The small things represent bigger things for example, in Ethan Frome red represents a lot. Along with the cat, the pickle dish, the sleigh ride. Each are a small thing but represents more than what it actually is. As a reader of this novel I chose all of the symbolic things that stood out to me. Each of these stood out to me because they have a much bigger meaning like the pickle dish represents Ethan and Zeena’s marriage. The cat represents her presence and the color red stands for the good health of Mattie and the sleigh ride represents the time Mattie tells Ethan she needs him. The lesson in this novel to me is to never take the small things for granted.
Red is the color of blood, ruddiness, good health, and vitality, all of which Mattie has in abundance, which Zeena lacks. Red is also the color of transgression and sin, the trademark color of the devil. At the dance, Mattie wears a red scarf and for the evening, she wears a red ribbon in her hair. After the dance you notice Mattie wears a lot of red. This symbolizes that Mattie scarlet adornments and her role as Ethan’s temptress towards moral transgression. Mattie has all the things that Zeena lacks so Ethan finds all of what he wants in Mattie. She appears strong and always does what she is told to do for Zeena. Mattie is there to take care of Zeena because she
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For example, the red ribbon represents Mattie as a strong person because she does not show that she wants what she cannot have. Mattie soon realizes she wants the protagonist, Ethan Frome. After he takes cover of what she tried to take cover of the pickle dish breaking. Zeena finds the broken pickle dish and assumes Mattie breaks it, so she makes her leave. Ethan insists on taking her to the train station so he can take her coasting to make her miss her train. At the end of the novel, you learn Ethan is a dynamic character because he changes throughout the entire