Symbolism In Paul's Case Essay

In the short story “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, Miss Strangeworth’s roses are a very significant symbol. The importance of Miss Strangeworth's roses to the overall text is that they assist in portraying Miss Strangeworth's character and aid in developing a deeper understanding of the theme. The roses help portray Miss Strangeworth’s character because at the beginning, the rose garden is absolutely perfect for Miss Strangeworth, and this can be seen when Miss Strangeworth returns home from Mr. Lewis’s shop, “Miss Strangeworth stopped at her own front gate, as she always did, and looked with deep pleasure at her house, with the red and pink and white roses massed along the narrow lawn,” (3). Miss Strangeworth’s “deep pleasure” shows how content Miss Strangeworth is with her roses. The perfection of Miss Strangeworth’s roses is very

Everybody has desires that constantly weigh over their heads, pushing them to be diligent in all their endeavors, but what would you do if you knew that one day you would no longer have the opportunity to fulfill these desires? Everybody lives their lives so focused on the end goal that they are oblivious to the world around them, and the sad part is that in some cases the end goal is unattainable or never reached because the person dies. In In Cold Blood, Truman Capote utilizes symbolism and descriptive diction to tell his readers Perry’s wants and wishes. Throughout this subchapter the reader is able to learn more about how Perry feels in the moments after the Clutter family murder. The reader learns that Perry wishes he was loved by others

The definition of a lie is; "an intentionally false statement." Paul is lied to numerous times in Tangerine about very serious and important topics. Paul is a twelve year old boy who is legally blind, due to his brother,Erik, who sprayed him in the eyes with white spray-paint. Paul was blinded by Erik, and he doesn't remember it because he was really young, his mom and dad lied to him about what happened to him so that he wouldn't hate his brother. In the novel Tangerine, the author, Edward Bloor utilizes symbols like sand, muck fire, and lightning to exemplify the truth behind the lies.

In her short story “Marigolds”, Eugenia Collier, tells the story of a young woman named Lizabeth growing up in rural Maryland during the Depression. Lizabeth is on the verge of becoming an adult, but one moment suddenly makes her feel more woman than child and has an impact on the rest of her life. Through her use of diction, point of view, and symbolism, Eugenia Collier develops the theme that people can create beauty in their lives even in the poorest of situations.

In conclusion, “Paul’s Case” is a short story that a person needs to take time to read in order to understand it. Willa Cather first had readers view Paul as an unsympathetic character, but towards the end of it, she used narration, dialogue, and description so the readers would view him in a sympathetic way. I personally did view Paul as a weird character because he seemed to have a weird smile on his face that the author emphasized on in the beginning, and was said to be a lair. But, as I continued to read, I got to see who Paul really was, and the struggles he was going through. I compared this story to “Sonny’s Blues” by how Sonny wanted to be a musician, but his brother did not see anything good to come out of that, but Sonny wanted to follow what he loved. Paul also had a different mindset than everyone else like Sonny did, and people did not understand

In the opening scene of Paul’s Case, the author notes the vibrant, red carnation that Paul wears to his disciplinary meeting and the teacher’s distaste of what they believe the flower symbolizes referring to it as a, “scandalous red carnation” and how, “his whole attitude was symbolized by...his flippantly red carnation flower” (114). A defiant student, shown by his disrespect toward his teachers, Paul seems unfazed to the fact that he is in a disciplinary meeting and choses to act indifferent to what his teachers say about him. He is arrogant and holds himself to a higher status than his teachers thus causing him to feel entitled. The red carnation symbolizes his idealistic view of society in which he had hopes and dreams to elevate himself and achieve the higher status that he believes that he deserves. Paul’s world comes crumbling down though when he realizes that he could not pretend to be part of the world that he wanted to be in. He believed that the money could get him the idealistic life that he had imagined for himself in which he has no worries, however, he realizes that life is not like a fairytale and the world is a lot more difficult than he thought that it would be. The last few broken actions that the reader sees of Paul, again, revolve around the red carnation. Before he goes to the train station where he plans to commit suicide, he buys the vibrant, red carnations that one symbolized his hopes and dreams for himself. It is when he reaches the train

In the short story “The Chrysanthemums” written by John Steinbeck, the flowers are symbolizing more than the eye may catch. The author displays how important these chrysanthemums are to Elisa Allen, but there is a deeper meaning to the flowers than just the love she has for them. The chrysanthemums represented more than just a passion and more than just her strength, but also her dignity. When they were thrown out on the side of the road, they symbolized her dignity which was now gone since the man she trusted them with had abandoned them and her husband she catered to lacked affection for her, because through their lenses she will never be enough.

Symbolism can be identified in the short play, “Naked Lunch” written by Michael Hollinger (2003). The play opens and the characters Vern and Lucy are sitting at a dining room table. Hollinger describes flowers on the table, “There is a small vase with too many flowers in it, or a large vase with too few.” (pp. 823) A bottle of wine has been open and the couple is having dinner. Vern had put in a lot of effort preparing dinner. He had cooked steak and corn. The flowers set the stage for this awkward dinner date. You can envision the vase of flowers not looking quite right on the dinner table. The flowers symbolize the awkward circumstance of their dinner date and the couple’s relationship. Lucy was slowly eating her corn during dinner as Vern

Paul was inspired by him for instance, on page 229, “ Luis answered simply, “ I wouldn’t be they’re punks” he pointed a ropelike finger at me, “ and you shouldn’t be either.” ” Luis was trying to teach Paul that he shouldn’t be afraid of Erik (PAul’s older evil brother) and Arthur(Erik’s easily manipulated friend). Paul was inspired by Luis when he said this because he had been afraid of them for years and now someone believed in him, that he shouldn’t be afraid anymore. This had an impact on Paul because it gave him enough courage to face them; to stand up for himself. In addition, Luis stated, “ I think you are, but not enough of a man to say so...Come on why don’t you try to smack me!” Luis stated this to Erik and Arthur, to test them. He had practiced what he preached. He stood up for Tino, Paul knew this because he had seen it all happen when he was under the bleachers. He was encouraged to stand up for himself against them. He wasn’t afraid anymore which positively impacts Paul through the story. Similarly, Paul fought for his opinion on page 228, when Paul tells Tino that they should be able to go to his house without living in fear of his brother. He was fed up with his brother, he was now taking a stand. He didn’t just want to be a bystander of Erik’s actions anymore. This affected Paul because of Luis he started to stand up for himself

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are a few “blossoms”, as well as beautiful flowers that are introduced. Flowers are important symbols that are compared to the feisty, feminine females that were brought into the novel.

In the short story “Marigolds” Eugenia Collier gives us an idea of what it is like growing up in the Great Depression. The Great Depression began in 1929 when the stock market crashed causing many people to lose their jobs and to struggle financially. Lizabeth is the main character and narrator, she is a fourteen year old girl whose family lives in a rundown house in a poor community, located in Maryland. Lizabeth has no happy memories of her hometown because of the fact that she grew up in the Great Depression. Lizabeth is at the stage in her life when she is growing up to be a woman, throughout the story we can clearly see that.

Chrysanthemums are beautiful flowers, which often symbolize happiness. In the story “The Chrysanthemums,” John Steinbeck describes the life of Elisa and Henry Allen, who live on a foothill ranch in Salinas Valley, California. Their life was much simpler compared to those who lived in urban areas during the 1930s. The Allens focused their daytimes around their ranch, and for Elisa that meant her chrysanthemums, maybe even her happiness. Elisa spends her days tending to her flowers with great delicacy. John Steinbeck is able to incorporate quizzical diction and repetition to characterize Elisa and to define happiness, to convey the message that it is more important to be happy than to try and please everybody else.

The sample student paper had many interesting observations in The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck.  My initial observations about the story, were also that the flowers symbolized Elisa in many ways. One of them was that the chrysanthemums represented the unhappiness Elisa felt in her life. Another meaning in the flowers was how Elisa saw herself in the flowers as a delicate and beautiful. Steinbeck makes us see the connection between Elisa and the flowers when the man from the wagon complemented her flowers, she felt he was complementing her. One last meaning to the flower that came up to my mind when I read the story was that the flowers represented Elisa's children. Elisa was a house wife with no children and her husband was working most

In a perfect world, there would be no fights, arguments or disagreements that result in destruction and pain. Unfortunately, the world is full of constant battles that cause many relationships to fail. Divorce rates have skyrocketed over the past years and young families are slowly falling apart. Although each relationship is different, one of the main reasons that arguments occur is because of a lack of proper communication or hidden secrets. Either of these things can create chaos. Similarly, in the short story “Popular Mechanics” written by Raymond Carver, two individuals are in an obvious argument where the dialogue revolves around which parent should receive the custody of the child. The major theme that stands out in this short story

Imagination has long been the dividing line between madness and sanity, often being the saving grace between the two. Tim O’Brien clearly illustrates this in his novel Going After Cacciato through the epic fantasy of Paul Berlin, a young Vietnam soldier six months into his one year tour, trying to decide whether or not to desert the war and follow after his AWOL comrade Cacciato. When Cacciato originally flees the war, attempting to reach Paris, the squadron follows suit. It is not made clear to the reader how far the men chase after him, but upon returning they are assigned to an observation post where Paul constructs a dream of deserting as well. Throughout his six hour long watch shift, Paul Berlin constructs an adventure in his mind about