The Gilded Six-Bits Symbols

The Glass Castle is a memoir by Jeanette Walls in which she tells the story of her childhood and the way she became who she is. Her path to her balanced present was too difficult and full of hardships, yet she managed to become a successful and prosperous person whose life experience gives her a push to make her life happy. It stands to mention that the novel is full of symbols which contribute to reader's understanding of Jeanette's character and represent her most important traits and desires. Besides, all the symbols such as the fire, the Joshua tree, the geode and the glass castle are recurring and contribute to understanding the struggle of Jeanette's childhood, her ability to overcome it and build a successful life.

Did you know the first penney the u.S. has ever seen was created and produced in the year 1857? The penny we know of has been in the states for 161 years. In the year 2012 there was a proposal that the United States get rid of the penny, the least valuable coin in the money system. The penny has so little value, but cost too much to make. Although the U.S. loses millions of dollars a year to the production of pennies, American pennies should not be ceased minting because of the risk of economic changes,the piece of culture they each possess and their “ power in numbers”.

The Authors, Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston write two great stories, “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” and “The Gilded Six-Bits”. The main characters of the two stories Dave, Missie May, and Joe bring the stories to life. In the story, “The Gilded Six-Bits” Missie May and Joe have a conflict with a stranger, Otis Slemmons who promises them riche, but only causes chaos in their marriage. Dave in the story, “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” thinks having a makes him a man. The main purpose of the story being a man and becoming a man in two different perspectives.

Virgil had gone to the bank to ask what kind of cash was used and to his surprise, it was all coins. Quarters, halves, and even nickels and dimes. There were some bills as well, but the largest was $5. He could’ve deposited it and gained interest from it, getting about $18 a year. Also, it would’ve also been safer for him and his money. Sam had been hoarding it slowly, but surely, to save up for his mortgage and after this concern had been resolved, Sam was released and was a free man

In the novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the theme of escape is presented by the use of three symbols. These three symbols include looking out windows, riding carriages, and the movement of swimming and boat riding. All of these symbols help Mrs. Pontellier realize that she wants an escape from her life. Edna feels inclined to escape throughout the novel and three symbols that prove this are windows, carriages, and movement.

Another item the narrator stores in his briefcase is a coin bank. Right before he is about to leave Mary (the kind lady who gives him refuge in New York) to join the Brotherhood, the narrator notices a “cast-iron figure

The U.S. penny has been a standard in our currency system for almost as long as our country has existed as a sovereign nation, but due to inflation, production costs, and the changing times we live in, it is no longer a sustainable unit of currency and only serves to increase our national deficit and waste our time. When the penny was produced for the first time in 1792 by the U.S. Mint, it was made of pure copper, featured a woman with flowing hair, and was inscribed with the words “Liberty”. Since then, the design and composition have changed numerous times to reflect our changing nation. Despite its fading glory, the penny has been kept alive by numerous false lobbying fronts and a stubborn ideology, but

The penny has a lot of history, through the 200 years the penny changed design and value. Based on the article “The Ever-Changing Penny.” The first pennies were minted in 1857, they were very large, larger than a modern day quarter and had different images of the statue of liberty on the front(4). With this example, one can see,there were several visions for the penny before the final product of the Abraham Lincoln penny in 1909. The history of the penny reveals more than just a coin, it exposes a piece of american culture. The penny has influenced our language, giving us a number of idioms, such as “A penny for your thoughts” And “Not one red cent”(4). Despite its cultural influences the penny is under attack currently, the reason? Because making the penny also costs money, more than its worth,in 2011, it costs the U.S. more than 2.4 cents to produce the penny. The History of the One-Cent piece is a curious one. How long it will remain a part of your spending currency is yet

the lack of silver currency. It mentions how the money at the time became hard to come

The significance of the silver dollars at the beginning of the story show a way that the two love birds Missie May and Joe play together. Joe’s meaning when he leaves Missie May the gilded coin on the table is to show her what Otis gave to her was not real at all it was a fraud just like him, unlike the real sliver dollars he tossed at her every Saturday evening. However in the end of the story the significance of the silver dollars changed to show the couple’s love which was much more valuable than gold.

Coins, quilts and a creek, what could these three things possibly have in common? They are all symbols of love, freedom, family and legacy. In “The Gilded Six Bits” by Zora Neale Hurston the coins represent Joe and Missie Mae’s relationship. In “Women Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros the creek represents a bridge to the past and the future for Cleofilas. In “Use” by Alice Walker the quilts represent family legacy and what happens when families disagree about that legacy.

I found that the impression of things; especially, things that are foreign to a person can be misleading. As shown in "The Gilded Six-Bits", by Zora Neale Hurston, Slemmons tricks Missie May into thinking he had gold and would share it with her, but the gold was actually a gilded coin. I found that the gilded coin to be a metaphor for many of life's aspects, that they are desirable at first glance, but after inspection they are gilded. It is interesting that Hurston used money and gold to represent this because money is something everyone needs and uses, though can't allows obtain. While the first impression of the gold or money is of glamor, stability, and happiness, the cost and realities of obtaining the goal may not be up to par. Money

Jackson was not a fan of the concept of paper money which was a concept being brought up at around the time. The golden bars also represent the national bank, which Jackson definitely was highly opposed to. Jackson did not like the concept of paper money because of his interpretation of the constitution, which he saw as clearly stating that gold and silver should be the currency. He didn’t like the bank because he saw it as unconstitutional and gave the government too much power which wasn’t given to it in the constitution.

Zora Neale Hurston, author of the Gilded Six Bits, has a very unique writing style. The artistry in her story makes it a pleasant, easy read for any audience. The title suggests the story is based around money; but rather if one were to dig deeper the reality of the story is being told around the playfulness of money. Character disposition, an idealistic dialect, and the ability to work past an issue all work together to prove that Joe and Missie May’s lives are not strictly revolved around money.

In this short story “Scrapbook” The author, Neil Smith uses objects as metaphors to symbolize the event which had just occurred at Robertson Hall. Giving a vivid picture of emotions the students experienced. He also uses colors to indicate the state of being. Amy and her boyfriend Thomas are two of the survivors of the campus massacre. Traumatized by the event and the fact that their very own, Buddy MacDonald could take lives so maliciously. They try to move past the shooting and carry on with their lives. Thomas is more affected since he witnessed the event unfold and finds himself struggling to cope. Amy, who later realizes that she had been a prime target of the shooter, channels her energy and time into helping Thomas to get back to normalcy, as well as express her own emotions by keeping a scrapbook.