Symbolism In Ashes, By Susan Beth Pfeffer

“Fine then! But I am better than you in EVERY WAY!” You shout at your former friend, the anger welling up inside of you. “ Don’t even try to act like you could ever be better than me. You never could. So you can stop trying.” As soon as you spit those words out, you finally realize what you’re getting into. “You ARROGANT beast!” Your opponent shouts at you, not hesitantly at all, like the insult was a bitter taste he had to get out of his mouth. Before you know it, your actions are fueled by the burning passion of rage. About five minutes later, you are still punching the air as you are pulled of him, still trying to swing at his head, trying to hit him just once, or maybe even as many times as he hit you. You think about the fight. You don’t want to admit it, but you WERE an arrogant beast, like he said. And look where it got you. Bruised, bloody, and beaten up. Arrogance can lead to violence, and the story, “The Fight”, by Adam Bagdasarian, can very clearly reflect this theme. In the beginning of the story, Adam was cocky and arrogant. All he thought about was how great and tough he was. In the middle of the story, another middle schooler, Mike, challenged him to a fight, and Adam was petrified. At the end of the story, Adam lost the fight and was not as cocky and pride-filled.

Throughout Wise Blood, written by Flannery O'Connor, it is often of the predominant character, Hazel Motes, that one of his most distinguishing features is his eyes and how they connect to who he is and how he defines himself. For example, the readers first encounter with Haze is from the perspective of the many train passengers. Each noticing that "… he didn't look, to her, much over twenty, but he had a stiff black broad-brimmed hat on his lap, a hat that an elderly country preacher would wear" (O'Connor 4). To them, he was a soldier, just relieved of duty and on his way home. However, he was not going home. He had no home and was in search of a new purpose in life. The preachers hat that Hazel always wears is just one of the symbols O'Connor uses to reveal the theme of her work. Symbols in literature are often used to portray a bigger picture, express a deeper meaning or foreshadow an event, however in Wise Blood, O'Connor uses symbols such as a car, eyes and colors to portray the main characters; inner conflict about religiosity.

“The Boat” written by Alistair MacLeod tells a story about a father’s life and how he lived as a fisherman. The narrator is an adult man who looks back on his life of when his father was still living because even though he got a university education, he now wants the life his father had. He expresses how his father always wanted him to become something bigger and better then what he became. The author, Alistair MacLeod, used many different writing techniques within this short story. The symbolism of “The Boat” expresses inevitability through the little hobbies the father/husband does through his boring routine life, obligation through the father/husband’s commitment as a fisherman to provide for his family, and imprisonment through his

What is a writer? Many may picture those with a great love of books and literature, those who can find deeper symbolism and meaning behind stories that others write. However, this mold does not fit everyone. There are those, such as Linda Barry, who don't fit in with their fellow writers but still find success. In her comic Lost and Found, Barry uses her own life as an example to argue that one can find success as a writer despite not fitting in the box or possessing the skills typical of one.

Many people are face with problem such as tragedies, corruption, crimes that can make you start questioning your faith and sometimes loose it. In the book Night by Ellie Wiesel, Eliezer and his father Shlomo had to face with the most horrible event of their lives “The Holocaust”. The rap singer Remedy had a song called ”Never Again” and it shows the reader the tragedies the Jews went through while they were in Auschwitz. The American rock band Creed and their song “One last Breathe” shows how Ellie felt when he separated from his mom and sister. Lastly, an American Rock Band with their song called: “Faithless” shows the reader how Ellie was losing his faith while he was in Auschwitz. He’d never seen such horrible things.

Ashleigh knows that he's not going to get the money if she doesn't steal the money. “I had no idea where dad was going to get two hundred dollars from.”(pg3) This quote tell the reader that Ashleigh doesn't think that he's going to come with the money. Ashleigh is his daughter so she feels a need to help her dad. “ well, why not. I was his daughter, after all.”(pg.3) This quote tells the reader that she wants to steal the money but, she deciding in her head if she should or not. Ashleigh knows what her dad did wasn't very smart. “But I've got to tell you honey, once that money is paid, I’m on my way to easy street.” (pg.3) This quote tells the reader that her dad was telling her that once the money was paid then life was going to be easy and perfect but, she knows what he's telling her isn’t going to

This quote is significant at this point in the memoir since it characterizes life in Ireland and the McCourt’s childhood. While church was a place that the author always struggled with, it was a place that always brought him comfort. By describing church as “refuge” it shows that it was a place that the reader held close regardless of his other feelings. Speaking about the “droning” of the priest and the pleasant smells helps put that point across that throughout the book he might have conflicting opinions on religion. The contradiction shows the comfort that was brought from church despite the “damp clumps” of people. The sweet smells brought comfort despite the hardship that was being experienced during that time. The diction and personification

Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir People go through many hardships throughout their lives, and the book “Angel’s Ashes” by Frank McCourt is the perfect example of how one can overcome. Frank faced many antagonists throughout his life. One of his antagonist was his Aunt Aggie. She is always looking down on Angela and her family. After Angela had to be rushed to the hospital the children had to stay with her, then she looked at the baby and said “Jesus above, that baby is a disgrace” (McCourt 241).

Ashleigh took the money from her mother's teapot on the premise of how her father manipulated her. In the story it showed an example of this, “I could hear my father’s car keening in the distance. ‘You’re one in a million,’ it cried,” (Ashes, 4). Ashleigh's father continued to

As people progress through their lives, their personalities, views and morals often change due to varying circumstances. In Frank McCourt’s memoir, Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt is changed over time by his hard life and different people he encounters throughout it. However, the movie directed by Alan Parker overall proved more emotionally and realistically effective. In the film version of Angela’s Ashes, Parker shows the power of the world’s influence on the development of a boy through a greater visual expression of impactful circumstances.. Guided by a drunken father, a life of poverty, and his hard childhood, McCourt must learn how to carry his lessons with him while leaving the past in the past. The movie

In stanza 1, Hardy describes the scene, whilst not describing the lover that he is with. The neutral colours ‘sod’ and ‘gray’ expresses a sense of bleakness and reflects Hardy’s bitterness towards the incident. The poet describes dead leaves lying on the ground from an ash tree, which reinforces the bleak scene. Ash has multiple meanings, referring to the ash tree, the grey substance that is a product of combustion and human ashes from cremation, reinforcing the idea of death and of neutral colours. In addition, the poet describes the sun as ‘white, as though chidden of God’, instead of the normal descriptions of the sun as being bright and yellow. This further contributes towards the sense of bleakness in the scene.

“No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to be emerald, my color undiminished”. As an allegory, this quote by Marcus Aurelius works hand in glove for Rhodes. Besides, Rhodes (ro-dos), the largest and most popular island of the Dodecanese is also known as the “Emerald Island” due to its 37% coverage with pine and cypress trees,. With some 300 days of sunshine per year, the power house of the Dodecanese proves to be the holiday mecca for northern Europeans, with tourism accounting for about 75% of the island's economy. Mostly famous for the nostalgic Old Town, among the best-preserved Medieval Towns of Europe – which in 1998 was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site - with the fortified walls and the impeccable castle and palace, cobblestoned streets and alleys and exquisite stone mansions, the island of Knights with its 44 villages is coiled in golden beaches, with bright

Mike Mullin’s Ashfall had a communion in which the protagonist shared steaks with two other characters, his neighbors. I recall that before the characters ate steak, they were eating salad, food that wasn’t enjoyable to the protagonist, which would very likely be unenjoyable for the other characters as well. While eating the steaks, the protagonist thought of the steaks as heavenly, or great. These neighbors of his were united with the protagonist as they ate food, sharing the joy of the succulent steaks after eating salads for the past few days. Although this communion has a bigger purpose, or idea. The communion symbolizes that while all hell is breaking loose outside, the protagonist isn’t the only one facing it. He has people that

Ashleigh’s dad wants Ashleigh to steal $200 to pay off a financial issue. This is happening because Ashleigh’s parents got divorced and her dad doesn’t have the money to pay for things. So Ashleigh thinks about on what her dad wants her to do and she decides to bail… Here’s why. she thinks her mom will find out, she knows it’s wrong, and there are other ways to help her dad.

The ashes received in Ash Wednesday have many types of symbolism. The ashes are the sign of the beginning of Lent. The ashes bring us memories of past Lents and remind us that we must give something up for God the father. The Ashes also are a calling to come to God with a whole heart. The calling reminds us that we must continue from past years and keep on giving things up for God. This means that God needs our continual attention and we must keep out actions fresh with God because he is always taking care of us. Lastly, the ashes are a calling for us to avoid sin and be faithful to the Words of the Lord. This time of avoiding sins shouldn’t be a once in a lifetime event, but an event that is prevalent in out everyday lives. Overall, the ashes