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Symbolism In A Madman's Diary

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It 's interesting how the English language has 26 letters in its alphabet, and writers can turn them into lengthy and twisted, warm, emotional, or even a symbolic work of fiction. More than a great imagination is needed to created a compelling fictional story. It 's the way words are used to pull in readers, push them away, or bring them together. A story 's ability to he discussed is what makes it a good work of fiction.

In the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" author Charlotte Perkins Gillman chooses to make the main character, Jane, a dynamic character. This choice is what makes "The Yellow Wallpaper" a constantly changing story. Towards the beginning of the story, Jane 's attitude is somewhat calm and orderly, even though her stated in …show more content…

The author of "A Madman 's Diary", Lu Xun, makes the story so interesting by his uses of symbolism throughout the story. In entry six of the diary the madman writes "The fierceness of a lion, the timidity of a rabbit, the craftiness of a fox..." This quote symbolizes how the government, or society, was like in the time period of the story. The madman perceived his government as bold and courageous, but also slightly fearful and sly. The symbolism in the quote "I have only just realized that I have been living all these years in a place where for four thousand years they have been eating human flesh," does not mean literal eating of human flesh. Instead, the author uses cannibalism to symbolize how the government of the story 's time period basically devoured, or brainwashed, their peoples ' minds. This same message is expressed in the last line of the story to make the symbolism have a bigger impact. "Perhaps there are still children who have not eaten men? Save the children..." This quote symbolizes how even children in the story 's society brainwash others. The madman is considering that maybe some children haven 't eaten, or brainwashed, others so save them before they do. Lu Xun 's use of symbolism in this story makes it have a deeper meaning, having the reader uncover it

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