Jan 07, · Just as James Hurst did, Nathaniel Hawthorne used the letter ‘a’ from, The Scarlet Letter, to have multiple symbols: the sign of adultery having been committed, the ability to be able, and the ability to change. Originally, the letter ‘a’ from, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne stood for adultery. People found guilty of this crime were thrown into prison and forced to wear a large ‘A’ on Evert Augustus Duyckinck agrees that ‘The chief perhaps, of the dramatis personae, is the house itself. From its turrets to its kitchen, in every nook and recess without and within, it is alive and vital.’ (Hawthorne ) Duyckinck feels that the house is meant to be used as a symbol of an actual character, ‘Truly it is an actor in the scene'(Hawthorne ) Hawthorne extensively uses the literary technique of symbolism to convey an idea to his audience. Symbolism was a popular literary device of Romantics, where an object represented an idea. Symbols could have been a word, place, character, or any other object in which a meaning extended beyond the item’s literal context
American Literature reflects life, and the struggles that we face during our existence. The stories themselves bluntly tell us a story, however, an author also uses symbols to relay to us his message in a more subtle manner. The book begins by describing the most obvious symbol of the house itself. The house itself takes on human like characteristics as it is being described by Hawthorne in the opening chapters. Hawthorne uses descriptive lines like this to turn the house into a symbol of the lives that have passed through its halls.
The house takes on a persona of a living creature that exists and influences the lives of everybody who enters through its doors. Hawthorne turns the house into a symbol of the collection of all the hearts that were darkened by the house, hawthornes symbols essay. From its turrets to its kitchen, in every nook and recess without and within, it is alive and vital.
This turns the house into an interesting, but still depressing place that darkens the book in many ways. The house also is used to symbolize a prison that has darkened the lives of its inmates forever. The house is a prison because it prevents its inhabitants form truly enjoying any freedom. The inhabitants try to escape hawthornes symbols essay their incarceration twice. However, Clifford inevitably fails to win his freedom, and he returns to the solace of his prison house.
Clifford and Hepzibah attempt hawthornes symbols essay more to escape their captive prison, but the house has jaded them too much already Rountree This is apparent when Hepzibah and her brother made themselves ready-as ready as they could, in the best of their old-fashion garments, which had hung on pegs, or been laid away in trunks, so long that the dampness and mouldy smell of the past was on them — made themselves ready, in their faded bettermost, to go to church.
They descended the staircase together, pulled open the front door, and stept across the threshold, and felt, both of them, as if they were standing in the presence of the whole world. Their hearts quaked within them, at the idea of taking one step further. Hawthorne Hepzibah and Clifford are completely cut off from the outside world.
They are like prisoners who after being jailed for decades return to find a world they do not know. Rountree We have no right among human beings — no right anywhere, hawthornes symbols essay, but in this old house' Hawthorne The house has imprisoned their souls and trapped their lives.
Hence, the house symbolizes a prison for its inhabitants. DuBoiss collapse in A Streetcar Named Desire takes place because she cannot cope with the clashing of her fantasies vs. Stanleys realism, old South vs. new South lifestyles, hawthornes symbols essay, and her oldfashioned perception of hawthornes symbols essay and sex.
Blanche DuBois has a problem accepting the realities posed by those she lives and interacts with in her new home. She will not come to terms with the changes associated with her aging because she does not want to lose her youth and beauty.
Her appearance is changing from hawthornes symbols essay young, ideal Southern Belle she once was, hawthornes symbols essay. Blanche cannot even look in a mirror any more, hawthornes symbols essay, lest she end up breaking it in anger of her appearance hawthornes symbols essay Blanche also has a grave fear of a hawthornes symbols essay light bulb as it exposes her aging face, and metaphorically, reality She is also afraid Mitch will lose his desire for Blanche if he knew her true age Blanches failure to accept reality creates conflict in her new life.
A major part of Blanches problems result from her failure to deal with fantasies clashing with reality because she fears losing her mental and social security. She purposely misrepresents things to people through her intentional lies such hawthornes symbols essay the fib she told Mitch about her age This hawthornes symbols essay is further evidence of Blanches refusal to accept the truth: she, like hawthornes symbols essay rest of the world, is aging, hawthornes symbols essay.
In fact, she blatantly says that she is more interested in, as Mary Ann Corrigan says, Being forced to face the kind of reality that she refuses to recognize as significant is the hawthornes symbols essay of Blanches breakdown David Sievers echoes Corrigan, As the various doors of escape are closed to her and she finds Stanley across her one remaining path, her mind is unable to cope with this impossible conflict In her final attempt to hold onto her fantasy world against Stanley, she sees his rape attempt as at first playful, instead of his raw, animalistic want for sex.
Reality puts a constant pressure on Blanche but she chooses to ignorantly disregard it. Tennessee Williams has a flair for writing about reality clashing with fantasy in some of his plays. In The Glass Menagerie, Lauras unrealistic grasp on life clashes with Toms ability to function in the real world. In A Streetcar Named Desire, there is a combination of raw reality and deliberate fantasy between Stanley Kowalski and Blanche DuBois Riddel Williams throughout Streetcar creates constant conflict between Blanche and either Stanley, Mitch, or Stella.
The audience of the play, however, is presented with polar views of the drama Kernan 17 from the realistic view of Stanley and the non-realistic view of his sister-in-law, Blanche. Blanches world is filled with illusions including herself, I fib a good deal. After all, a womans charm is fifty percent illusion Blanche has full awareness of her own lies and openly admits it. Fantasy colliding with reality creates a series of conflicts throughout Streetcar. Blanches old South ideals of gentility, refinement, and etiquette bring forth discord between herself and others when they brush against new South standards, hawthornes symbols essay.
Her former life in the upper crust of society no longer exists because of the epic fornications Blanche cannot adapt to her new life in the French Quarter like Stella has. As Stanley says to Stella, When we first metl was common as dirt. You showed me a snapshot of the place with the columns [Belle Reve] and how you loved it.
I pulled you down off them columns and how you loved it, having them colored lights going again. Stanley pulls Stella down socially and metaphorically away from her former life.
Blanche, on the other hand, holds on dearly to her memories of Belle Reve and her former life of aristocracy. For instance, after attempting to write a desperation telegram to one of her fantasy-life admirers, Shep Huntleigh, Stella tells Blanche she is not in a situation she wishes to get out of.
Blanche believes she is doing Stella a favor by including her in the telegram draft. In response Blanche says, I take it for granted that you still have sufficient memory of Belle Reve to find this place and these pokers players impossible to live with This prevents Blanche from being able to fit into a common surrounding.
As time goes on, hawthornes symbols essay, her sisters wanting to live with Stanley increasingly baffles Blanche because she does not view Stanley as much more than a common, animalistic ape. It is a life of landed gentry on the plantation, among the upper class that has put Blanche in such a position. Joseph Wood Krutch expresses similar thoughts, Behind [Blanche lies a past which, at least in the retrospect seems to have been civilized. The culture of the Old South is dead.
Blanche chooses the dead past and becomes the victim of that impossible choice. Blanche cannot find a new group or clique by which to identify with, leaving her completely alone. Krutch continues, [Blanche is on the side of civilization and refinement. But hawthornes symbols essay age has placed her in a tragic dilemma. She looks about for a tradition according to which she may life and a civilization to which she can be loyal. She finds none. It is a culture shock for Blanche to learn to live with those of a lesser social class.
It is this radical adjustment that sparks the initial conflict in the book, beginning as soon as Blanche arrives to Elysian Fields. Stanley and Stella not only differ with Blanche in their social class, but also with their views of sex and intimacy. To Stanley and Stella, it is about a raw yearning for romance, hawthornes symbols essay, sensuality, and foreplay, eventually followed by sex.
Although Blanche also has a raw desire for sex, it is not of her tradition to succumb to the desires and romance now associated with sex. Corrigan states, Since the tradition allows no place for the physical and sensual, she rejects this aspect [of sex] Sievers shares this view, saying, In A Streetcar Named Desire Williams] has shown Blanche struggling to master her conflicting drives of sex and super ego, to live up to an inner image of a belle of the Old South It is the conflicting drives that she cannot control which lead to her downfall.
Blanches efforts to educate Stanley and Stella in the ancient, old South traditions are violently repelled and denied. An element in Blanches desire for sex is hawthornes symbols essay of a desire for intimacy and security from a man.
She is a proven nymphomaniac who has longed for the confidence Allan Grey, her late husband, once provided her. Instead, she has become a whore, though not in her self-image, sleeping with many men to no avail she still remains completely alone.
The genteel Blanche and the raw Stanley ride the same streetcar, but for different reasons. Blanche goes to her sexual affairs to relieve the broken quality of her life, looking for closeness, perhaps kindness, in that physical way, hawthornes symbols essay.
Sex has become Blanches only way to overcome her ceaseless loneliness. In her essay A Streetcar Named Misogyny, Kathleen Maragaret Lant states, Williams has made it perfectly clear why the [fantasy] deception is necessary: Blanche is alone, vulnerable, penniless, and most pathetic of all desperately lonely Blanche has nobody in the world that she can turn to and she is completely broke, forcing her to remain with Stanley and Stella.
Williams forces Blanche into a never-ending cycle of attempts for social and mental security and stability through sexual means. Blanches perpetual search for stability comes to an abrupt, decisive halt in the climax of hawthornes symbols essay drama in which Stanley rapes her. Hawthornes symbols essay is here Stanley proves he is a villain, in mindless opposition to civilization and culture the new man of the modern world Brustein 9.
Blanche knows culture, gentility, and high-class living while Stanley knows brutish, animal-like ways. The ultimate blow to her mental steadiness is Stanleys victory over Blanche.
The rape is the culmination and symbol ofvictory. It is the final act of destruction. Stanley destroys Blanche with sex. It has been her Achilles heel Nelson Although Stanley established his alpha-male-like presence early in the play through his bestial acts of rage, violence, and brutality, Blanche hawthornes symbols essay in her attempts to instill her ideals. Stella [needs to make a choice.
Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown
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Hawthorne extensively uses the literary technique of symbolism to convey an idea to his audience. Symbolism was a popular literary device of Romantics, where an object represented an idea. Symbols could have been a word, place, character, or any other object in which a meaning extended beyond the item’s literal context Jan 07, · Just as James Hurst did, Nathaniel Hawthorne used the letter ‘a’ from, The Scarlet Letter, to have multiple symbols: the sign of adultery having been committed, the ability to be able, and the ability to change. Originally, the letter ‘a’ from, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne stood for adultery. People found guilty of this crime were thrown into prison and forced to wear a large ‘A’ on Evert Augustus Duyckinck agrees that ‘The chief perhaps, of the dramatis personae, is the house itself. From its turrets to its kitchen, in every nook and recess without and within, it is alive and vital.’ (Hawthorne ) Duyckinck feels that the house is meant to be used as a symbol of an actual character, ‘Truly it is an actor in the scene'(Hawthorne )
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