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Example research essay topic: Emily By William Faulkner Rose For Emily By William - 977 words

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The Use of Symbols To a certain extent, every word is a symbol. Symbol is generally referred to as some sort of object that suggests much more than its literal meaning. The writers, in literature, use symbols to bring their thoughts closer to the readers. The present paper examines the use of symbols in literature by the example of the three stories: "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, "Videotape" by Don Delillo, and "Carnal Knowledge" by T. Coraghessan Boyle, and answers on how the symbols used in these stories relate to themes, characters, and settings. The first story, "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, is one of the most interesting stories written by Faulkner, as its author uses a lot of symbols that are connected to the theme, characters, and setting.

The major symbols are the rose (and the rose color), the house, the toiletry items, the watch and the dust. For example, the house, where Emily lives in is a symbol of Emily herself. The house, similar to Miss Emily undergoes changes for worse. The author writes that the house once was located on the street that had once been the most select street, and it had once been nicely decorated with balconies, cupolas and spires. Then, as the changes took place, the house now is lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps- an eyesore among eyesores. (Meyer, pp. 90 - 97) Miss Emily, similar to the house, is described as a woman that once had been thought as a slender figure, but now has grown fat. Both, the house, as a symbol of Miss Emily, and Miss Emily undergo changes after deaths.

For example, Emily changes after the Homer Barron's death and the house changes drastically after Emily father's death. Miss Emily and the things around her symbolize the era that has fallen away and embody a passing of time, decay, and death; they change together with Miss Emily, and play an important role in the underlying meaning of the text, having strong relation to the theme, character, and setting of the story. The second story, Videotape, is written by a famous American novelist Don Delillo. This is a short fiction from Delillo's Underworld. Videotape is a sort of sudden fiction, and the major symbol in this story is videotape. Videotape symbolizes the peoples interest and fascination with videos portraying lives and deaths.

It becomes a meaningful symbol, as it makes think about the contextual clue of the story. The author through the symbolic meaning of the story wants to attract the readers attention to the fact that people simply appreciate death; they are involuntarily captivated by the horrific pictures and like watching them. Videotape in the short story symbolizes that there is nothing more captivating, interesting, and exciting than death scenes. The story tells the reader about a small 12 year old girl and a murder recorded on a simplest sort of family video.

The girl was simply aiming her video camera through the window of the car at the windshield of the car behind her. The girl was recording everything around her, simply to waste time. However, when she unexpectedly recorded the murder, when the driver from the car behind her was murdered by the "Texas Highway killer, the small girl didn't stop recording: "there is a jolting movement but she keeps on taping, there is a sympathetic response, a nerve response, and her heart is beating faster. The girl evidently symbolizes the people, even the most innocent ones, and the videotape symbolizes our fascination with the violent scenes, as it makes us think that the tape "is more real, truer-to-life than anything around you. (Meyer, pp. 567 - 570) What concerns the third story, Carnal Knowledge written by T. Coraghessan Boyle, it is also rich in symbolism.

This is a story about relationships between Jim, a protagonist, and Alena, a devoted animal rights activist. Although the symbols in the story may be interpreted in a variety of ways, the major idea inspired through the use of these symbols, is that if a person is engaged in something not because he really believes in it, but because of false expectations and false promises, when the faith or trust is based on promises, and the expectations are not met, the person eagerly returns to his former life style. To a certain extent this story can be also a symbol that men, if they want relationships with a woman, can do and promise anything to achieve their goals. But then, when the goal is reached, they come back to the usual way of life. This is perfectly illustrated by the scene, when the protagonist finds his way back, and when he turns onto the highway for Los Angeles, he sees that the road is coated in turkey feathers, and there are a lot of dead turkeys all over the road, - there was flesh there too, slick and greasy, a red pulp ground onto the surface of the road [... ] Turkeys. Everywhere. " (Meyer, pp. 324 - 338) For a moment Jim reminds Alena, and then he realizes that expectations gone sour, a smear on the road.

Dead turkeys in this scene symbolize false expectations that were gone. Through this symbols Jim realizes that everything has finally passed away, and he is left with nothing but what he started with. When he sees the sign "Gas/ Food/ Logging", his despondency over no more sex with Alena dissipates immediately. The only thought he has is that there is a cavern opening inside him, and how to fill it. And he tries to calm himself as if hed awakened from a bad dream. Everything is gone.

Meat it is only meat. Works Cited Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 7 th Edition. St. Martins Press, 2007.


Free research essays on topics related to: emily, symbols, emily by william faulkner, miss emily, rose for emily by william

Research essay sample on Emily By William Faulkner Rose For Emily By William

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