Symbolism In The Secret Lion By Alberto Alvaro Rios

The first instance that symbolism occurs is when the author uses Gaston, a bug that is found in a peach, who describes the father. “What’s he saying?” asks the daughter. The father replies “Well he’s a little confused. Now inside that house of his he had everything in order.” This excerpt from the story illustrates that Gaston is used to symbolize the father, and that he had his life all together, and now it has fallen apart. Another instance of symbolism occurs when the father explains “It’s where he [Gaston] used to live. Gaston is out in the world and on his own now.” The daughter then asks “He had everything, now what has he got?” The father answers with “Not very much I’m afraid.” These quotes symbolize the father is losing everything, like the bug, and does not have much money. The father takes into consideration of how he can relate to the bug. For example, he is on his own, with nobody close to him. The symbolism of the bug from the peach used in these quotes emphasizes that the father in this story does not have very much, and is lonely, yet he still can see the worthy in things. This description can relate to how he has an impact on his

In Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion, the play of light and shadow are reoccurring motifs that identify and relate to the general themes of remembering and forgetting. H. Porter Abbott has defined motif as “a discrete thing, image, or phrase that is repeated in a narrative”, where in contrast, a theme “is a more generalized…concept that is suggested by… motifs” (237). Abbott emphasizes that “Themes are implicit in motifs, but not the other way around” (95). In In the Skin of a Lion, Ondaatje emphasizes the class struggles endured by the immigrant workers and the internal struggles faced by the central characters. The motif of chiaroscuro, the play of light and shadow, reflects how the characters try to forget their past and personal burdens, and strive to recall joyful memories, which aides them in embracing new beginnings and creating new memories. I will argue that the motif of light relates to the theme of remembering and the motif of shadow identifies with the theme of forgetting. I will show these relationships by analyzing the imagery and context of four central scenes in which light and shadow play a significant role. Firstly, I will discuss the event of the nun falling off the unfinished bridge. Secondly, I will consider the candle-light vigil held for the deceased bridge works. Thirdly, I will discuss the working conditions of the tunnel workers in the section “Palace of Purification”, and lastly, I will analyze the concluding scene in which Patrick and Hana

The mood of the speaker changes to guilt as the speaker and her mother realize they would "crawl" with "shame" and leave an "emptiness" in their father's heart and yard. The author negatively connotes "crawl," "shame," and "emptiness" to invoke a more serious and shameful tone. The beginning of the conveyed a more matter-of-fact and pragmatic tone, but changes into a more sentimental one by the end to convey family is more important than the money. The symbol of the tree represents the family, and connects it to their father's hard work and dedication to the family. If they were to cut it down, it would be symbolic of their betrayal. Imagery of the tree is used to describe the freedom and beauty of the tree as it "swings through another year of sun and leaping winds, of leaves and bounding fruit." The tree represents their family bond and how strong it is even through the "whip-crack of the mortgage."

Since the boys were children, the audience can see the differences with their families, the way they are treated by the people around them and indeed their lives.

Krakauer uses the symbol of a beast in Into the Wild to reveal that as Chris’ journey continues his inner beast continues to develop. To begin, the beast reveals Chris is “strong in Buck” (Krakauer, 38). As a form of resistance a beast will buck; it does not worry about who it may hurt but just kicks, throwing a rider off its back. In the same way Chris does not agree with society so he bucks and runs away, he had “an uncanny knack for making a buck” (115) “there was no way to stop him” (118) his leaving was “one abrupt, swift action… completely knock[ing] them [his family] out” (64). This is significant because this symbol reveals Chris rejects society and thus leaves his family to fuel his own desires. Just as a beast will buck to resist its master

But they don’t get done’’ (78). This shows how they weren’t functioning as a group and there was a lack of commitment to the group. The boys later would be told about a “beast” that had everyone on high alert and would eventually tear the group apart. Every bad decision and wrong move the boys made, slowly starts to pick at their already crumbling society. If the boys don’t get it together soon, their civilization and society will collapse and chaos will

John B. Watson and B.F skinner are behaviorist that would say that the boys learned this behavior by association. The thoughts process of the boys was immature but adult-like in many ways. The behaviors witnessed says a lot about the boys. The language and actions of the boys influenced the boys as they grew into adolescence and later on adulthood. The way the four boy's lives turned out, exhibited the very reason why I believe that the

Where the boys live there is barely enough room for houses. This is because they live in a floating town. I could see all the expressions on the guys’ faces. They were trying their best to come up with ideas, even when everyone else thought it was impossible. This tells us that even when others thought it was impossible, they still did not give up. Suddenly, one of the boys had an idea; they could use the old remains of wood to build the pitch. They dedicated all of their free time to this practice space. They worked after school everyday to finish the pitch. This really shows their dedication and hard work they put into the pitch. They also didn’t give up on their dream even in hard circumstances. “After a lot of hard work, we had our own pitch to play on. It was shaky, uneven, and had nails sticking out of it everywhere.” Even though it was not perfect, the boys were pleased that they had come up with a space to practice. Ironically, because of the small space, their footwork improved and so did

Something in the boys snaps at this moment and the flood gates holding back the dark destructive behaviours they possess are opened and all the laws and civilization that existed crumbles.

One could also look at it as there are now more things threatening the survival of the boys which cause them to make riskier decisions. The choices that they choose is what makes the boys more instinctual. Not the choices themselves but what comes out of their decision and not the situation is

When the boys crash land on the island, they become isolated from the outside world, allowing an internal world that acts to be born. This internal world acts as a microcosm to reflect the conflicts of the outside. As

    Symbolism of colors is evident in much of literature. "The Blue Hotel" by Stephen Crane, "The Black Cat" of Edgar Allan Poe, "Night" by William Blake, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot, and "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams encompass examples of color symbolism from both the prose and the poetry of literature. When drawing from various modes of psychology, interpretations of various colors, with emphasis to dream psychology, an analysis of the colors themselves and then their applications to literature can be readily addressed.

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.

I think the boys are acting like this because they are scared, and don’t know how long this peace environment that they are in will last. They are not used to having a cot to sleep on and warm food and people to take care of them. They are out of their element, they feel uncomfortable. So they are doing things that they would normal do during war, because that became a way of life for them.

Tadtarin, a festival for women fertility is paradoxical when celebrated on the Feast Day of John the Baptist [and the preceding two days] which is an event that symbolizes manhood. The said symbol was described in the line “a fine, blonde, heroic St. John: very male, very arrogant: the Lord of Summer indeed; the Lord of Light and Heat—erect and godly virile above the prone and female earth”. This was opposed by the fact that at the end of the day of the feast, where the women will “worship a more ancient lord”, the Tadtarin will happen. This may symbolize the rule of women in the story as depicted in the thoughts of Doña Lupeng on the John the Baptist feast, “For this arrogance, this pride, this bluff male health of theirs was founded on the