preview

Meaning And Symbolism In 'The Dash' By Linda Ellis

Decent Essays

“The Dash” written by Linda Ellis, encourages that life is short, and therefore it is important to live life wisely. To live a wise life, the writer suggests, is to live through morals, such as kindness, respect, dignity, and etcetera. A large theme within this poem is that these virtues are more significant than other materialistic matters. Personally, I agree with the poet in that is it important to live life morally, to prevent regrets prior to death. However, I believe that particular parts within the poem could have been better delivered to leave the reader searching for the text’s meaning and symbolism. Though I definitely agree with the poem’s message, I believe that the poem should have been delivered in a more abstract, artistic way, …show more content…

In the short story, the protagonist lives his life valuing his materialistic items, such as his purple jacket, over the morals in his life. Therefore, this leads to Andy regretting his decisions prior to his death. Looking back onto his life, the protagonist advances materialistically within his gang, but he soon realizes that these items do not matter to him as much as the people and true substance within his life. Andy’s jacket, which carried immense value within his life, also becomes the one thing he despises most significantly before death. Within “The Dash,” the writer prioritizes living a life with true substance so that nobody looks back with regret in their lives. Linda Ellis writes, “With your life’s actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?” This quote especially relates to Andy’s life because though he may have previously completed temporary accomplishments within his gang, he regrets the decisions made in his life, and learns a very prominent theme of the short story. The theme of “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” can be explained through a quote from the poem, which is “Would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?” These concluding lines from the poem describe that it is important to live life to one’s personal best, so

Get Access