Little Match Girl

Firstly, for some, peace and comfort can only be obtained in death. The little match girl seeks such comfort in the streets, but obviously finds none in the bitter, bleak night. Once she is, “quite numb with cold” (1) she thinks: “Ah but a little match – that would be a comfort” (1). So, light here represents the comfort of heat. For example, when she does light the match, it blazes into a, “clear warm flame” (1)

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Therefore, death need not be viewed as the ultimate evil, as for many it can be a release into a better life. Surely her smile represents death as something not to fear, but to embrace when the time comes. For example, when she strikes another match, “it [gives] a glow all around and there […] stood her old Grandmother, looking so very bright and gentle and loving” (1). To some it is a sweet dream of a better life that we shall someday grasp with the coming of the eternal dawn. For example, when she lights another match she sees a Christmas tree with “hundreds of candles burning [that] [look] down at her” (1). The glow which surrounds both the little girl and her Grannie represents the bond of love which has been rekindled in death. Therefore, death has released her from a cold world into the warmth of eternal love. But as the little girl dies she receives care from heaven. Death is not perceived by all as a threat. By lighting the match, she is able to take down the constraints upon her thoughts: “where the gleam fell on the wall this became transparent like gauze” (1). When the match goes out, “the stove vanishes” (1) and she is left again to suffer the icy night. This display of love is so strong that the, “matches [flare] up […] gloriously” (1) and it becomes “brighter than broad daylight” (1).

Here, the matches represent her imagination and wild thoughts, which have only been “lit” through defiance to corrupt adult authority. So, our little match girl has passed on from this social hell to the permanent care of heaven.

Furthermore, an important aspect of childhood innocence is imagination.

Common topics in this essay:
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Approximate Word count = 1073
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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