Symbolism Representing Dual Cultures in Motorcycles & Sweetgrass Symbolism allows the reader to go beyond what is known or seen by creating connections between otherwise very different concepts and experiences. In the novel, Motorcycles and Sweetgrass by Drew Hayden Taylor, symbolism defies the natural evolution of Native Anishnawbe culture to the current Canadian culture. Three examples illustrate this change. First, the reader is witness to the replacing of Sweetgrass, a symbol of Ojibway culture, to the worship of holy crosses and holy water. Secondly, the reader is exposed to the adaptation of names from the mythical Ojibway figure, Nanabush to those that represent English explorers. Finally, the raccoons that have a profound conflict with the man whose name continues to change. The Sweetgrass, the changing names and the raccoons is symbols that emphasize the theme, dual cultures, which shines a light to the transformation taking place on Native reserves. Sweetgrass is a core representation of Ojibway culture, and the replacing of Sweetgrass for symbols of Christianity is evidence that dual cultures are transforming Native reserves. After the death of Lillian Benojee, Maggie, Lillian’s daughter, and John go on a date. During the date, John asks about Maggie’s mother, which causes Maggie to reminisce about the beloved elder, Lillian. She then comments, “my mother would love that. Sweetgrass and holy water. That was my mother. You know, she was as devout as any old Italian lady. She told me I shouldn’t be Chief. She thinks there should be more magic in this world” (181). The struggles Lillian has confronted in her life shapes her into the Christian - Anishnawbe woman that she now identifies. Lillian’s transformation began during her youth when she was sent to a residential school. This started the conflict between the Christian and Anishnawbe beliefs that she had. This is later proven when Jesus and Nanabush, mythological demigods from Christian and Anishnawbe culture, meet and regard Lillian as a woman in the hearts of both demigods. When Maggie visits her dying mother, Lillian, who is on her deathbed, they talk about several topics around the community. In the last days of Lillian’s life, Maggie Second,
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.
The novel Motorcycles and Sweet Grass by Drew Hayden Taylor, is an award winning native comedy. Taylor includes many themes and symbols that enhance and accompany those themes. There are many different themes and symbols that Taylor has incorporated into his novel. Some include crows, raccoons, sweetgrass and John’s motorcycle. In the novel, symbols are a big part of story line development and help enhance themes. The symbols that I will use are the raccoons, the crow and John’s last names. These symbols relate to and enhance primarily mythology.
The literary world contains a vast collection of works, each employing diverse techniques in writing. One technique commonly found in literature is the use of images and symbols. Symbols are sometimes complex and contain both literal and figurative significance. Symbolism in literature is commonly used to bind the attributes of an object with various segments of a story to provide the reader with a deeper understanding and sometimes hidden meaning. In the short story, “A Rose for Emily” William Faulkner utilizes a vast collection of symbols, as a means to enhance the reader’s visual perceptions but also prompts consideration into theories of motive surrounding the murder of Homer Barron.
Another powerful symbolisms was when Jim meets the girls for a picnic. The symbol of the plow against the powerful sun. The third symbol is the rattlesnake and it 's symbol of Jim becoming a man. The girls reminisce as does Jim at the picnic. The girls remember the beautiful wonderful memories of their homelands and contemplate they 're great struggles to make it in America. At the end of their picnic the silhouette of the pile against the setting sun symbolizes the plow like the pioneer spirit of strength, beauty in all inspiring greatness of nature like the sun. “Presently we saw a curious thing: there were no clouds, the sun was going down in a limpid, gold-wash sky. Just as the lower edge of the red disc rested on the high fields against the horizon, and black figure suddenly appeared on the face of the sun. We swing trophy, straining our eyes toward it. In a moment we realized what it was. And some upland farm, a pile have been left standing in the field. The sun was thinking just behind that to find across the distance was the horse on a light, it 's third against the sun, it was exactly contained within the circle of the disk; The handles, the tongue, the share-Black against the mountain ride. They are at wise, heroic in size, A picture the sun. Even while we were whispering about, our vision disappeared; The ball dropped and dropped until the red tip meet with the earth. The field below us was dark, the sky was growing pale, and that forgotten
Drew Hayden Taylor’s Motorcycles and Sweetgrass is praised as the funniest piece of Native Literature in Canada, a stark comparison to many of the other pieces of Native literature which are often dark and filled with sadness. However, Taylor’s Motorcycles and Sweetgrass cannot be considered dark or filled with sadness as it follows the arrival of the Native trickster Nanabush to the Reserve of Otter Lake bringing with him a fresh new take on Native life in Canada through a light, almost comedic lens. It isn’t all jokes and humour, though. As the novel follows John/Nanabush and his mission to bring back Native culture in the sleepy reserve of Otter Lake. This can be seen by the change in Virgil and his new excitement in school. The passion
In the short story, “The Boat” by Alistair Macleod, symbolism is used to represent an abstract idea. The boat, being a major symbol of the story was the way of life for the family. As the story goes on, the boat starts to make the family feel confined giving them a choice to leave or stay with the boat. There were symbols that impacted the story that had connection towards the boat. Chain bracelets, the father’s clothes, the books that the father read are all symbols that tied to the boat. The father's chain bracelets and clothes represent the father feeling trapped as a fisherman since he never changes out of them. We find out more about the characters and their personal connection with the boat and the other symbols and what it means to them. The family starts to fall apart due to the kids learning about the father’s books leading to them moving away from home. Symbolism is used when one thing is meant to represent something else adding meaning and emotion to the story which is well represented throughout the story.
Throughout human existence, mankind has had to overcome difficult obstacles in order to prosper. In Diane Glancy’s “Pushing the Bear”, the reader discovers how the Cherokee Indians overcome their hardships and flourish into a new, thriving community. In this novel, the audience observe how these Cherokee Indians outlast the harsh environment during the Indian Removal Act. Additionally, Glancy creates a human experience during the Trail of Tears; giving a different perspective of various characters. Through the eyes of characters such as Maritole and Knobowtee, the reader is able to sense the desperation that the Cherokee endured. The upheaval of being forcefully removed from the land stripped the Cherokee of their identity. This disruption left the Cherokee confused, causing frustration to arise because they were unable to live their familiar roles. Men were no longer able to farm. Women had a loss of property and wealth. The bear symbolizes these struggles throughout this novel. Maritole explains, “The bear had once been a person. But he was not conscious of the consciousness he was given. His darkness was greed and self-centeredness. It was part of myself, too. It was part of the human being” (183). In other words, the “bear” is the personal dilemma each character is put up against during this removal. Furthermore, each character has their own personal struggles to overcome; whether that be Knobowtee’s loss of masculinity or Maritole’s loss of family. These struggles,
Symbols are often a way to connect the reader to the general theme of a novel, the book Indian Horse is a story of a young Indigenous boy named Saul Indian Horse and all the troubles he went through growing up. Richard Wagamese the author uses symbols like hockey, family and friendship and culture to reinforce a major theme that love can never be broken. The most important symbol in the book is the game of hockey and Saul’s never-ending love for it. While Saul was forced to attend a residential school called St. Jerome’s, he discovered that he is a naturally gifted hockey player.
The reason why the narriator calls hutchison a saint is because when she came too the colony she was having religious meetings in her home.She quicly had an audiance of 60-80 men and women on a weekly basis. i tihnk that Hotchison and Hibbins are total oppisates in the narrator eyes thtas why he might paint Hibbins in a more devilish light and praises the other when he does not know if they both where even witches or
Another example of symbolism is the speaker. The speaker represents authority and power. In the book the people of the community always obeyed the speaker. “IMMEDIATELY, the rasping voice through the speakers had said, LEAVE YOUR BICYCLES WHERE THEY ARE. Instantly, obediently, Jonas had dropped his bike on its side on the path behind his family’s dwelling,” (Lowry, 2). The last example is pale eyes, which symbolize difference. In the community difference is not. Jonas is tired of obeying the community rules and will leave the community.
Jordan Cross has returned to Holiday, Montana after eleven long years to clear out her late aunt’s house, put it on the market, and figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life. Soon, she finds herself facing the town that turned its back on her because she was different. Because being labeled a witch in a small town didn’t earn her many friends…especially when it wasn’t a lie.
A person’s journey can have symbols that come through everyone’s life. Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. In “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, Eudora describes symbols by using people that come through Phoenix’s path while she’s in her journey to Natchez. Eudora uses a nickel, marble cake, big dead trees, mistletoe, and a white hunter to symbolize Phoenix’s difficulties and obstacles that she had to go through in order to get to her destination.
William Faulkner’s novella “The Bear” from his collection of works, Go Down Moses, is a symbolic exploration of the relationship between man and nature in the eyes of a young boy. The heart of the issue, the warped idea of the ownership of land, is revealed thought the clash of man and nature in a wild chase that ends only in blood and death. The prey is nature itself, represented by a bear, while the hunters are men, full of greed and destructive possessiveness, pursuing that which they do not understand. Ike’s idea of the bear, presented in section 1 of the novella, expresses the idea of symbolism in relation to the bear and to the hunters and what the battle between the two represents.
emotions. He also uses a type of writing called the iceberg theory. This idea leaves out small
Culture is a defining thing in every person’s life, and affects them and how they perceive the world. In the poem “Without Title,” the theme is that leaving behind one’s former way of life, culture, and family can lead to the loss of joy, identity, and joy in culture. In this poem by Diane Glancy, it has different ways of showing this loss of culture and identity. Without Title uses a lot of figurative language to show this. Line 14 says, “I remember the animal tracks of the car,”. This shows how the author knows the culture she used to have and recognizes that it is gone and there is no true part of her culture now. She calls car tracks, animal tracks, which is something she would have seen if she had gotten to stay with her people and family. These all have a wistful longing feel in the poem, one of sadness. In the final part of the poem it says, “The red buffalo painted on his chest. Oh, I couldn’t see it but it was there,” This can be a representation of the author’s father’s lost culture, how he still has it be he is not allowed to show it at all, so he just keeps it to himself. In both it shows all the father and the author have left of their culture, their memories, and physical reminders. It shows a loss of identity, and that they both miss it. When the author says her father, “brought home horns and hides,” it can also be representing any piece of his former culture that he tried to bring back into the home, but his wife says to “get rid of them.” The wife could say