Symbolism In Flawed And Perfect By Cecelia Ahern

In the memoir, The Glass Castle, it was evident the Glass Castle was not just a physical object itself, but holds a deeper meaning of symbolism towards the author, Jeannette Walls. After completing the book, it has been noted that the Glass Castle symbolizes the constant reminder of Jeannette’s hope that one day both her family and house will be in a stable, working position. Throughout the novel, the Glass Castle was vaguely mentioned as the Walls family continued their journey through the United States. However, through their ongoing journey, Jeannette’s view of the Glass Castle changed, as it was inevitably just a vision that her father had implanted in her brain but never actually built in reality.

Authors use symbolism in order to prove points, represent emotions, or even to show ideas. In the memoir, The Glass Castle written by Jeanette Walls, the 'Glass Castle' itself represents the ray of hope that each child had as they grew up in a financially troubled and twisted family. The Glass Castle design was also used by her father as a way to get his children to trust that he will always try to provide for and protect his family. Rex Walls, Jeanette's father stated that the Glass Castle would have glass staircases, heating and cooling powered by solar energy, and even a water purification system. He planned the rooms with extreme precision and, “Carried the blueprints for the Glass Castle wherever [they] went” (Walls 25). He even had the kids, “Work on the design for our rooms” (Walls 25). All of this would be funded by his Prospector machine which would separate gold from other rocks. However, this machine was never used and Rex's drinking and gambling habits would always force the Walls family to move to a new location, putting the idea of the Glass Castle in the back of their minds.

"A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor is a short story that depicts a family's vacation to Florida that turned into an abysmal tragedy when they met with the Misfit, a convict who escaped from prison. This story is meant to be interpreted as a parable, whereby O'Connor made skilful use of symbolism to bring about messages such as the class-consciousness and the lack of spiritual faith that exist amongst human.

“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.

Harper Lee uses symbolism extensively throughout To Kill a Mockingbird,, and much of it refers to the problems of racism in the South during the early twentieth century. Harper Lee's effective use of racial symbolism and allegory can be seen by studying various examples from the book, namely the actions of the children, of the racist whites, and of Atticus Finch.

In our world fear roams everywhere. In our streets, businesses, schools, and homes. Fear has caused wars, and treaties. Fear can cause people to start something amazing or horrific. People can change because of fear of a thing.

Everyone needs hope in their lives for the good times and the bad. Hope is an essential part of human life, which is sometimes symbolized into objects. Legend by Marie Lu is a dystopian story about Day, a slum sector teen criminal, and June, a wealthy military prodigy. Marie Lu uses Day’s pendant to symbolize the hope and freedom Day and June yearn for.

In Jean-Honoré Fragonard painting The Happy Lovers (appendix: fig. 1), viewers are able to get a glimpse into the light-hearted, playful Rococo period. The Happy Lovers is a 35.5 x 47.75 in. oil painting, that was created between the years 1760–5 in France for an unnamed aristocrat; however, it can now be found in the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California. The Rococo period was a result of artists resisting the stiff monarchy, and desiring open expressionism–this was particularly emphasized through nature. The two great artists from this period are Fragonard and François Boucher, Fragonard’s teacher. A result of Boucher teaching Fragonard, specifically in the continuation of pastoral, Boucher was a great influence. This is obvious when The Happy Lovers is compared to Boucher’s The Bird Catchers (appendix: fig. 2). Both paintings include subjects of women holding bird catchers and doves, ultimately symbolizing woman’s ability to control relationships. More specific to The Happy Lovers, the woman dangles the cage above the boy, who is carrying a dove, a symbol of Venus–the goddess of love. However, in the bottom left quadrant of the painting there is an even larger cage with more doves, hinting at the idea that women can easily capture many men. This further expands the sensual intention Fragonard creates. In placing this scene within a secluded landscape, Fragonard emphasizes the flirtation and secretiveness between the two lovers–creating an unstructured, blissful

in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" Flannery O' Connor uses symbolism to give more meaning to her short story. O'Connor writes a story of a Grandmother versus a Misfit, or good versus evil. This short story is about a family going to Florida, who takes a turn down a dirt road, which only causes them to get in an accident, and be found by the Misfit. This encounter prevented them from ever arriving Florida, because the Misfit ends their lives. Using symbolism, O'Connor creates a story with much meaning to the Grandmother, nature, sky, woods, their surroundings, roads, and cars to portray the constant battle between good and evil.

In today's society, we generally view upon everyone as equal beings who deserve equal rights. At the turn of the 20th century, this particular view didn?t exist. Men clearly dominated almost every aspect of life and women were often left with little importance. The Wright?s embody this view of roles in Susan Glaspell?s play Trifles. Mrs. Wright was a typical woman who suffered the mental abuse from her husband and was caged from life. In Trifles, a mixture of symbolism of oppression illustrates Mrs. Minnie Wright?s motives to kill her husband and to escape from imprisonment.

Imagine a society where books are banned, technology has taken over and is on the verge of a world war. This is what you encounter when reading the totalitarian novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury from the perspective of the protagonist Guy Montag, a fireman with the task of burning every still existing book there is. Throughout the course of the novel, he begins questioning his current life-situation and evolves from a workaholic to a rule-breaking rebel in a matter of days. Considering the occupation of the protagonist, fire coincidentally has a significant role in this story, however, the symbolism changes coherently with Montag himself. The meaning of fire and burning provides dimension and depth and thus making it a food for thought type

“Could I change it if I wanted, can I rise above the flood? / Will it wash out in the water, or is it always in the blood?” (Mayer). A question posed by the artist John Mayer holds true for the characters in Flannery O’Connor’s most famous novel, Wise Blood. In this novel, O’Connor paints a picture of a small town in the heart of the Bible Belt and the internal struggle of its inhabitants. The protagonist, Hazel Motes, procures a twisted version of the Gospel and evangelizes to those who are made to believe they are lost. Yet, according to the teachings of Haze, this picture that humans are inherently sinful and in need of saving is false. In this novel, Flannery O’Connor uses inanimate objects to show the attempts of Haze to replace what he knows to be true. Enoch Emory, on the other hand, struggles with a curse he believes he was born with – wise blood. The prevalent themes of symbolism and imagery in Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood represent the inner battle between spirituality and the human nature of rebellion.

In a perfect world, there is no sight of people who are deemed as flaws in the context as being troubled and create trouble. This is a prime example in the short story “The Broken Globe” by Henry Kreisel. Mr. Solchuk is one who disturbs the peace, whether it is intentional or not, he serves the purpose as being the man who is broken. Solchuk senior puts his judgment before anything else, even his family, indicating that his stubbornness has gotten the best of himself. The author demonstrates that prioritizing your beliefs before others leads to close mindedness, causes rifts between individuals and breaks relationships.

The caramel rebozo is referred to a “Mexican shawl.” () Throughout the story, the one item that Soledad and Celaya admire so much is this Carmelo rebozo. This rebozo is one that Soledad’s mother was working on before she died. Her mother never got a chance to finish the shawl, but it was given to Soledad. Celaya always wanted the rebozo for herself, and when her father tries to buy her a silk shawl, the evil grandmother says that there is no way a girl like Celaya will ever appreciate such a beautiful shawl. But, when the grandmother passes away, the rebozo is passed down to Celaya, and she treasures this item just as her grandmother did. In the novel Caramelo, by Sandra Cisneros, Cisneros utilizes the symbols of the caramelo rebozo in order to signify destiny, truth and lies, and fights to show the family and its members’ relationships and traditions. Cisneros uses each of these significances in order to show multiple people and events describe a theme. The caramelo rebozo is one of the most important symbols of the novel. It not only ties itself to the theme of security, safety, and leadership, but also to the other symbols presented.

In the story “Dealing with Dragons,” Patricia Wrede tells the tale of an adventurous princess who runs away from her family. In this fictional story set in medieval times, she becomes a dragon’s princess and helps Kazul (Cimorenes Dragon) become king of the dragons. Write an argumentative essay to make a claim that Cimorene the main character of the story, is justified or not justified in ignoring the expected social norms of her day. One way Cimorene was justified in ignoring the expected social norms of her day is by helping the stone prince.