Charlotte's Going Symbolism Analysis

In The Order of Charlotte’s Going by Shirley Jackson, the reader sees many uses of symbolism that help create the story’s theme. The short story explains the death of a cousin of Anne, Charlotte, and the hate that fueled it. The symbols in the story let the reader see how Anne really felt about Charlotte. Some of the most important symbols in the story are the chocolates Anne receives, the letters that come in the mail, and the red roses Charlotte and Anne talk about often. The first symbol the reader comes across are the chocolates that represent the hatred Anne had for Charlotte. One example is when Anne’s sisters and Charlotte would always hang out at parties and never include her. “... and I was the one always left out when she and my sisters used to gather together at parties…” (Jackson 2). A following example is when the reader finds out that Anne is the one delivering the letters and chocolates. “It was the only one of those things that I hadn’t written left-handed, and I burned it.” (Jackson 7). It is apparent that Anne hated Charlotte in the first few pages, but as the reader digs deeper they see she hated Charlotte enough to speed up the time to her death.

This is apparent by how she joked with Charlotte about her death many times. “‘I’ll plant some [red roses] on your grave,’ I said amiably.” (Jackson 6). The verbal irony of how she was really sending all the letters that she should enjoy herself, all the while Anne was telling her it was wrong to poison herself. Another example is when Anne is wishing she could sleep until June. “‘I wish I could sleep all winter,’ I said once, ‘and only wake up for June.’ ‘You’re wishing your life away,’ Charlotte said.” (Jackson 1). This could possibly mean that Anne is not only wishing her life away, but maybe Charlotte’s instead. Therefore, the author gave us clues about Anne’s dark side with the