Symbolism In Margaret Laurence's A Bird In The House

Familial relationships enhance unity and trust and other important values that we may use in our daily lives. Within society, family is highly important, which may be the reason why Edgar Allan Poe decided to symbolize it through the aspect of the House. One could say; the passage depicts the idea that looks can be deceiving, especially when it comes to family. In regard to the hidden depths in Poe’s story, The Fall of the House of Usher, it is evident that in theory the house of Usher is in fact a visual representation of the family. The passage appears near the beginning of the story. It also in detail describes the appearance of the House of Usher. The narrator first saw the masonry through what he thought was antiquity, but in closely evaluating

The lengthy description of the house entails the various complaints he has about his living arrangements, and further on in the passage, how he would feel if it was to be blown up – apathetic, it just happens sometimes. Thus, setting the obscurity with which this character

In “Down Home”, Lucy Montgomery uses personification and imagery to not only provide the reader insight into her ‘safe place’ that she treasures dearly, but to develop the theme that wherever one’s family and ‘safe place’ is, is where their heart is.

The house scene reveals Mick’s attempt to escape but even in her moments of escape Mick is recalled back to reality by Ralph’s cries. Mick climbs up to the roof of the house and she is described by the narrator as a bird like figure, the narrator states, “she spread out her arms like wings” (34). Mick’s representation as a bird indicates that she wants to separate herself from reality and live a life where she can be free to fulfill her dreams of becoming a musician, a traveler, and an

I feel like I don 't belong here. The house is wife and mother now, and nursemaid. Can I compete with an African veldt? Can I give a bath and scrub the children as efficiently or quickly as the automatic scrub bath can? I cannot....". In contrast the children of the home have grown an unhealthy love and dependence on the home to do all of the work for them. This dependence has done exactly what the mother has feared and taken the role of mother within the mind of the children. When this dependence is threatened by the mother and father threatening to shut down the house or by punishing the children by taking away certain components of the house, this story 's theme reamerges. It emerges through the resentment that the children developed for their actual parents, because they are now only associated with the pain and anger of losing their beloved “smart house”.

The motif of birds is symbolic throughout the film, however, I focused their presence within the parlour scene to reflect Norman’s personality as both himself and Mother. To illustrate Mother gradually becoming the dominate half of Norman’s mind, I expressed my idea through the symbolism of large taxidermy birds. These predators such as the menacing swooping owl and the astute raven, are representative of Mother as she merely emerges when the balance in Norman’s mind is threatened. In this scene, I often surround Marion with small, weak birds in which are passive, and by doing so I foreshadow that she will be a victim of Mother’s predatory nature. I correspondingly use Norman’s posturing and position to reveal which half of Norman’s mind is

Painting a psychological landscape, the excerpt from Margaret Laurence’s novel A Bird in the House reveals that often in the attempt to make the best of a situation, people end up running away from their problems, failing to overcome them. In the end, the attempt to hide from the truth only leads back to the bitter reality. Using imagery and contrast, Laurence explores Vanessa’s journey from escaping into a delusional ideal to being forced to face reality.

Bird imagery seems subtle when reading the story of Jane Eyre as it is scattered amongst the pages of the novel, but in reality it is prominent and a crucial element to the plot. The stylistic device is usually present in times of intense emotion or when Jane must face Passion and Reason, personified concepts that shape the way Jane matures, as she must choose between the two in difficult situations. The imagery softens the hardship the protagonists must face as well. Despite the joy she experienced at Thornfield, Jane has decided it was best for her to leave. Rochester was not persuaded, however, that this was the correct decision and begged her to stay.

As the women were gathering some of Mrs. Wright's things they found a bird cage with a broken door and no bird in sight. They later find the bird in Mrs. Wright's sewing box neatly placed in silk with its neck broken. Mrs. Hale makes the relation of the bird to Mrs. Wright when she stated, "she was kind of like a bird herself-real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and-fluttery," (Glaspell). The canary was a replacement for children and it displaced the silence of the house. Mrs. Wright understood her husband's action as a symbolic strangling of herself, his wife. It is not just because he killed the bird, but because she felt like a caged bird herself. When the women found the bird, they realized that Mrs. Wright killed her husband because he somewhat stopped her from communicating with others. In a sense, by killing the bird he killed his wife. The women related the bird with Mrs. Wright and, in a sense, felt that Mr. Wright was the murderer for what he did to his

House is commonly referred to as another word for warm home and love. Since the house Emily lives in is the only property her father leaves her with, memories and love of his father must be sealed in the house. However, Emily’s house is not cozy or beautiful, but rather an “eyesore among eyesore” (Para.2), with “a smell of dust and disuse” (Para.4). What darkens the once well

Margaret Laurence's A Bird in the House is a collection of short stories that is rich in symbols and similes. Descriptions like "claw hand", "flyaway manner" and "hair bound grotesquely like white-fingered wings" are found abundantly in the writer's novel. The Oxford English Dictionary defines symbols as, "something that stands for, represents, or denotes something else (not by exact resemblance, but by vague suggestion, or by some accidental or conventional relation)" (reference). Yet, there is nothing coincidental about Margaret Laurence's diction and her usage of symbols in "A Bird in the House" and "The Mask of the Bear". These revealing titles effectively foreshadow the plot and character conflicts that occur in their stories.

This would not be an easy environment for a child. The restrictions that are felt by the words make the house seem as though the appearance is of more importance than the comfort. The house is said to be huge, ugly, and show-offish, and through a child’s eyes there is the questioning of why the house needs to be that way. Inside the house the atmosphere is intense, crowded with valuable, superfluous items, requiring proper behaviour.

Wright herself. The canary was Mrs. Wright’s pet bird she bought possibly “around last year” as Mrs. Hale recalls (Glaspell 94). The death of the bird signifies the death of peace, as birds are well known to be symbolic of peace. Also, the bird itself may symbolise Mrs. Wright herself, as she was “lively” talented singer at first, but then caged in a closed environment (depiction of marriage and housekeeping) and then killed (depiction of her social life outside the house). The quilt, although at the start was “so nice and even”, has become “all over the place” by the end of it according to Mrs. Hale (Glaspell 93). The sudden disorder and confusion following straight after a stability and calmness in Mrs. Wright’s lifestyle is accurately represented in this particular symbol. This links with Mrs. Hale’s more positive image of her before she got married to Mr. Wright, mentioned in the paragraph

The imagery and symbolism of the bird is depicted through the novella, where the bird is Edna. A bird represents a strong character, where it has the ability to fly and soar way from its problems ,but is trapped in a cage which is parallel to the society Edna is living in. Edna was not only the one to experience this oppression, but it was a common theme during the Victorian Era,with women being restricted to the domestic sphere, and having the acting role of a dutiful mother and wife. Edna is also shown to have a daydream in which a half naked man is observing a bird fly away, which arises a desire within her to fly away from her husband and her problems.

The idea of freedom is valued in Canada because we know the alternative is the feeling of helplessness. It appalls us to be restricted from doing what we want. More often than not, helplessness is an unexpressed emotion because individuals are not aware of their its presence in their adversities. However, according to Sigmund Freud, “Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.” Usually in the form of unconscious anger. In A Bird in the House, by Margaret Laurence, individuals either displaced or repressed the anger felt from their helplessness in their adversities. Displacement and repression are negative defense mechanisms because both are ineffective in communicating the needs of the