Born May 15, 1890, in Indian Creek, Texas; Katherine Anne Porter has written numerous short stories and a novel. Katherine Anne Porter uses autobiographical information and symbolism to relate the story of Miranda's maturation into adulthood in her short story "The Grave." In &qu...

What Makes a Good Symbol? Symbols are a key aspect of the novel Silas Marner, by George Eliot. Eliot uses them to help develop and intensify the plot of the story. Each symbol represents major themes of the story. Some of the symbols she uses are so discrete, it makes the reader wonder if she m...

Little Birds and Chained Up Dogs In many of the stories read today, symbolism is used to give the story or specific characters a special or hidden meaning. One of the most popular items used as a symbol are animals. Because they alive and have some ability to have feelings, they give a mor...

The Grapes of Wrath combines Steinbeck's idolization of the land, dislike for corporeality and belief that people can survive the malicious influence of their atmosphere. These substantial concepts are woven into the book by the use of inter chapters, the telling of the Joads story and the use ...

"A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty is a story that uses symbolism through the surroundings. The main character of the story is Pheonix Jackson, an old black woman who seeks out to find medicine for her sick nephew. She lives in the woods and faces the journey of walking through the snow to get to th...

The use of a key in a literary piece is an important element to symbolize a higher meaning within a story. A key could represent many different meanings. For instance, in the story "Bluebeard", the key could represent life or death, knowledge, or the ability to open a whole new dimens...

There are many people and objects in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" that hold an alternate meaning that makes them important to the story. . Many of the names of the characters in the story also hold meanings that are not spoken in the story. One is the setting of the story and t...

Of what symbolic value is the California desert? I think California desert symbolize "psalm 23" even though I walk through the valley shadow of death I shall fear no evil for thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. In California desert people hardly survive because of the heat but the ...

"We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are." This quote by Anais Nin expresses an essential point of view for this discussion about the symbolic meaning of inanimate objects, since it is our personality and our memories, which determine our character and meaning. Our feelings towards c...

Contrasting Imagery with Symbolism The story The Cathedral by Raymond Carver is a story of transformation of a human character's life from depression and carelessness to belief and diversity. A cathedral is a symbol of faith, conversion, creativity and strength and is therefore a substantial c...

In "The Horse Dealer's Daughter," symbols are used to fulfill the quest of happiness and love. This love story, written by D.H. Lawrence, has many symbols, which show hidden meaning. One can fully understand a story, if one can point out certain symbols. Symbols create ideas and...

The world is made up of walls. Skyscrapers, houses, schools, theatres and offices are all just a collection of walls with a roof over them. Everything we see has a wall. In addition to their literary function, in Bartleby the idea of the symbolism of the wall is continuous throughout the text. Herma...

Kate Chopin's Symbolic Use of NatureKate Chopin uses nature and symbolism throughout her three short stories. Her vivid use of nature and its elements allow the reader to get a realistic view of the characters and their setting. By using nature to represent the feelings of her characters, Chopin a...

Analytical Essay THE AWAKENING Throughout Kate Chopin's, The Awakening, numerous scenes of birth and renewal are depicted. Various symbols placed throughout the book show Edna Pontellier's awakenings. For instance, many references are made to oceans and water. It is in the wate...

REDWarm lips are red, blood drops are too, Abe Lincoln was shot, the nation was blue. In the poem" O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman, the color red is used as a symbol for many objects. Red symbolizes blood shed, life, happiness and it also associates with love, life, and vitality. Other thing...

In many natural objects, whiteness refines and enhances beauty, as in pearls, or confers special qualities such as innocence or purity. There is an elusive quality that causes the thought of whiteness to heighten terror, such as the white bear of the poles or the white shark of the tropics. Among ...

Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death" is a remarkable masterpiece that exercises thought between the known and the unknown. In Dickinson's poem, "Because I could not stop for Death," there is much impression in the tone, in symbols, and in the use of imagery that exu...

Throughout the "Odyssey", Homer's main character, Odysseus undergoes various changes with himself and his surroundings. He partakes in many adventures that usually have a symbolic meaning to them. In book IX, X, and XI of the Odyssey, Odysseus experiences a symbolic death and rebirth. There are othe...

BARTLEBY: THE NARRATOR'S UNBORN CHILD In Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street," a scrivener named Bartleby disrupts the narrator's tranquil lifestyle by means of mere passiveness. Bartleby leads a morbid existence and everything that he says ...

BirchesThrough symbolism and artistic design Robert Frost illustrates the circle of life, death and life again, a kind of reincarnation of the soul in his poem "Birches." The poem begins with a description of a birch tree under various conditions, symbolic of the numerous hardships experienced by ...

In Virginia Woolf's narrative essay, "The Death of the Moth," she describes a series of events that a tiny moth goes through one afternoon. The moth is stuck in a window, and struggles to get out of the window until its fate takes over, and it dies after trying for so long. The moth i...

INLAND BEACH by Margaret Creal Margaret Creal leaves us with plenty to ponder about as her use of symbolism is used to describe the strength and wisdom of women along with the miracle of birth. Margaret Creal uses symbolism to link the fragility of birth to the delicateness of life. M...

Pearl is the young daughter of Hester and serves mainly as a symbol in The Scarlet Letter. First of all her name is symbolic. The name Pearl implies purity and serenity. Pearl is pure because she is new to the world and is innocent. Pearl is Hester's only treasure in the world, which is ano...

Making decisions throughout life is inevitable. It is unavoidable and inescapable. But being humans with flaws, we can make wrong decisions, which can lead to not being able to make decisions at all, also known as death. Margaret Avison's poem, "The Swimmer's Moment" explains tha...

Robert Frost writes of ordinary life situations in his work, these basic situations are used in to portray a deeper meaning. The simple or ordinary aspects of life that Frost illustrates in his poetry are associated with the extraordinary features of human life. Frost's poetry makes this connec...