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Theme Of Symbolism In The Body By Stephen King

Decent Essays
When reading Stephen King’s “The Body” there are many accounts of symbolism that happen throughout the novella, some being more apparent than others. Some of the main and more important examples of symbolism would be Vern’s lost penny jar, Mr. Lachance’s garden, and finally the deer that Gordie sees while near the train tracks. These specific items have very meaningful symbolism attached to them that is vital to the story. When the main characters are first being introduced Gordie, the narrator, tells us a small story about his friend, Vern Tessio, who “buried a quart jar of pennies under the long Tessio front porch.” (300) Gordie later explains that Vern “was playing a pirate sort of game, and the pennies were buried treasure...He forgot all about it for a month or so...He tried to find the spot from memory and dug there. No luck. To the right and left of that spot. Still no luck,” (300-301). Vern’s penny jar, which he considers to be his treasure, is like his friendship with the rest of the boys. Their friendship is considered treasure due to the fact that they are each other's support system and they all stand by each other no matter what happens. The fact that Vern lost his treasured penny jar is like when the boys stop talking to each other after they come back home from finding Ray Brower’s dead body. Gordie later confirms this by saying “Teddy and Vern slowly became just two more faces in the halls or in three-thirty detention,” (432). Like the penny jar was never
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