The novel Motorcycles and Sweet Grass by Drew Hayden Taylor, is an award winning native comedy. Taylor includes many themes and symbols that enhance and accompany those themes. There are many different themes and symbols that Taylor has incorporated into his novel. Some include crows, raccoons, sweetgrass and John’s motorcycle. In the novel, symbols are a big part of story line development and help enhance themes. The symbols that I will use are the raccoons, the crow and John’s last names. These symbols relate to and enhance primarily mythology. In the Novel Taylor uses the raccoons as a way of showing the connection between the natives and nature. Taylor writes about how the raccoons have problems regarding John and how they appear out …show more content…
When John meets people, his last name always changes but the one thing that doesn’t change was the meaning of the name: English colonizers who destroyed the native communities. “John Richardson… Tanner, yes I have two last names, I was adopted” pg 113. John has multiple identities and there have been multiple instances in the story where john has messed up his identities. “Okay then, my name is John… Tanner. John Tanner. Yep that’s me.” This is when John first changes his last name to change his appearance. The only problem is that he messed up the last names so he ‘lost his perfect identity’. Johns last name is very important because they are all English native destroyers and that is almost what he did to Otter …show more content…
The crow signifies that something important and big is about to happen. In the novel the crow is only mention once and that is when john arrives. That means that there is something about john that is not very normal. “A sign at the side of the road said: WELCOME TO OTTER LAKE, HOME OF THE ANISHIWABE- PEOPLE.” I think that this quote is important because the black crow is very symbolic and it is sitting on top of the Otter Lake sign which means something big is going to happen there. When John sees the crow and imitates it, not like a human, but it sounded exactly like an authentic crow call. “The rider lifted his helmet an inch or so until only its mouth was visible. And from that mouth came a loud caw. Not a human imitating a crow, but what seemed to the crow as an authentic crow caw.” When john approaches the crow sitting on otter lake sign and looks up at it and caws but not like somebody imitating, but like a real crow, that is very important. Its important because the crow symbolizes something big is abou to happen and also John cawing like a real crows tells us that there is some things about him that is not quite normal. In conclusion, the crow is the first big part in the story and the first clue telling us that john is not just a normal white
Jim’s character contains a profound understanding to the life of a bird, as his days are spent on Ashley Crowthers’ family swamplands. Growing up Jim experiences a childhood of an abusive relationship with his father, a man still scarred from the death of his youngest son. The relationship held between Jim and his father reflects the kind of person Jim is at the start of the novel; innocent and self-contained. “It was the time immediately after news had come of the landings at Gallipoli and the slaughter of the following weeks. People’s attitude towards war was changing.” At this point in the novel it becomes evident that it is Jim whose attitude is being to changed towards war through the encouragements of his father, to fight along side the rest of the neighbourhood children he had grown up with. When Jim encounters the experience of war later in the novel he is faced with death and loss, two things that brought him back to the hardship that his father still endures, the loss of his younger brother. This turning point for Jim changes him into a man that his father would be proud to be, the son that he always wanted Jim to become. Jim’s passions and interests being slowly decreased, losing his love for the swamp lands and his love for the refugees that Miss Hardcourt once referred to. Jim’s new
We are shown many symbols in life, whether good or bad, and we don’t have any other choice than to cope with them. In James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis," he expresses the connections and journey between a young boy and his disabled brother, and a Scarlet Ibis bird that passes away on their lawn. Today, I would like to explore the symbolism used in the story to illustrate how the main characters Doodle, and the Scarlet Ibis are connected. James Hursts illustrates the similarities between Doodle and the Scarlet Ibis through the symbolism of the surface level of the connections between Doodle and the Scarlet Ibis, how the Scarlet Ibis symbolizes Doodle as a human, and how they abstractly connect with each other. First off, the portrayal
Drew Hayden Taylor’s novel, Motorcycles and Sweetgrass, has won many awards such as the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Award, and has been nominated for many others. The novel symbolizes many themes that represent what it means to be a Native Indian in real life. Virgil is one of the main characters in the novel, and the most important. He has been discovering himself, and others about who he is, what he is supposed to believe in, and more. Virgil has been changing throughout the novel.
In his journey across the landscape of Mexico, John’s character in the novel begins to transform. He is beginning to move away from that boyish and naive kind of behavior and more towards the middle stage of between being a boy and a man; adolescence. McCarthy spends a great deal in describing John’s adolescent’s stage in this novel. Much of the time that McCarthy describes in this stage is when they are out on the prairie with the horses connecting with nature. This connection allows John to have and a clearer understanding that there is a divine line between men and horses and that you can’t apply the same characteristics that you would apply to a horse to a man.
John sacrificed himself for his wife and kids, because he didn’t want his future family to have an ancestor who claimed to be a witch. This shows that your name can also give you a connection to your family, and a strong one at that. Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life. Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of those that hang!
It represents life, spirit, and soul. John Grady's connection to the horses is representative of this. The blood and sweat he shares with Redbo on his journey, the connection he feels with his horse. John Grady is shown to be the Jesus figure in the novel through the blood allusion. He is firmly devoted to others, selflessly helping the people and animals around him over himself.
Note: We can not assume that Name Nickname because Name is not unique. For example, one John Smith may have the nickname “Johnny” while another John Smith has the nickname “Joe”. If Name Nickname then John Smith (“Johnny”, “Joe”) which means that both nicknames apply to both John Smiths. But this is not the case – each John Smith has only one nickname, and they are not the same.
The first way that horses play a major role in developing a theme of the story is through their use as symbolism. Horses seem to represent all of nature throughout the story, as they are often the only natural entity that is vividly described. Even though John Grady is experienced with horses, there is still some wilderness about them that even he can’t understand. The idea that horses, or nature, are a lot more durable than humans will ever be is an idea that John Grady himself reinforces in some of his dreams. Early in the story in one of John’s dream he realizes that “the order in the horse's heart was more durable for it was written in a place where no rain could erase it" (McCarthy). This idea adds to the fact that horses seem to represent a lasting entity, a species that will continue to exist overtime. Continuing with the idea of horses as a use of symbolism, is
Symbolism allows the reader to go beyond what is known or seen by creating connections between otherwise very different concepts and experiences. In the novel, Motorcycles and Sweetgrass by Drew Hayden Taylor, symbolism defies the natural evolution of Native Anishnawbe culture to the current Canadian culture. Three examples illustrate this change. First, the reader is witness to the replacing of Sweetgrass, a symbol of Ojibway culture, to the worship of holy crosses and holy water. Secondly, the reader is exposed to the adaptation of names from the mythical Ojibway figure, Nanabush to those that represent English explorers. Finally, the raccoons that have a profound conflict with the man whose name continues to change. The Sweetgrass, the changing names and the raccoons is symbols that emphasize the theme, dual cultures, which shines a light to the transformation taking place on Native reserves.
The use of symbolism in Hemingway’s, Hills like white elephants, provides the reader with situations a couple may face at least once in their life. There are many symbols within this short story, some more complex than others. Knowing the different symbols, can ultimately lead up to the discovery of the real meaning in the story. Hemingway never gives us an easy explanation in this story, forcing the reader to make wild assumptions. Since this story requires readers to read between the lines and think more complex, Hemingway gives us symbols so readers can understand the overall meaning of the story. Hemingway points out many of the symbols used by mainly repetition, which make them very important. Some symbolism shown in this story is: the white elephants, the train station, and scenery.
William Faulkner’s novella “The Bear” from his collection of works, Go Down Moses, is a symbolic exploration of the relationship between man and nature in the eyes of a young boy. The heart of the issue, the warped idea of the ownership of land, is revealed thought the clash of man and nature in a wild chase that ends only in blood and death. The prey is nature itself, represented by a bear, while the hunters are men, full of greed and destructive possessiveness, pursuing that which they do not understand. Ike’s idea of the bear, presented in section 1 of the novella, expresses the idea of symbolism in relation to the bear and to the hunters and what the battle between the two represents.
According to the novel the Protagonist of the story is John and the antagonist would be the war. Due to the casualties of many men and women, one would think that the war is defined by death; but because of the survival of John, the reader thinks that he has survived the pit of hell, making him the good guy in the story. Although John became weak after seeing so much tragedy for so long, he was still considered an emotionless and cold person. In the story Murphy tells John how his father had brought home a cage of canaries and set them free, assuming that they would fly away. To his surprise, they flew away sang a few songs and came right back to their cages. These yellow birds represent how the soldiers may leave the war physically but mentally they will always be there and relive their past occurrences.
Two rats and a cat are used as symbols in Richard Wright's Native Son. The rats, one found in an alley and the other in Bigger's apartment, symbolize Bigger. Mrs. Dalton's white cat represents white society, which often takes the form of a singular character. "Parallels are drawn between these animals and the characters they represent at key moments during the novel" (Kinnamon 118). These parallels help the reader identify with Bigger and understand why he acts the way he does. The animal imagery in Native Son explains some of Bigger's behavior and generates sympathy for Bigger and fear of whites.
This symbol was firstly shown used through Jake the crow. Jake was a very close friend of Brooks. He had taken care of Jake ever since he had found it with an injured wing and nursed it back to health. Jake was used as a symbol in the film to highlight the theme of hope, as Jake was found by Brooks with an injured wing after it had fallen out of its nest. Jake shows that hope was still present even in the darkest of times in life. Later on in the film, we see that Brooks was released from prison because of parole. This lead to Brooks releasing Jake before leaving prison and represents Brooks letting go of any hope he has of surviving life in the outside world. He symbolically looks for Jake while feeding the birds in the park, thinking he just might show up and say hello. Sadly, he neither finds Jake nor hope outside of prison. Brooks could not cope with the world outside of prison as he was institutionalised and results in him committing suicide. Another instance of birds being used as a symbol was after Andy escaped Shawshank prison. Red symbolizes Andy as being a caged bird in prison when he says, “Sometimes it makes me sad, though… Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much
Motorcycles fall into the category called Recreational Vehicle, Motorcycle and Boat Retail Industry. These are companies that retail recreational vehicles, boats, motorcycles, jet skis, and/or related accessories. In Hoover’s classification, based on the North American Industry Classifications System (NAICS) and the older U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system, motorcycles fall under a smaller subcategory called Motorcycle, ATV, and Personal Watercraft Dealers Industry. This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in retailing new and/or used motorcycles, motor scooters, motorbikes, mopeds, off-road all-terrain vehicles, and personal watercraft, or retailing these