... express his message throughout the book. He begins using a plant, then the namesake of the book, then continues on to uses two people as symbols to get his message across. Although seemingly simple, all of these symbols are extremely complex, and used in a multitude of ways. First, the rosebush outside the prison; in the first chapter, it is used as a symbol of ... he did not get to execute his revenge, and withers away to nothing in a short time. In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, there are many more than just these four prevalent symbols. He uses each and every one effectively to deve...

• Word Count: 777
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... get medicine for her grandson. Whether the worn path in this story is representative of Phoenix's life, or simply life in general, it is filled with symbols for the obstacles and evils found in any one person's journey through a lifetime. It isn't difficult to find several examples of symbolism in "A Worn Path ... ."" The author, Eudora Welty, uses many, and most of them are nature symbols. The first one that becomes apparent to the reader is the main character's name, "Phoenix Jackson- (105). A phoenix is a mythical bird that rises from the ... him are there to see in her arduous journ...

• Word Count: 727
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

" When the sun rose there was a white fog more blinding than the night." In, Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness, many symbols suddenly creep their way into the pages, fog being one of them. The symbols make the story more mystical and meaningful. With every turn of a page another symbol jumps out and sends a shock of amusement and curiosity through your fingers, making ... a picture book. It does not make you think and actually figure out what is happening in the story. Heart of Darkness contains many symbols throughout it that have much more meaning that they appear to have. Some of t...

• Word Count: 923
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... . In her book Sula, Morrison shows that good and evil can only be determined by the individual. This is portrayed by the main theme in the story, her use of symbols and characters, and the dilemmas that occur in their lives. The story is set in Medallion, Ohio, between 1919 and1965. some of the main characters include Sula peace, a social outcast ... and good. Helene and Hannah (their mothers) can be viewed the same way. There were also many symbols portrayed in this novel. One of the first symbols is fire. Sula watched both her uncle and her Mom burn to death. Sula and Nel are symbols o...

• Word Count: 1103
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... her chest caused her to be isolated by the townspeople. They are all hypocrites for being the same people who go to church weekly repenting their sins. Hawthorne uses many symbols throughout The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne uses the colors red, black, and white to represent Hester's emotions and the emotions of those around her. The most frequently used color symbol by ... called the names "Ruby", "Coral", or "red Rose," and "a little bird of scarlet plumage," further extending Pearl as a red representation of Hester's sin. Hawthorne also uses black and darkness as symbols throughout The S...

• Word Count: 1044
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... is a timeless tale of man's battle against sin and evil. The men of the Pequod are in a constant evil battle against the white whale Moby Dick. There are many strong symbols in this book, but one of the strongest is Moby Dick being living sin. In Moby Dick, the symbolic message is that sin threatens to destroy the world, which in ... uses Moby Dick's aggressive and revengeful behavior to depict him as living sin. Moby Dick and The Scarlet Letter have many strong symbols and are considered to be two of the greatest books of all time. Both authors use strong symbols in their writing's suc...

• Word Count: 654
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... have had two children. The novel Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel meaning that its main ideas and themes are represented throughout the novel by symbols. Lord of the Flies has many themes, symbols, and motifs throughout the novel to acquire this effect. Themes are often universal ideas explored in a literary work and Lord of the Flies has its share ... children. Simon also lives a life parallel to that of Jesus Christ; he arrives at the moral truth of the novel and is killed sacrificially as a result of discovering the truth. Symbols are objects, characters, or anything else th...

• Word Count: 916
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... convey the idea that even the purest members of society are often overcome by the evil seed that lies within all of us. Golding uses his characters as the main symbols to create a deeper meaning, but he uses a number of objects that represent good versus evil too. The conch shell is discovered at the start of the novel and is used ... crash. The shell is then used at all of the meetings and the boy who holds it is currently holding the right to speak. It becomes one of the main symbols of law and order in the novel. In itself, the conch shell represents democracy and the idea that a soc...

• Word Count: 947
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... in the future for his cruel actions toward Pluto and for killing his wife. Pluto, black cat two, and the white spot are the three most important symbols in this story. Each one of these symbols represents the madness and pure evil of the narrator. Black cat one (Pluto) lets the reader get a clear understanding of the narrator's evil heart and unwillingness ... ...

• Word Count: 593
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... demonstrates that the existence of civilization and stability allows man to remain innocent, and shows that innocence is destroyed when rules are broken and when evil seeps in by using symbols and motifs such as butterflies, pigs, and Simon. In this novel, butterflies represent freedom from sin as a result of a lack of knowledge of evil. The butterfly is a delicate, brittle creature ... and instability among them. The undiluted message that Golding is communicating is that innocence exists because civilization exists, and that innocence is doomed without it. He does this by using symbol...

• Word Count: 1127
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... used to help portray the states-of-mind of different characters. Hawthorne uses the romantic ideal of nature to represent the psychological and moral states of different characters. Hawthorne uses symbols of light and dark to depict the battle of good and evil among the characters of Hester, Pearl, and Chillingworth. The sun is used as a symbol of good nature and ... leaves. This attempt by Hester to discard her sin shows that she, like a plant in the forest, is ready for new growth. Living and wild or withering and dead plant symbols help to describe the characters" states throughout t...

• Word Count: 1017
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... of blood in the play serves many purposes, for it creates irony, characterization, contrast, etc. - Its main purpose is to serve as a symbol, mainly of bravery, treachery and guilt - These symbols all like together, for in order form someone to be brave, someone has to be evil to show that braveness - And evil and treachery lead to fear and guilt of ... what's been done (directly) - There are other symbols of blood, such as entrapment which is caused once blood has been shed and evil has been done and guilt is felt - In the play, Macbeth can't go forward or ... ...

• Word Count: 509
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The short story "Greasy Lake-, written by T. Coraghessan Boyle, would be categorized as an allegory. Allegory can be defines as a literary work with many symbols of a larger representation. As stated in The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction, "allegory usually includes themes such as innocence, charity and prudery."" This story on the other hand, is about a ... be a place where adolescents go to escape realities and behave badly. Nathaniel Hawthorne also uses a great deal of symbolism in his short story, "Young Goodman Brown."" The three most significant symbols seen throughout the play are ...

• Word Count: 682
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... an evil force infecting an untouched island. Literature is a parallel to real life, and Golding uses several techniques to tell his story. He uses Freud's personality to further explain characters, symbols are used as representation to deeper meanings, and imagery is accomplished through vivid details of the action. In the novel, Golding illustrates how the defects in human nature cause defects ... how they are equivalent to the evil that begins with one, and flows into the populace of boys. The two-headed spear is a perfect example of one of the many symbols that is used throughout the...

• Word Count: 970
• Approx Pages: 4

... could cause death of any of them. They don't seem to think of it as anything out of the ordinary, let alone as something bad and evil. Many themes and symbols related and leading to evil can be found in this story, such as: the black box, blindly following tradition and customs, stoning, hypocrisy..." The black box grew shabbier each year ... ...

• Word Count: 1240
• Approx Pages: 5

... bells can play a part throughout death and this causes readers to dislike the poem but it also has a positive effect on readers when Poe tells of bells being used as symbols of love. For example, some feel that Poe's desire for death makes the poem less interesting. W.M. Auden tells how the Bells was less interesting but was more successful because the ... ...

• Word Count: 747
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... as a racist, Conrad used the color white as a symbol of evil throughout the story to tell the readers of the white man's power hunger and corruption in the colonized Africa. Symbols that associate with the color white do not mean purity and holiness; instead, white represents the power, corruption, and downfall of man. Even a white lie, which does not harm another ... ...

• Word Count: 572
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... bells can play a part throughout death and this causes readers to dislike the poem but it also has a positive effect on readers when Poe tells of bells being used as symbols of love. For example, some feel that Poe's desire for death makes the poem less interesting. W.M. Auden tells how the Bells was less interesting but was more successful because the ... ...

• Word Count: 750
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Piggy's specs are a very symbolic object. Piggy is a social outcast but his intelligence and thoughtfulness well exceed that of any of the other boys. His thoughts come to life through Ralph's image to make an ultimate leader. The specs are a symbol of man's ability to perceive and think, man's greed, and the boys" vision of civilization. Piggy is the most intelligent boy and has the clearest perception of the boys on the island. The fact that he wears glasses is a symbol of his intelligence. After he was killed, "There was no Piggy to talk sense."(216) Piggy was "a true, wise friend." (202). ...

• Word Count: 970
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... , and redemption (Ralph, "And God Said What?" 19-23). This passage reflects the creation of all, the fall of man and the redemption by God. A myth, an imaginative story, uses symbols to explore reality beyond a person's comprehension. The Fall of Man explains why humans suffer. Societies adopted myths that functioned in a spiritual and moral world. These myths were based on the ... ...

• Word Count: 1131
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... nationality that interferes. The person who interferes must be from a society who is free of sin. Many of the weapons that were used in some of the battles were also symbols of good and evil. There are many references and images of good and evil that are trough out this story that was intended for a pagan culture. In the beginning of ... ...

• Word Count: 1092
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... , alluding to the Holy Bible. At many points throughout Lord of the Flies, Golding writes for the characters to become gradually more and more evil. This attribute even reaches the symbols of goodness and order, such as Ralph. Once, when Ralph and Piggy go to the feast on Jack's beach, they begin to meld with the others and their evil ways ... ...

• Word Count: 872
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... lurking behind a genteel or reassuring surface" is shown in three ways: Symbolism of Names, Objects, and Acts. In "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Lottery", both of these short stories use symbols of names as marks of evil. In "Young Goodman Brown", Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the names Faith and Young Goodman Brown as the sign of nice, and respectable people. In "The ... ...

• Word Count: 1021
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... nothing is as it seems, no matter where you live, and that those who live an entirely pure life die miserable and alone. Hawthorne uses a variety of abstract and concrete symbols in this story, beginning with his wife, whose name is appropriately, Faith. This symbolizes Brown's innocent faith in church, his community and those in it. He is also innocent in ... ...

• Word Count: 787
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... is that we, those residing in North America are much more fortunate then they, the ones living in the 3rd world countries. This is evident throughout the movie by various symbols and imageries. We start off the movie by seeing a group of children trying to play with the turtle. This is symbolic in the sense that the children are torturing this ... ...

• Word Count: 863
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School