it; she only values the things her mother values. Next, the “a” is formed by a crab, symbolizing selfishness. During New Year’s dinner at the Woo house, Waverly takes the best three crabs for her family. She does not care that she is a guest or that Suyuan had not planned on Shoshana eating crabs, she takes the best for herself, showing her self-centered nature. After the “a,” the “v” is formed by two dolls, symbolizing her childhood and her love for her daughter. Contrasting her negative traits, Waverly’s unfaltering love for Shoshana shows that she is willing to sacrifice her successes for her daughter’s prosperity, demonstrating that she is not as selfish as she is portrayed. A red candle is embedded in the “e” to highlight Waverly’s ignorance. She believes she is all knowing but does not
Hats were worn by all members of the bedwetters and each hat symbolized something about them. For Cotton his choice of headgear was a military helmet that he strapped under his chin when he was about to do something dangerous or “manly”. He chose this form of headgear because he was very interested in Vietnam, which was going on at the time that this book took place. Cotton also intended on enlisting when he turned 17 with dreams of becoming a general. The Lally brothers each had matching bulky cowboy hats, showing that the parents just got them matching everything to save time. Shecker wore a golfing hat signed by Arnold Palmer, obviously showing his family has very important friends and no time for him. Teft wore and Africa korps hat probably because he had dreams of being in the military as well but maybe not for the United States. Lastly, Goodenow wore a Hopi Headband. Much like with the radios, the hats are also thrown at the buffalo by the boys. They are obviously done with the hats and no longer want to bee thought of by them. They want to be known for being themselves and for setting all of the buffalo free from the preserve.
Waverly was going to tell Lindo of her and Rich’s engagement, but whenever she mentioned him, Lindo cut her off and began to talk about something else. Waverly was convinced that her mother did not have any good intentions, and that she never saw good in people. Due to this, she was afraid of what her mother will say when she would meet Rich. According to Waverly, she and Rich shared a “pure love”, which she was afraid her mother would poison. Waverly planned to go to Auntie Suyuan’s house with Rich for dinner, knowing that her mother would then invite the two over for dinner to her house, and this would give her mother a chance to get to know and warm up to Rich. However, when they went for dinner, Rich did everything incorrectly- he didn’t understand Chinese customs and made several mistakes that were seen as
The hat makes Holden feel protected as if he does not need anyone. It is like the way a pacifier or a teddy bear works to comfort a child. Holden says, “After he left, I put on my pajamas and bathrobe and my old hunting hat, and started writing the composition” (49). Holden writes this intricate composition about his brother’s baseball mitt. He waits until his roommate leaves in order to wear the hat and it makes him feel protected. It is odd that he wears his hat inside, but it just reinforces the fact that the hat symbolizes the will to describe his emotions. He manages to write a heartfelt paper in which his brother’s memory becomes a vivid reality for him. Holden remains attached to the image of his brother. He cares about his siblings immensely and he finds a way to always carry them along with him. His red hunting hat is a representation of his brother Allie that died of leukemia in his innocence. Both of his siblings have red hair and the color of his hunting hat is red. Holden reflects that, “People with red hair are supposed to get mad very easily, but Allie never did and he had very red hair” (50). He buys this hat to remember the memories of innocence and love he shared with his brother. The hat is also a reminder that the only sibling he has left is Phoebe and she is dear to his heart because of her innocence and
This quote also demonstrates the dramatic irony of the story as it is the grandmother's own doing that leads to the death of her and her family. Furthermore, O'Connor uses the grandmothers hat as another symbol of her self-indulgence. This is shown when she is described as wearing a "purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet" when she enters the car, so that in case of an accident people would know that she is a lady. Ultiamtely this proves her selfishness because rather than thinking about her family, she is only worried about the way she is percieved by anyone who sees her dead. O'Connor includes this in the story to foreshadow that something bad may happen to the family since the grandmother is already thinking about death.
Before they even leave their apartment, they argue over a hat that Julian’s mother bought. She is convinced that she must return it so the money spent on it could be invested in paying off bills, but Julian tells her to wear it and compliments her on it even though he secretly thinks it is hideous. This hat is a symbol of the conflict that exists between the two. Julian sees the hat as another relic that his mother holds on to, and as an additional form of shame that he must endure from his mother. On the other hand, Julian’s mother sees the hat as an object that defines her status in society, but she is willing to sacrifice it if it will help her son get ahead in life.
Culture defines humanity. Culture makes humans different than any other living organism ever known. Culture is what makes humans unique, and yet culture is easily the most misunderstood characteristic of individuals. In Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan develops the theme of incomplete cultural understanding leads to an inability to communicate one’s true intentions through juxtaposition and conflict between mothers and daughters and their cultures.
During Christmastime, the family trades simple gifts to one another. Francie attends a Christmas event for the underprivileged children, where all the kids are too proud to accept any of the offers. When a small child wants to give away one of her dolls to whoever is named “Mary,” no one stirs. Francie, not wanting to let the gift to go to waste, lies about her name to bring the doll home. Although all of the other children keep their pride, she loses it, and feel embarrassed.
Alison Bechdel’s memoir, Fun Home, is a compelling narrative in which Bechdel takes the reader through her life and gives insight into her relationship and the complex lifestyle her closeted homosexual father, Bruce Bechdel. However, her serious topic is told through the narrative of comics, images that literally put the readers into the moments of her life with her. Even though, the graphic images provide visual insight, Bechdel makes a conscious decision to include a multitude of literary allusions because, as Bechdel describes, “I employ these allusions to James and Fitzgerald not only as descriptive devices, but because my parent’s are most real to me in fictional terms.” (Bechdel, Page 67) Her continued use of literary allusions can be seen as an insight to her life. The particular works of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Oscar Wilde’s plays An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Ernest because of their content concerning facades and the lengths one person goes through to keep a part of their identity or life a secret. TRANSITION Bruce Bechdel was the master of secrecy, hiding a part of his sexuality behind his heterosexual marriage in order to keep his idea of an acceptable livelihood. It is clear that Bruce Bechdel had a few infidelities with males throughout Bechdel’s childhood, infidelities that she did not know until later in life. This creates a whole new perceptive for Bechdel. The father who she thought as a controlling, stern, literary fein
“Birthday Party” by Katherine Brush uses literary devices such as tone, point of view, diction, and sensory details to achieve her purpose.
Prejudice can manifest itself in many different ways, sometimes in the least likely of them. We often assume that the people we place our trust and faith in are free of prejudice, but this is not always true. We can observe this in real life and literature, as seen through the short story “The Stolen Party” by Liliana Heker. This story, about a young girl learning to understand the nature of prejudice and trust, introduces an important theme; that when we encounter prejudice, we should fight for what we believe. This theme is explored through Rosaura’s interaction with her mother, Luciana’s cousin and Senora Ines. These three characters lead Rosaura to question her beliefs, but nonetheless encourage her to to challenge any prejudice directed
______. His red hunting hat is symbolic of many things. He wears it during important times such as writing the composition about Allie’s baseball glove, yet he seems to be embarrassed to wear it in public. “I took my old hunting hat out… and put it on. I knew I wouldn’t meet anybody that knew me” (122). Even though he lacks confidence to wear it frequently, it becomes a part of how he sees himself. He acknowledges that it’s “corny” but he personally likes how it looks; it is a symbol of his uniqueness and desire to be different. The red color of the hat is also noteworthy, the same as Allie and Phoebe’s hair. He may associate ‘red’ with purity and innocence those characters represent and wears it as a connection to them.