Symbols In Margaret Laurence's 'Horses The Night'

The message behind the drawing of Chris McCandless shedding his old “skin” is to show how Chris wants to break away from the norms of society and put his past behind him. He is transforming into the man he’s always anticipated to be and isn’t giving into the expectations the world has set up for him. Chris knows the dangers that conformity comes with and he doesn’t plan on being the next victim. The message behind the drawing of the little boy’s “light bulb” being crossed out is to show how the teacher has ignored his out of the ordinary idea and how it wasn’t accepted. When conformity comes into play and certain statements become neglected and are viewed as unfamiliar, the youth won’t be able to help shape the world even more.

Another crucial aspect of a quality bildungsroman piece is the search for a meaningful existence carried out by the main character or protagonist. In a bildungsroman, the main character must have an epiphany somewhere throughout the story which causes them to realize their place in society. This epiphany is influenced by their journey away from home, and gives them insight to the meaning of their existence (Casano). John Grady Cole’s search for existence in All the Pretty Horses is long and painful when looking at his journey to Mexico as a whole. Cole decides to stay in Mexico after meeting the love of his life, Alejandra, which is when he discovers the meaning of his life (Delafuente).

In my opinion, three of the most important symbols shown in this book is: Craig 's Tentacles, his Anchors, and The Shift. With out these three things, the book would not have value. In my previous blog post, I touched on this subject a lot. The tentacles show the things in Craig 's life that negatively influence him. The anchors are the good things in Craig 's life that he tries to hold on to.

During the Holocaust, the yellow star badge was assigned to the Jews during Hitler’s reign. This badge is a good example of a symbol. To Hitler and the Nazis, the yellow star symbolized that whomever wore it was a Jew. To the Jews, whomever wore this badge were to be sent to the concentration camps. They either worked there, were cremated at the crematory, or both.

Margot wants to see the sun on one of the days it is to come from behind its veil of clouds. This is prevented by a group of kids that bully her and lock her in a closet. “They surged about her, caught her up and bore her, protesting, and then pleading, and then crying, back into a tunnel, a room, a closet, where they slammed and locked the door.” Furthermore, in these examples it is evident that these characters frequently meet tragic ends. Such as Henry from “Dark They Were and Golden Eyed”, Margot from “All Summer in a Day” and the house from “There Will Come Soft Rains.”

Symbolism allows the author to create a story that would otherwise be bland and monotone. Without this dark romantic element, books, short stories, and poems would not have as much meaning nor appealing detail. Symbolism in "The Raven," "The Devil and Tom Walker," and "The Minister's Black Veil," creates layers of meaning and interesting characters. Symbolism has been used for centuries to spice up the literary world. Sometimes it is used in obvious ways, but other time it has to be thoroughly studied to be imperturbably understood.

He eventually moves to Alaska and wants to run the Iditarod. He tells his stories and explains his relationships with the dogs. He explains the struggles using the literary concepts of symbols, theme, and metaphors to expand the reader’s understanding or the text. Symbol is an object representing something else. It is a concept or idea that uses something else to show it.

In Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe, many symbols are used to justify the overall purpose and meaning of the story. These symbols include the ebony clock, the seven chambers, the scarlet and black room, and the Red Death itself. Each of these symbols help characterize the Prince and his guests, along with foreshadowing the overall outcome of the story. First of all, the seventh chamber and ebony clock not only provide a sense of eeriness, but reveal the underlying personalities and outcomes of the characters. For example, Zapf writes, “In the process of the story, of course, the seventh chamber more and more becomes the center of attention, and with it the clock of ebony which symbolizes the structure of temporality underlying and terminating all human

The function of these symbols in the story play a pivotal role in how the reader perceives the characters and also how the theme of knowledge influences the nature

In addition to that, Morris’ first person perspective is able to also show the audience the character’s shift in self. While going to thank the cougar who he had thought had been chasing him all summer, he describes the experience as, “‘But I didn't know what to do…’ I was not aware as I said that tears streamed down my face. But soon I found myself crying on Mrs. Lovenheim’s porch... of the women to whom I was, in fact, nothing at all.” This highlights the self realization that Morris’ main character had about himself. He was not the center of attention for everyone after all.

The short story, “The Knowners,” is a fictional tale of an alternate reality where mankind has invented a technology which can divine the exact day, upon which a person will die. The story focuses on the impact upon one woman’s life from knowing her own ‘expiration date.’ The story was written by Helen C. Phillips. The first person point of view of Ellie, that the story is told in, allows the reader to truly get a feeling for how the character’s life is affected by her choice.

Symbols are used all throughout the book to add depth to the story. One example of this would be how the children all receive different things as they get older, and how each item has something to represent. A quote that shows this is “females lost their braids at Ten, and males, too, relinquished their long childish hair and took on the more manly short style which exposed their ears” (p. 46) A second symbol in the book is Jonas seeing the color red which is a very “Emotionally intense color” and symbolizes the arrival in conflicting emotions in Jonas. A third and final example

“Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense.” Symbols can add a deeper meaning than just an object itself that the author is trying to make. Symbols can also foreshadow what is yet to come. The audience can interpret a symbol in many ways it depends on their experience. In Southside Chicago the Younger family is struggling to have hope as they are always facing society.

Many symbols are present in the novel, such as milk, light and dark, and home. Milk is associated with youth, immaturity and innocence because it’s white and a very common drink for infants and children. The fact that it’s laced with hallucinogens is representative of corruption of innocence, just like the horrible youth in their society. The idea of light and dark are specifically symbols for Alex, in which light represents danger and darkness is safety. For instance, the doctors that force him into the cruel Reclamation Treatment are always wearing white coats, and the police are always out in the daylight.

Warm hearted and mystical, this film beautifully portrays a family reconciliation with a twist of the supernatural at the end. As mentioned above, the horse seems to have supernatural origins and we see the horse placed in an array of different settings; firstly the Reilly’s apartment, riding in an elevator and then to a movie theatre. The two young boys submit performances that are captivating. It’s a tale that has been crafted to suggest that even living a hard, terrible life, freedom will also happen. It also tells us that in a cruel, corrupt world, children’s intuition are vital.