Alice Munro Symbolism

Even though she was at her house, she still hurried to get to school for the feeling of satisfaction and safety instead of staying at her house which is filled with fear and discomfort. Barry uses the main character’s actions to convey that the narrator only feels comfort when she is at school and that she always urges to be there. Secondly, in the passage that follows, Lynda Barry writes the narrator’s thoughts to show that just the sighting of someone’s safe haven can relieve panic. “ All I knew was a feeling of panic, like the panic that strikes kids when they realize they are lost. That feeling eased the moment I turned the corner and saw the dark outline of my school at the top of the hill” (Barry 1). The quotes conveys that just when the protagonist sees the outline of her school the feeling of discomfort simply disappears. The narrator’s mind finally went calm, as shown through the thoughts that went through her head. Thirdly, in the next excerpt, the author uses first person narrative to express the thinking of the central figure of narrative. “It’s only thinking about it now, 28 years later, that

In conclusion, In the Time of the Butterflies, is a very touching and breathtaking book that embedded the historical event into a chronological story that showed the symbolic and thematic topics that occurred in the time periods the book was set in which was from 1930’s-1990’s where Dede was telling the

Grief and tragedy not only change you, but also reveal who you truly are. A transformation of faith, especially through anguish, is a theme throughout the story that binds many of the characters together, but impacts Patria’s life most prominently. In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, depicts the life of woman who goes from an aspirant nun, to a person with a lack of faith, and then back to having a strong faith in her religion. Events within the novel constituted these changes in Patria’s life with examples being her husband’s influence, the miscarriage of her third child, and the family pilgrimage which acted as a rekindling.

As a little girl, I saw the world in the best light simply because innocence clouded my judgement. As a child, I was innocent of mortality, as a teen hope, and as a young adult love. However, later on that innocence took on the role of ignorance. Not in the sense of not being knowledgeable or educated on the matter, but rather knowing it all too well that I choose not to acknowledge it. Innocence can be served as an instrument to block out surroundings when problems arise. It is an illusion of reality to protect what the individual desires to be true to what is actual. In Wendy Cope’s poem “Reading Scheme,” Cope writes about an affair more from the perspective of children by using the villanelle form to illustrate the inability of the

Glimpses of true beauty, dignity, and humanity show periodically within the camp. The narrator even refers to the camp as being a heaven of peace...” Suddenly I see the camp as a haven of peace. It is true, other may be dying, but one is somehow still alive, one has enough food, enough strength to work ....” The narrator is also touched and surprised as "suddenly, above the teeming crowd pushing forward like a river driven by an unseen power, a girl appears. She descends lightly from the train", as if she is of higher status or more grace. There is just something about this girl that makes him so enchanted by her. Her bravery stands out for while she is near the "gas chamber: communal and disgusting." She faces these horrors and "with a natural gesture she runs her hands down her blouse, casually straightens her skirt....mature look in her eyes." This girl possesses values that the other prisoners have lost. Not only does she have "enchanting blond hair, with beautiful breasts", she also has those rare qualities of courage, faith, and dignity. While she comes

The book begins with Corrie celebrating the centennial anniversary of family’s watch shop in Haarlem, Holland. The shop continues on with normal operations even though this is a festive day. Many well-wishers flowed in and out the shop with gifts. Out of all of the flowers received,

Therefore, In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, and Saturday, by Ian McEwan, do have a connection between them in terms of theme and characterization, although one is the story of revolutionary sisters in the Dominican Republic, while the other is about a self-absorbed neurosurgeon in London, two stories that are worlds apart. Family is a more than crucial part of life. Family provides support, love, comfort, and someone to share the great experiences of life. Whether family is parents and siblings, teammates, or close friends, life can never be fulfilled without those people. In both Saturday, and In the Time of the Butterflies, a common theme of the importance and happiness of family is shared.

The discovery that evil exists within the most beautiful aspects of nature is a daunting revelation. It is the sudden realisation that not all discoveries are uplifting and that there will be a moment in our life when naivety will be lost and stark reality will be faced. Alice Walker’s short story “The Flowers” (1988) illustrates how an abrupt discovery can lead to the ultimate loss of innocence. Walker uses “The flowers” as an allegory of innocence where children gravitate towards the sweeter, unaffected aspects of life but eventually are bound to stumble across the corruption inherent in human nature.

As the story begins, Olsen receives a call from her daughter’s schoolteacher asking her to come to the school to talk with her about Emily’s problems. Olsen draws the reader in as she addresses the teacher in her thoughts. She wonders, "Even if I came in, what good would it do? You think because

Myra experiences the insensitivity and cruelty of her classmates in “The Day of the Butterfly,” a short story by Alice Munro. For example, Myra’s younger brother, Jimmy Sayla, needs Myra to take him to the bathroom, but one time he arrives too late and Myra asks Miss Darling if she can take him home because he has had and “accident,” drawing a response of “a muted giggling which alerted the rest of the class” (143) from nearby students. Rather than trying to be accepting of Myra’s misfortunes and perhaps unusual responsibilities, the other students in the class make fun of her for those reasons. The fact that the students begin giggling at Myra’s expense is a sign of utter disrespect towards the Sayla family and total insensitivity. In addition,

Toni Morrison’s short story “Recitatif,” tells of a friendship started between two young eight-year-old girls, Twyla and Roberta, one black and one white, who find themselves in an orphanage after their mothers are deemed unfit to care for them. Through Twyla’s perspective, she tells us her mother “danced all night, and Roberta’s was sick.” (239) The story follows the two girls, Twyla and Roberta, through specific encounters and dialect shared well into their thirties. At each encounter, the women recount their time at St. Bonny’s, specifically discussing Maggie, the “kitchen woman with legs like parentheses” (240) whom the girls thought to be a deaf-mute. Maggie’s character, although not in the forefront, is specifically important in understanding the girl’s memories and the overall story. It is through Twyla and Roberta’s sporadic dialogues that Morrison’s ambiguous writing encompasses not only social class, economic status, and racism, but contains an underlying message that truth in memories is subjective. This powerful message, reinforced at the end of the story, leaves the audience wondering how much of Twyla’s recollection is, in fact, true, when Roberta uncovers her tearful face and asks Twyla, “What the hell happened to Maggie?” (252)

Alice Walker “The Flowers” is a literary piece in which violence is not presented but suggested , and not experienced, but witnessed. Alice Walker is a contemporary African-American writer who is mainly concerned with racism. She has worked to address problems of poverty and inequality. Originally written in 1970, it is set in the south of America and is about Myop a small 10- year old African-American girl who explores the place where she lives with her black family. Alice Walker succeeded in employing symbolism to highlight childhood innocence and the loss of it.

Harvey Fierson once said,“never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accepts no one’s definition of your life, but define it yourself.” Throughout life many people struggle to find who they are or the person they want the world to see. One can say this dilemma stems from the human need of belongingness, as demonstrated in Maslow 's hierarchy of needs. “Day of the Butterfly” by Alice Munro depicts this idea through the relationship, that is formed between the main characters Helen and Myra. Helen can be viewed as a dynamic and round character because her personality shifted a lot throughout the story. The reader was also allowed to see her battle with “self” from the beginning to end of the narrative. Myra on the other hand, would be a foil or static character. This is due to the fact that Myra remained constant and she was the reason behind Helen’s actions and thoughts. However for this analysis we will focus solely on Helen and how her character was affected and evolved. She was a very weak-minded, submissive, and scared individual, who later exhibit qualities of bravery. At the end we can see how she began to step into who she was as an individual. Now we will look at how Helen was affected mentally, socially and emotionally.

In Alice Munro’s short story, Boys and Girls, the underlying theme displayed throughout the entirety of the story is conforming and defying to society’s gender expectations. This is shown through the literary device, symbolism. Symbolism is seen through Flora the horse and the protagonist’s mother.

Now the story, “Day of the Butterfly” was written by Alice Munro and had a clear theme. The theme of this wonderful story was friendship. It showed how the main character became friends with a girl named Myra. In fact, we never learned about the main characters name but we do learn a lot about Myra. In the story, Myra is a lonely girl who has to hang out with her younger brother all the time because he doesn’t get along with the other boys. This is what separates Myra and her classmates. One day our main character confronts Myra and they quickly become friends. The main character of this kind-hearted story gives a Cracker Jack prize to her new friend. It was a glass butterfly. Now when you first read this story you immediately