Symbols in Cat and Mouse
Symbols are very important in the story "Cat and Mouse" by Lisa Metzgar. Lisa tells the story of a woman dealing with issues from a small mouse in her house, to not wanting to be married. Animals are used throughout the story to symbolize underlying issues. The reason for the story being called what it is instead of just plain 'mouse' is because both the cat and the mouse represent Marcy at one point. The mouse is a symbol of her in that it is trying to escape the traps that are out for it. This is the same way that she is trying to avoid being tied down by the people in her life. The cat can also represent Marcy after it has taken the poison, symbolizing what will happen to her if she allows
…show more content…
She puts out mousetraps with peanut butter in order for the mouse to be enticed enough to fall for the trap. This is the same way that her father is trying to make her chose his side and have Thanksgiving dinner at his new lady's house, using her as the bait. The depressing way that the cat goes around the house, even though its purpose is to catch the mouse can symbolize the way that her mother seems to be feeling. It also seems to be the way that her mother wants Marcy to feel too. When she finds out that Marcy was going to have dinner at both her mother and fathers house, "she thinks her mother is laughing, then she realizes that the sound are a king of crying, a high, hysterical sound" (Metzgar, 75). And the mouse pellets that Marcy lines up along the cabinets can symbolize the different places Tom tries to take her in order to propose. Though the pellets should seem tempting to the mouse, "some mornings [they] have been pushed away from the wall, dismissed" (Metzgar, 67). This is the same way that Marcy seems to brush Tom's invitations to exotic places. She knows that she does like Tom, but marrying him makes her confused: "she cannot separate marrying Tom from the silence in her mother's house...form the cat hairs she found in her toothbrush this morning" (Metzgar, 76). In all of these ways Marcy and the mouse are alike. What she does not realize is that the mouse is annoying her because it is trying to tell her that it needs to be free,
Symbols are used to represent something else deeper than the actual meaning either in real life or in literature. In the story “The Scarlet Ibis”, Doodle who is mentally and physically disabled was not expected to live. Although, he did live, however, he could not do things other children could do such as walk or talk. Therefore, his older brother set out to teach him because he was embarrassed to have an abnormal brother. However, many years later Doodle is soon overworked until he can no longer go on, and he sadly dies. In “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst uses the caul, the oriole nest, and the blood od Doodle as symbols to offer greater insight into abstract ideas that are difficult to understand on their own.
What do symbols illustrate in novels? In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, symbols are illustrated through people, objects, and colors. In this novel, a group of children are faced with the difficulty of living isolated from society after their plane crashes on a deserted island. With no formal civilization, parents, or rules, the kids have the freedom to do as they choose. Throughout the novel, the boys find and use objects on the island that symbolize something of different importance. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses different objects to symbolize the difference between civilization and savagery.
Symbols can be; images, signs, colors, sounds, shapes, anything. It is like how blue can stand for sadness, and how the sun can stand for happiness. Symbolism is an object or an idea that has a representation beyond the literal meaning of the object. The functions of symbols are to add meaning to the text and underline some subtle point the author is making, also to give the reader a clue about the mood of the story and what will happen. The symbols Lorraine Hansberry used in A Raisin in the Sun are the light, plant, and the window. All three symbols; the light, the plant, and the window, have to go together for the Youngers to reach their dream.
Many authors use symbolism to help their readers grasp the concepts they are trying to convey. They take concrete items or ideas to represent something abstract.
Accepting the fact that something is a symbol is easy. However, finding out what it means or what it stands for. Symbols can interpret more than one thing, we can only discuss possible meanings and interpretations. Symbols are not only built on associations readers have, but also on emotional reactions which captures the reader emotionally. f it isn’t symbolism, its allegory, which stands for other things on a one-for-one basis that convey a certain message. The cave is a symbol of secrets and mysteries represents mainly by how the reader engages the story.
A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works, a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. The image of the mule emerges repeatedly in different contexts throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, but remains consistent in its symbolism of Janie. The figure of the mule can also refer not only to Janie herself but to any black woman struggling for independence.
Have you ever thought about further meanings being held by symbols in books that you’ve read? Symbolism is defined as the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. The definition of symbol is a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract. In Nancy Farmer’s novel, The House of the Scorpion, several symbols are utilized; each of these symbols provide greater insight into the characters of El Patron, Celia, and Esperanza, allowing a reader to deeper understand both the characters and the novel. A few of the characters in The House of the Scorpion are shown through symbols in the novel.
As shown in Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton symbolism plays a key role in establishing the characters and plot of the story. Ethan and Zeena’s cat symbolizes Zeena and takes her place when she isn't home. The red pickle dish is a symbol for Ethan and Zeena’s broken marriage. Mattie’s red scarf and ribbon are symbolic of the passion and love shown through Mattie. Each of these symbols contributes to the story as a whole and add depth to it as well.
Anything in a novel can be represented as a symbol. Symbols are a representation of an item through an abstract concept. Surprisingly, a Union Stockyard could also be a symbol; the fictional Packingtown reveals several attributes about the real life Packingtown in the course of The Jungle. In The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, Sinclair uses Packingtown to symbolize the corrupt government, the working class, and the condition of the United States.
A symbol is a person, place, event, or object that suggests more than just its normal meaning. The symbols in this story, “Everyday Use”, were pretty clever and told a lot of clues about the story. Also Little peepholes that would dig into deeper meanings, and hints in the story.
“And when they gone, Candy squatted down in the hay and watched the face of Curley’s wife. ‘Poor bastard,’ he said softly.” Sometimes through false hope, we tend to get to sucked into unrealistic dreams which can lead us to becoming a victim of our own vulnerabilities. Throughout the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, false hopes and dreams have impacted our society and how some people live their lives today. John Steinbeck uses metaphors and foreshadowing to show how false hopes and dreams can sometimes result in something not as great as it was once believed to be, which can ultimately impact our society.
Such symbols include hands to represent labour, cards to signify chance and taking a risk, and finally, rabbits to suggest ideas about achieving one’s hopes and dreams. Symbols are a key central device in delivering meaning, as they consistently repeated throughout the narrative and are typically associated with the novella’s many characters.
What is the use of symbolism in writing? Is it merely to confuse the reader or is its true intent to make the reader think about the meaning of the story? A symbol is a person, object, or event that suggests more than its literal meaning (Meyer 220). In Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants," Hemingway uses a plethora of symbols to convey the idea that the young girl, Jig is ambivalent to having an abortion and that her older American boyfriend does not want to have the baby. Although the word abortion is never used in the story, the reader understands the concept through Hemingway's symbolism.
Symbols unlock the secrets of a story. Hawthorne, in The Scarlet Letter, uses many symbols to represent different things. Some symbols represent the same thing. The letter “A” has many meanings, each character has their own meanings, and even the different parts of nature are symbols. Also, apart from providing structure for the novel, each scaffold scene conveys something different. One could say, arguably, that nearly everything in The Scarlet Letter is a symbol for something else.
Symbolism is very important in a novel because it can be based of an object, person or situation that have a deeper meaning in context. There are many clues in the 12 stories of The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes that are symbols. In pg.50, Julia Stoner’s dying words are, “It was the band! The speckled band!” One would believe that there is some hidden meaning that could symbolize family or trust since they