Smoke Signals Elements Of Symbols

He seems to be forgetting who they are: “the same feelings caused me to forget [my family] whom I had not seen for so long a time” (Shelley 49). Victor lets his task of recreating life, take over his own life. He does not even stop to acknowledge, or respond to the letters sent to him by his family, and the last time he sees his family is six years ago. This causes the decline of his relationship with his family, as they rarely talk to, or see Victor. Finally, Victor understands that his constant desire for knowledge needs to end, so to alleviate some stress caused by the invidious monster, he decides to visit his family: “I passed through scenes familiar to my youth, but which I had not seen for nearly six years!” (Shelley 71). Victor just assumes that when he visits his family again, everything will be the same as it was when he left 6 years ago. But, it is quite the opposite. This leads to Victor realizing the extent of his decayed relationship with his family. Many things have changed, such as his new younger brother being born, and his mother’s death. His family welcomes him, but since he has been gone for so long, they do not appreciate his visit as much.

Likewise, waterfalls and rivers represent the themes of renewal of the heart and washing away of hurt in Smoke Signals. A stream is like the vital organ, the liver. A liver purifies the blood cleansing it of toxins and making it pure. This is evident when Victor pours out Arnold’s ashes from the bridge into the river. Victor is able to pick up Arnold’s ashes at the sheriff's office after he forgives Arnold and is able to receive him. As he pours the ashes into river and they go over the waterfall, Victor releases his hatred and anger as the ashes rush down stream, cleansing his heart

As the novel goes on everyone Victor once cared for are decimated in the path of his creation. "I was possessed by a maddening rage when I thought of him and desired and ardently prayed that I might have him within my grasp to wreak a great and signal revenge on his cursed head" (Shelley 103). Now, due to his unwavering lust for knowledge, all that was once good and innocent has been stripped from him. This has left him as a former shell of himself, to be compared with his own creation, solely driven by vengeance.

Water.  It expresses its’ power in the form of hurricanes and flash floods.  It displays its gentleness, washing dirt off a child's scabbed knee.  Water has been used to quench the thirst of many longing throats; and it has been the cause of death to those who unfavorably crossed its path.  It possesses the power of total destruction, yet it holds the bases of all life.  Generally, water has symbolized cleanliness and renewal.  In the Bible, water was used in Baptism, cleansing the soul of original sin and offering a new life in the light of God.  Water in itself is a natural purifier, washing the dirt from our bodies. Water is a symbol of

Even though she said so many good things about his father and about things he was afraid of, Victor did not want to show any compassion for his father. It is like the story on Real Boys, Inside the World of Boys: Behind the Mask of Masculinity. Victor was hiding behind this mask so he would not show his emotions. However, after the accident, he began to think about his father. He understood that no one could be perfect and he finally saw that he really loved his father.

The water is symbolic of romantic love as an overwhelming and transforming force that changes in form and changes the people involved. The wave is large, unpredictable and spans out as far as the eye can see. The movement of an all-encompassing emotion like love is impossible to contain, much like water. It is free flowing and goes on forever. “Love was a game, a perpetual creation (Paz, 2). Love and water are both creations of the divine and humans tend to use and abuse them. However, humans are emotional and social animals who need both love and water to survive. Waves have a way of hitting humans all at once, just like love. It renders humans excited and full of surprise at first “wave of surprise” (Paz, 2) like a crashing delight. It also leaves us always wanting more. We have an unquenchable thirst for love and affection, thus we chase it even in its most sinister forms, like an abusive relationship. The narrator is accepting of the wave 's presence when she appears in his home where he was once hesitant of the idea of her in his life. Love also transforms and can change us, like water changes states. It can become overwhelming and hard to breathe, but it is often all around us and

Victor tells the reader, “I was seized by remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures.” (NEED CITATION) Because of this overpowering guilt and depression, Victor even contemplates suicide; saying, “I was tempted to plunge into the silent lake, that the waters might close over me and my calamities forever.” (81). But throughout all of his suffering, Victor found hope and love in Elizabeth. In one of the letters he wrote to her, he proclaims, “I fear, my beloved girl, little happiness remains for us on earth; yet all that I may one day enjoy is centered in you.” (168). In this statement of love, Victor summarizes what he has to live for. His happiness does not remain in science, friendships, or family; but resides in his future with Elizabeth. He later talks about the last moments of his life during which he enjoyed the genuine feeling of happiness, his wedding. While alive, Elizabeth had been his greatest lover, encouraging him through all of his darkest valleys. And even in her passing, the vengeance of her death consumes Victor’s mind, dedicating his life to kill the horrific Monster which he had created.

As Victors brother was killed by the creature he created, the remourse victor and his father have towards his death show weakness. Men in society are conditioned to be brought up as brave and protective. While Victors father is letting the death of

He tells of the void he feels in his soul. He tells of the bitter grief one experiences after the death of loved one and what it feels like to no longer see them and hear their voice. Mary Shelley illustrates that this life is not the end, but there is another life where loved ones will be seen. Victor’s mother is demonstrating how special Elizabeth is to her and that she wants her to take care of the family and to someday marry Victor. Later in the novel, Victor leaves for school. Victor’s father tells him, “I know that while you are pleased with yourself, you will think of us with affection, and we shall hear regularly from you. You must pardon me if I regard any interruption in your correspondence as a proof that your other duties are equally neglected”(33). After, Victor leaves for school to begin his studies he becomes self-absorbed in his work. Family is very important to Victor’s father. Victor realizes that he has become too involved in his studies and knows that it is unhealthy to behave in such a way. However, he does not want to quit and begins to justify his actions. He suggests that if others had given up, then history could have been altered. Victor feels isolated and lonely. He thinks of his family and how disappointed they are that they have not heard from him. Shelly uses this quote to emphasize the importance of human relationships and how important they are to a person’s well-being. The theme of human

The movie Smoke Signals is based on the series of short stories written by Sherman Alexie. Just like any movie, there is a meaning to it. Before this movie, when I thought of the phrase "Native American" I thought of things like feathers and societies that were impeccable. But after watching the movie, Smoke Signals, it portrays what being a Native American really means. It is not all fun and games. The protagonist, Victor Joseph, has many hard aspects of his life, but throughout it all he grows mentally. His personality in the beginning of the movie is mean and despicable, he is filled with wrath, but as the movie goes on his personality grows gradually. By the ending of the movie, he was a nicer and kinder.

Smoke Signals is a movie written by Sherman Alexie and directed by Chris Eyre that deals with many social issues in modern Native American cultures. The film follows the journey of two Coeur d’Alene Indians, Victor and Thomas, as they travel from their reservation in Oregon to Phoenix, AZ in order to gather the personal artifacts of Victor’s father who has recently died. Along the way, Thomas helps Victor to understand and forgive his father, who left the family when Victor was a young boy. Victor’s father, Arnold Joseph, saved both of the boys from a fire that he inadvertently caused on the 4th of July when the boys were mere babies. Although the boys were saved, Thomas’s parents both died in the blaze.

At this point Victor is responsible for two deaths and must keep this all to himself. By suffering through the guilt and the illness it is clear that his decisions that were made in order to deepen his knowledge of the scientific world are becoming dangerous to himself and the people close to him.

On their way back, they get into an accident and there was a lady who needed help in the accident. Victor remembers what Suzy said him about his dad that in the fire that took place when he was a baby, his dad always wanted to help him and he did went back to save his life. This hits on his mind and he decides to get help for the lady. His thoughts about his dad changes. At the end of the movie Victor disperses the remains of his father in the river and forgives him for what he did before.

Dictionary of Narratology). Because if we identify the character of Victor start from his happy childhood, university environment, but since he created the human-like, the complexity of his life getting worse and worse. He tried to struggle and beated down the monster to reconcile his mistake, and went back to his hometown to safe his family but ironically he couldn’t.

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.