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ENGLISH LITERATURE
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UKEssaysEssaysEnglish LiteratureSymbolism Imagery And Storytelling English Literature Essay
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Symbolism Imagery And Storytelling English Literature Essay
Rather than stating the true meaning of their works, poets generally use symbolism to detail the story. Symbols are used often to portray a literal meaning. Symbols can be people, objects, or even places. Examples of a poem and two short stories that use symbolism; each written by a different poet to which I will compare, "I Stop Writing the Poem," a poem by Tess Gallagher, "The Lesson", a short story by Toni Cade Bambara and "The Story of an Hour," a short story by Kate Chopin. Each literary work has an element of symbolism, as the method used for storytelling.
"The Lesson," by Toni Cade Bambara, considered a wonderful work of fiction due to its use of theme, and symbolism. The key elements of symbolism and theme provide depth while enhancing the reader's understanding. "The Lesson" shows one woman's attempt to show a group of poor black kids the inequalities between the community they live, in comparison to how kids live in other communities.
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The main character Sylvia, who in first person narrates the story; a young African American girl, based on her comment "we kinda hated her too, hated the way we did the winos who cluttered up our parks and pissed on our hand ball walls" (Bambara), judgmental about the world around her. Sylvia uses her experience at the toy store to become more self-aware, she learns a lot about herself, never letting on to Miss Moore or the other kids; she instead keeps it in to propel herself. The title, "The Lesson" is just one example of the various symbols used within this story.
Miss. Moore, a college educated teacher that lives in their neighborhood, has made it her responsibility to teach the children by teaching them real world experiences, takes them on a trip to F.A.O. Schwarz, with the purpose of teaching the children the lesson of money and how it is valued in different communities. Throughout the trip, Miss. Moore constantly talks to the kids about money. "And Miss Moore asking us do we know what money is, like we bunch of retards" (Bambara), Miss Moore is actually trying to teach the kids a lesson.
The kids are shocked to see the cost of the toys. To them, $400 is unfathomable, Sylvia, astonished by the price, cannot understand why someone would pay that much when "my sailboat cost me about fifty cents" (Bambara). Miss Moore's lesson is to teach the children how some people spend money showing the social and economic inequality faced by the children.
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