... whom order is necessary--as dear as life" (p. 8). Cather goes on to depict the noble characteristics of Father Lour when she writes: "When he discovers the juniper tree in the shape of a cross, his immediate response is one of grateful worship a priest in a thousand . . . His bowed head was not that of an ... "The Passion of Jesus became for him the only reality" (20). Signposts to that paradigmatic Christian story abound throughout the novel: the "cruciform tree" against which the thirsting Latour understands the dimensions of his own suffering; the fallen but redeemed Magdalena; the go...

• Word Count: 7335
• Approx Pages: 29
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... relationship. Children should not have to worry about money or their parents, however this is not the case for Paul who has had the burden placed upon him by his cold and self obsessed mother. The whispering of the house there must be more money' represents this burden for Paul as well as his belief that money will bring happiness, security ... stands in the doorway watching Paul rocking violently on his rocking horse. Paul's mother is wearing a pale green and crystal dress' this is symbolic as it is a reflection of her cold and unloving heart. The author wanted the dress to be pale' be...

• Word Count: 2806
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... takes this symbolic use of imagery a step farther in describing Phoenix visually. In reference to the wrinkles on Phoenix's face, Welty writes that it is "as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead" (as cited by Clugston, 2011, sec.6.5). The reader gains an image of what Phoenix looks like with this literal description of her ... ...

• Word Count: 2554
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... undistorting mirror of, or perfectly transparent window to, the "real" is fraught with contradictions. Realism in this simplified sense must assume a one-to-one relationship between the signifier (the word, "tree" for example) and the thing it represents (the actual arboreal object typically found in forests). Realism must, in effect, disguise its own status as artifice, must try and force language ... ...

• Word Count: 3498
• Approx Pages: 14
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

... man lights up a cigarette, which surprises the narrator. He thought the blind didn't smoke. Before dinner, the narrator says a prayer that the phone won't ring and the food won't turn cold. They dig in silently. After dinner the nearly comatose and sweaty-faced group leaves the dirty dishes and moves into the living room, where they drink more. The narrator listens ... ...

• Word Count: 11148
• Approx Pages: 45
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... seclusion, taking no part in the business of life, and just as little in its intercourse or pleasures. Not with such fervor prays the torpid recluse, looking forward to the cold, sunless, stagnant calm of a day that it to be like innumerable yesterdays!" (33) Hawthorne introduces the old maid as lifeless, weary woman, whose days are as repetitive as the seconds ... ...

• Word Count: 2986
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: High School