John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck, a 20th century novelist, was the recipient of numerous awards including the Nobel Prize. Steinbeck, a conservative that valued the old America, could produce pages of beauty followed by pages of sheer trash writing using specific characteristics, which his work is characterized by. John Steinbeck's work is characterized by symbolism and allegory, which can be seen in his novels The Pearl, The Grapes ofWrath, and his short story "Flight." In his short story, "Flight," John Steinbeck uses many examples of symbolism, which is one way you can characterize John Steinbecks' work. Symbolism can be a person, place, or thing used to portray something beyond itself. The most repeatedly used symbol in "Flight" is the color black. In literature many authors use the color black to represent death. In his short story, "Flight," Steinbeck has numerous examples of color symbolism. A few examples are the black handle on the long blade, Pepe's black hair, and the black jerky. Another example may be found when Pepe puts on his fathers black coat, which represents death. When Pepe puts on the coat he is literally covering himself with death. Another fine example is the trail in which Pepe travels. Steinbeck describes the path as a
The darkness of the shadow symbolizes death in the home. Before Steinbeck Ernest Hemingway was the last to receive the Nobel award. After dealing with the depression, America came upon World War II. The meaning of the final paragraph, were in the barn they come across a boy and a starving old man, too weak to eat the bread his son stole for him, is also clearly an example of Christian symbolism. An example of nature symbolism is water, which is used to represent life. Another fine example is when Pepe watches the sun set in the West. That is one of the main reasons that Steinbeck is so closely compared to Hemingway. Direction is another symbol Steinbeck uses, which is in "Flight" as well. The title itself is a Christian allusion, Suggesting the coming of the Lord, revealing that the story exists in Christian context, and indicating that we should expect to find some Christian meaning. The direction up, which is also the way to heaven is generally "good," while down, the direction of hell, is considered to be "bad. Throughout the story he uses nature to symbolize a variety of things. Some examples in the short story "Flight" are Pepes' water bag that he hung over his horses' shoulder, which began to leak, symbolizing Pepes' life leaking away. North and East are generally "good" directions. Many people feel this came about when the early man saw the sun rise in the East. By traveling on this path he is in fact taking the road of death.
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