Religious Symbolism in And Sarah Laughed
Character Analysis and Religious Symbolism in Greenberg's >From the beginning of her career, Joanne Greenberg has excelled in creating thoughtful characters fighting to portray their independent spirit. (Hallsworth, 2) And Sarah Laughed is a short story of the lives of an unlikely couple who are living worlds apart despite the fact that they have been happily married for the past 25 years. Greenberg, whose writing incorporates a religious symbolism, pens a touching story that takes readers on a journey with a stubborn, yet loving women who reaches a level of serenity and acceptance as she bravely "places her hand out" into a new found world of expression. Greenberg's device of writing, through literary techniques, allow And Sarah Laughed to surpass the length of detail needed to make a story such as this appealing, subsequently describing the relationship of this unique household. Her depiction of the characters as a seemingly ordinary couple, separated by lack of words, is more substantial for her purpose-writing a short story based upon the impact of their lives have on each other. Thus, the comparison of actually living with the inability to hear or living with a person who has the inability to hear
The entire work contains words denoting the story of Sarah in Genesis 18, as written in the Bible. She had looked forward to sharing "confidences between them. " In comparison to Greenberg's story, Sarah becomes closed minded to the fact that there is another way of communicating with her husband-she was scared. As Abel brings his new wife, Janice, home, Sarah notices that "finger gestures" , their way of communicating, seems to make them happy. " notes the apprehension and concern of Sarah-just as any mother feels when meeting a new love in their child's life. Janice, in a sense, creates "laughter" for Sarah by enabling her to "talk" to her husband for the first time in 25 years, the way he was able to, just as God had done by blessing Sarah and Abraham with a child in the Bible. Sarah is represented as a hard working mother to Abel and a loving, patient wife to Matthew. She does not halt progress in her work with excessive ramblings. In the Bible, Sarah desires a baby, but she is unable to conceive for her husband after trying many times. However, Janice, who compares to God in! the story, enlightens Sarah and Matthew through the gift of sign language. Ironically, she has become abnormal. Ultimately, through her touching words and religious pattern of writing, Greenberg proves to us in her characters that love is helpless against the ironies of miscommunication.
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