Symbolism

As one of the essential elements in a well-written work of literary fiction, setting plays a crucial role in revealing several important details about a character’s state of mind. A sunny, perky environment commonly reflects a happy, well-adjusted mood, while murky, shady surroundings suggest an underlying evil. Nevertheless, other literary devices assist in setting the tone of a story; only by interlocking multiple techniques can an author create a well-rounded, rich piece of literature. James Joyce effectively accomplishes this technique in his short story Araby, in which he conveys the protagonist’s anguish and agony through a combination of dark, symbolic imagery, motifs, and a distinct setting.. James Joyce effectively employs setting as a medium in which to portray the narrator’s frame of mind in the story’s opening passage, where he describes North Richmond Street as “being blind…detached from its neighbours” (437). While the word ‘blind illustrates the dead-end street in this situation, it also refers to an individual being sightless. This double meaning correlates with the young, unnamed protagonist’s state of mind; as a young boy, he is irrevocably in love with Mangan’s sister, almost to the point of obsession and separates himself from his neighboring friends.. He lies in the shadows for hours on end to catch a glimpse of his crush, then follows her as adoringly as a lovesick puppy. He is, quite literally, blind to the fact that this older woman is not interested in a child, especially one who also happens to be her brother’s friend.

Furthermore, Joyce also implies that Mangan’s sister is a nun, for she mentions a week long retreat hosted by her convent (439). Moreover, the dank scenery also contributes to the depiction of the narrator’s outlook on life, as opposed to solely being an indicator of his love for Mangan’s sister. James Joyce employs imagery and evocative diction to describe the desolate loneliness of the narrator’s surroundings; the dead silent streets, the dark and muddy lanes and the “dark dripping gardens where odors arose from the ashpits” (437) all depict the narrator’s solitary, hopeless voyeurism. Life outside of his obsessive love for Mangan’s sister simply does not interest him. Rather, he spends the majority of his time lurking in the shadows and peering “through one of the broken panes” (438), desperately anticipating a glimpse of the object of his affection. The broken glass symbolizes his shattered heart and the desolate state of mind that permeates him when he fails to catch the woman’s eye. The narrator prefers be alone with these haunting thoughts instead of socializing with other boys of his age. James Joyce supports this portrayal of the narrator through his description of Mangan and the two other boys who were raucously fighting for each other’s caps, while “[the narrator] was alone at the railings” (439). He lingers optimistically by Mangan’s sister’s side, wishing that she would say something to him. When, at last, she does speak to him, she mentions a bazaar that she is unable to attend, and the boy promises to buy her a gift. After this brief initial conversation, the lovelorn narrator rapidly becomes obsessed with attending the Araby festival and ignores all of his duties. He further isolates himself from the world around him, choosing to stay inside while his companions play outside in the streets.

The narrator describes, “Their cries reached me weakened and indistinct and, leaning my forehead against the cool glass, I looked over at the dark house where she lived” (440). Like the cool glass, the main character’s attitude towards the boys of his own age is cold and indifferent; his attention is entirely fixated on this mysterious woman. Yet, her house is dark and empty, signifying her lack of interest in this tortured young boy. Consequently, he becomes disheartened, and the dismal scene finally draws to a close as the anguished narrator admits, “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity” (442). Once again, the motif of darkness ironically sheds light on the narrator’s dejected state of mind. At long last, he realizes that he has been deceiving himself into believing that Mangan’s sister could love him, a foolish child with presumptuous views of himself. He leaves the bazaar without buying her the promised gift and stands alone, a solitary figure once more.

In conclusion, James Joyce’s work is a fine example of literary fiction that incorporates setting, diction, and imagery to give an in-depth look at the story’s protagonist. The narrator’s state of mind is symbolically reflected in the darkness and gloom of the urban streets where he lives. More than just a fictional character, he represents the lonely persona that lurks within every human being. As the narrator’s mood sinks lower and lower, the scenery around him grows more and more desolate. Similarly, the aura an individual radiates dims as his or her emotions shift; yet, like the vast sky that stretches before the speaker at the story’s close, an infinite amount of hope awaits in the unknown future.

In The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, the symbolic object of birds is used to show characters development and complexity in the narrator. Birds are symbolic and indicate the Invisible Man’s uncomfortability in society because of his idealistic beliefs. Bird feces in the narrator and a statue show the true value of ideals and beliefs, while live birds show how the narrator doesn’t fit into either the black community or white culture due to his personal ideology. The bird feces on the statue of the founder in the beginning of the book shows how valueless the founder and his principles are in reality. While the intentions and original plan for the college may have been good, it was lost and became a farce when the founders bowed down to the will of the whites. It shows how the founder, and what he represents is a lie. The feces show how much everyone values the founder, not enough to take care of the statue. The “white chalk” on the statue of the founder also gives the image a more negative feeling, making the reader think that the founder might be lowering the veil in front of the kneeling slave instead of raising it.

At the end of the book, the Invisible man is covered in bird feces after walking under a bridge in New York, much like the statue of the founder was. This shows how, just like the founder, everything that he stood for has become a lie and his identity has become lost and corrupted by his experiences. At first, the Invisible Man considered himself above everyone in the black community, but still doesn’t fit in with the white culture because of his past. In the beginning of the book, the Invisible Man was idealistic and hopeful. By the end of the novel he has lost that identity and his values. He is a different person now, and the bird feces that cover his body represents how he has become as false and worthless as the founder.

Throughout the book, the Invisible Man encounters many different birds. The colorful tropical birds in Emerson’s office make him feel uncomfortable and shows how out of place he is, despite his eagerness to work. The tropical birds make him feel like he is less cultured or classy than the white men he wants to work for and he realizes he doesn’t belong. This is because, despite all the good words of people in positions of power, the black community is still subservient and submissive to the white people of America. Ellison also compares the black people to birds to show them as a flock of people without a specific identity who receive as much respect and consideration as a flock of birds would.

Ellison also uses mockingbirds to emphasize the Invisible Man’s lack of belonging in any culture. At the college, the mocking birds flutter their tail feathers at the narrator as he walks by the white magnolias, shunning him and excluding him from the popular culture if the school. In the factory health room, the narrator says that he can hear mockingbird calls over the noise of horns and voices, mocking him and telling him he doesn’t belong. Each time he encounters mockingbirds, the message is that he doesn’t belong where he is at and with the people who he is trying to fit in with. This always foreshadows a new change in social position and identity for the Invisible Man.

The colorful paper bird I built is one of the colorful songbirds in Emerson’s office. These birds go crazy when the Invisible Man enters the room, in a way, frightening him and showing him as an intruder in the white man’s office. The birds dont calm down until Emerson enters the room, symbolizing how in the novel, white equals right. The paper bird symbolizes all the birds in the Invisible Man and has a paragraph about the use of bird feces on each wing, showing how its meaning has progressed through the story.

The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison uses birds and bird feces throughout the book as a symbolic object to show a change in character for the Invisible Man, or to indicate his inability to truly fit in with society as a whole. Bird feces show his decreased moral value, colorful tropical birds make him feel out of place in Emerson’s office, and mockingbirds tease his social status as neither a true member of the black community or a member of the white culture.

Short stories are crafted by authors who have a great imagination. Short stories consist of everything that is involved in novels and books (plot, resonance, and other dynamic components that may be found in a novel, but not to that degree). Do not be confused by the term short story, some short stories are also called novellas which are basically shorter novels. Some short stories or novellas are 20,000 words long and are still considered to be short stories. We can see firsthand the importance and how great short stories are from the two that will be discussed in this paper; “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson English and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. These stories are great examples of just how short stories can have a plot and all the common characteristics of a novel, but be compiled into a simple novella.

Let’s begin with “The Lottery”. This short story opens with villagers gathering in a town square for names to be drawn out of a wooden box. “The Lottery” is not revealed until well into the story. There it is revealed to the reader that it’s not money that is being won. Instead, a family is chosen each year from this big box of last names. From the family that was drawn, each family member puts their name in a box, from which a name is also to be drawn. In this case, the family consists of a mother, father, and two children. This time, the mother’s name is drawn from the box. Her reward, to stand in the town square and be stoned to death by the local townsmen and women. This short story keeps the reader in suspense throughout the entire tale. It finally forces the reader to make a conclusion, doing everything a novel does, but in shorter form. From the beginning, the reader gets a sense of something quite odd, but never grips what it was. The title “The Lottery” is a distraction to what the ending might really be. It is a surprising and eye-opening story which gives the reader the same effect that a novel might just be compiled into a short story.

The next novel is titled “The Yellow Wallpaper”. In this novel, a crazy, insane doctor forces his “sick” wife to forcibly stay in a room with yellow wallpaper with absolutely nothing to do but stare at the walls. This eventually drives her insane and she records the wallpaper in her mind. She ends up writing in a diary and hiding it to save herself from being considered more “sick”. This crazed act of the husband goes on for a while. He eventually gives her “sickness” a fake name. In time, she begins to believe that she might really be sick, with no one to rescue her. It was a thrilling story throughout which kept the reader in suspense, in my opinion, better than a novel could. That’s what a good short story is all about. In both of these skillfully pieced together short stories written by amazing authors who are now known for these writings, there is suspense from the start. They leave the reader wondering the entire time and eventually leads to a thrilling conclusion. In some cases, these short stories might leave the reader hanging, to form their own conclusions.

These two short stories, along with others, use extremely good imagery and symbols. Symbolism is “the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. Symbolism can take different forms. Generally, it is an object representing another, to give an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant” (Symbolism – Examples and Definition of Symbolism, 2017). Basically, to explain a symbol better, it is an object that symbolizes another object of greater meaning or higher importance. Examples of symbolism in “The Lottery” would be that whenever a name is drawn out, the piece of paper that has a black dot in it ties the color black to death or bad things. Examples of symbolism are all over “The Yellow Wallpaper” also. For example, the diary she kept to express her feelings. She could not express them to John (the insane husband/doctor), for fear of being labeled with other illnesses. So, she kept her feelings in the diary.

While reading short stories, the reader may see that they often try to relate somewhat to what actually could be happening in someone’s life. For example, the yellow wallpaper could be tied to someone who feels they have no one to turn to or be comfortable around because of their depression. Therefore, they just become more and more infected. Short stories often have a deeper meaning than just what might be shown on the surface. It’s not hard to see as the reader digs deep and thinks even deeper. My hopes are that anyone reading this essay is motivated to appreciate short stories and see their meaning and purpose. It doesn’t have to be a novel to intrigue the reader into reading and getting a full experience. Anyone that sees the meaning and how deep a short story can actually pull you it can become so much more involved. Maybe this would drive more to read and not be intimidated by big novels that you see on bookshelves in bookstores and libraries. Instead, they might get lost in an amazing short story.

Zora Neale Hurston uses symbolism and imagery to capture emotions and guide the reader through the story through the eyes of the characters. In her short fiction story, The Gilded Six-Bits, Hurston entertains the emotional and visual senses of the reader by using several symbols and images to give light to the story and character settings.

Hurston starts out the story by portraying a couples’ relationship and giving it a sense of security, love and trust. However, as the story develops it is clear that know matter how true love is – greed can falter love.

Symbolism is shown strongly through colors in Hurston’s story. White is used as a symbol of purity. It portrays the relationship between Joe and Missie May as a clean and untouched relationship as described by Hurston, “The fence and house were whitewashed. The porch and steps scrubbed white.” (252) Joe thinks of the image of his white house on the way home from work right before he discovers Missie May and Slemmons together. Gold is used frequently throughout the short story as a symbol of social status and greed.

Otis D. Slemmons is respected by Joe in the beginning of the story and depicted as being of great importance because of his gold teeth, a five-dollar gold piece for a stickpin and a ten-dollar gold piece on his watch chain. Slemmons character is later disemboweled because he is caught in the act of having sex with Joe’s wife. The gold symbolizes mistrust, misfortune, greed and falsehood after Slemmons, Missie May and the gold are revealed. Silver also symbolizes a social status to all three of the main characters and a personal symbol to Joe and Missy May.

It is clear a little over half way through the story that Slemmons was in the same social class as Joe and Missie May because he did not really have any more money than they did. For Joe and Missie May silver was a symbol of there relationship. It was a ritual in their relationship for Joe to give Missie May the silver dollars every Saturday. The moon is described by Hurston as a silver image on Joe’s ride home from work, “…a lean moon rode the lake in a silver boat. If anybody had asked Joe about the moon on the lake, he would have said he hadn’t paid it any attention. But he saw it with his feelings. ” (255) Joe saw the lake with his “feelings” and he saw the silver moon; it is clear that he associated his relationship with his wife with silver.

Numbers are also used as symbols to make a statement without actually stating it. Joe and Missie May’s magic number is nine. This stands for the nine silver dollars that Joe would throw into the house every Saturday. After she and Slemmons were caught together Joe no longer threw the coins into the house on Saturdays. Slemmons is told to have two gold pieces on him in the amounts of five and ten which is the amount of coins that Joe throws into the house at the end of the story. Slemmons uses numbers in an abstract way to describe people. He associates the number forty with the word forte and Joe doesn’t understand what he means by it.

Slemmons ironically opens an ice cream shop. Ice cream is a universal symbol for something that is sweet but cold. Slemmons was seen as sweet and suave as was Missie May until the two got together; then Joe viewed them as being cold.

Clothing is another social status symbol. Slemmons is described as someone who wore fine clothes. Later in the story Joe calls them rags. When Joe took Missie May to the ice cream parlor he wanted her to wear her Sunday clothes so that he could show her off to Slemmons. He wanted him to see his woman since Slemmons talks about all of the women that he has. Hurston writes that Joe considered Missie May to be the best dressed woman at church, “…church on Sunday nights when Missie outdressed any woman in town…” (255) This quote also brings up the symbol of religion. When Joe asked Missie May to go to the ice cream parlor for the first time Hurston writes that he tells her, “…put on yo’ Sunday-go-to-meetin’ things.” (253) Hurston writes in other quotes that refer to images from the Bible. “Like Samson awakening after his haircut.” (256) “Don’t look back lak Lot’s wife and turn to salt.” (257) The imagery from these quotes make it know that Joe is a religious man in the story and Hurston herself has a religious background.

Laughter is used to portray and hide feelings in Joe. Laughter shows the happiness between Joe and Missie May when they have their playful game on Saturdays. Later in the story

Hurston writes that Joe’s laughter is shown as an unsure feeling when he finds Slemmons with his wife, “So he just opened his mouth and laughed.” and before bed that night, “…and took a good laugh and went to bed.” (256) At the end of the story Joe was laughing in the store when he turned in the 4-bit piece that he pulled off of Slemmon’s neck for candy. The clerk states after Joe leaves, “Wisht I could be like these darkies. Laughin’ all the time. Nothin’ worries ’em.” This was surely not Joe’s case at all but his character tells otherwise. Hurston also uses laughter as a private symbol in another one of her writings. “They made burning statements with questions, and killing tools out of laughs.” (Their Eyes Were Watching God 2) “Pearl Stone opened her mouth and laughed real hard because she didn’t know what else to do.” (Their Eyes Were Watching God 2-3)

Hurston’s real life is story is a mystery according to Ann Ducile’s book review in The New York Times. She has conflicting age and birth date documents due to her habitual lying. “…although she gave the year of her birth as 1910, rather than 1891, as scholars have now determined.” (The New York Times) Literature and The Writing Process has her birth date listed as 1901. Her birthplace is also not certain. She has said that she was born in Eatonville but it is assumed that she was born in Notasulga, Alaska. Nonetheless, Hurston has made a mark in the history of writing with her cultural relations and peers. According to The New York Times article there are festivals, foundations, literary societies, endowed chairs, journals, honors and awards in the name of Zora.

Symbolism in William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’ Definition: A symbol is something that is itself as well as something else. In literature it means literal or objective sense coupled with abstract meaning. Symbolism refers to serious and extensive use of symbols in a work of literature. Symbolism in Lord of the Flies: The novel is rich in symbolism. A host of different interpretations of the novel’s symbolism – political, psychological and religious – exists. We will look at some of the prominent symbols employed by Golding and try harmonizing the different interpretations. Since symbolism is an evocative device to communicate the theme of a literary piece, we must first agree on the theme of Lord of the Flies.

Theme

Evil inherent in man seems to be the central idea of the novel. It may recall the Christian notion of the ‘original sin’ or the idea of the failure of civilization as seen during the Nazi Holocaust or a general pessimistic view of human nature. It may be all the three combined. A group of boys aged 6 to 12 find themselves , without adult supervision.

At first they try to organize themselves on the pattern of the civilized world they have known. The attempt fails and most of them regress into savagery and animal existence. The novel was deliberately patterned on the children’s classic ‘The Coral Island’ by R. M. Ballantyne. Only, it turns Ballantyne’s theme on its head. Whereas Ballantyne made the children’s isolation on the island a pleasant interlude in a continued life of civilized existence, Golding shows how thin the veneer of civilization really is and how the animal nature of man breaks through in just a few weeks. It is not so much moral judgment as recognition of the essential tragedy of mankind – its intellectual and spiritual nature losing out to its animal nature again and again.

Important Symbols

The Scar

The novel starts with the mention of a scar in the jungle. We learn (or rather, surmise) later that it is a swath cut by the falling ‘passenger tube’ in which the children were travelling. The word scar appears in the text without this preliminary information and serves to create atmosphere. The metaphor prepares us for the horrible things to come. In itself it is also the symbol of man’s disruptive influence on his world.

The Conch

It makes its appearance as an accidental find of Ralph and Piggy on the beach. It soon assumes importance as Ralph, on Piggy’s advice, blows it to gather the survivors. Ralph is elected leader of the group mainly because he was the one in possession of the conch. From here onwards the conch becomes a symbol of law and order. At meetings the speaker has to hold it in his hands. It gives him the privilege of being heard uninterrupted.

Order starts breaking down in the fifth chapter when Jack speaks without holding it. Later, breakdown of order is signalled by Jack snatching it from Ralph in the eighth chapter. In the tenth chapter Jack raids the shelter occupied by Ralph and Piggy to rob Piggy of his glasses. But he does not bother to take the conch away. It is no longer important. In the eleventh chapter the conch is destroyed, symbolizing the complete rout of order at the hands of chaos.

The Man with the Megaphone (Grown-ups)

When Piggy meets Ralph, his first question is, “Where is the man with the megaphone? A few pages later the question is repeated by Jack, “Where is the man with the trumpet? ” This, we can assume, was the man in charge of the boys in the aeroplane He stands for authority and control which has suddenly been removed by the crash. A grown-up appears again only at the end in the form of the naval officer who saves the life of Ralph without realizing the fact and brings an end to the chaos. But conversely, the adult is the cause of the boys being there in the first place. The war raging outside is nothing but the conflict on the island on a much grander scale. The appearance of the naval officer at close suggests that civilization has been given another chance, despite the bleak outlook.

Beast from Air

In the sixth chapter another adult appears on the scene – a dead parachutist. He has apparently evacuated himself from a warplane that has been hit. The man crashes to his death at the top of the hill on the island. He, with his parachute, is taken to be a mysterious supernatural beast by the boys among whom the talk of a snake-like beast of the jungle is already rampant. The dead parachutist is not, however, just an extension of the ghost metaphor. He also represents the historical past intruding on the scene and influencing it in a profound manner. For the boys the historical past is the war they left behind. For humanity it would be the past of man as an insidious influence in his present.

The Beast – Lord of the Flies

The title of the novel is itself symbolic. The phrase is a literal translation of the Hebrew ‘Beelzebub’, one of the demons named after a philistine god. Later the term was often used in Christianity as a name for the Devil. The metaphor is one of regression (in its original sense of paganism) and evil (in its later meaning of the Devil).

In the novel one of the younger boys, who is referred to as ‘the boy with the birthmark on his face’, tells the others about having seen a snake-like beast on the trees. Though Ralph tries to allay their fears as unfounded, the belief in the beast persists. It is strengthened by the unexplained disappearance of the boy with the birthmark. It is reinforced by the ‘beast from air’ mentioned above, so mush so that even Ralph and Piggy start entertaining the possibility of a beast. Jack, half believing himself, uses the fear cleverly to keep his followers under control.

He makes the ritual sacrifice of a wild sow to the beast and lets the head of the animal hang on a stick, ostensibly to appease the beast. Only Simon does not believe in the existence of a beast. In his wanderings in the forest he comes across the head of the sow and the entrails of the animal which have attracted a lot of flies by now. He has a hallucination in which the head appears to him as lord of the flies and speaks to him. The symbolism of the beast is also stated in this imaginary conversation in so many words, as follows: “You knew, didn’t you? I am part of you?… I am the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are? ” The beast is within man, not without. It is the darkness in men’s hearts. It is their primitive nature, hidden behind a thin layer of civilization.

The Signal Fire and the Shelters on the Beach

The signal fire and the shelters symbolize ordered society, civilization and hope. They are contrasted with the barbaric and blood-thirsty hunts. The signal fire is Ralph’s idea. He believes that the children will be rescued soon and therefore there should be a smoke signal going all the time for a passing ship to spot.

Piggy, who is more of a realist, realizes that those who were expected to know about the children are all dead and it may be a long time before rescue comes. So he suggests the building of shelters. Though both symbols together stand for civilization against barbarism, there is this subtle difference between them, arising as they do from their originators’ differing perceptions of the situation.

The Hunts and Mock Hunts

Together with painted faces and long hair the hunts and mock hunts symbolize regression into primitive savagery. The hunters not only seem to have lost all hope of returning to civilization, but they seem to actually enjoy the prospect and neglect to keep the signal fire burning. The hunts can be interpreted as symbolizing the boys’ primal urges or even anarchy. Soon after the hunts start, they cease to be a necessary activity aimed at gathering food. The lust for blood becomes more important. Ceremonies and chants invented by the hunters similarly denote regression. The mock hunts of Chapters 4 and 7 are manifestations of regression too.

The mock hunts serve another purpose. In Chapter 4 the mock hunt is a mild affair, performed largely for fun. In the seventh chapter it turns into a violent affair in which the boy playing the hunted animal suffers injuries. Thus the mock hunts define the regression of the hunters as civilized humans. The scene in Chapter 7 also shows the good and sensible Ralph feeling the excitement of the mock hunt, thus showing how evil can take hold of any human, unless resisted.

Painted Faces and Long Hair: This is the heading of Chapter 4

The degeneration of the boys’ way of life is symbolized by clay-and- charcoal masks and long hair. When concealed by masks, the hunters, especially Ralph, seem to have new personalities as they forget the taboos of society that once restrained them from giving in to their natural urges. When Jack first paints his face to his satisfaction, he suddenly becomes a new, savage person. “He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling. He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing of its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness”. The feeling of liberation that results from wearing the masks allows many of the boys to participate in the barbaric pig hunts, the savage ceremonies and the mock hunts.

The Island

Those who incline towards a religious interpretation of the novel’s symbolism maintain that the island is the symbol for the Garden of Eden, which is touched by original sin on contact with the human race. This interpretation may have some merit. But the symbolism can be equally validly interpreted as the state of nature to which the civilized children have been returned. It provides the setting for the opening up of their fundamental urges.

The Characters

The principal characters – Ralph, Piggy, Simon, Jack and Roger – symbolize certain attitudes and qualities. Ralph and Piggy are on the side pf law and order. Jack and Roger represent primitive urges and tyranny. Simon is a mystic who has clearer view of reality than the intellectual Piggy, the sensible Jack or the manipulative Jack. But we have to be careful not to over-emphasize the point. Otherwise the realistic and believable quality of the characters will be compromised.

The symbolism lies more in how the characters grow or regress rather than in their basic make-up. Jack’s character is the most significant from this point of view. From the leader of a choir group he regresses into the leader of a violent and primitive group which calls itself a ‘tribe’. The above list of symbols is by no means exhaustive. The novel is replete with metaphors and symbols. Lord of the Flies is called a twentieth century allegory. It is also one of the most carefully crafted novels of the century. In consequence the careful reader can find a symbol on almost every page.

Symbol of Blindness in King Lear Blindness is usually defined as the physical ability of the eye to see. But in King Lear by William Shakespeare, blindness is not just a physical quality but also a mental flaw that people possess. This mental flaw can then lead to people making bad decisions because they can’t see the truth. In King Lear, the recurring images of sight and blindness that are associated with the characters of Lear and Gloucester illustrate the theme of self-knowledge and consciousness that exists within the play and these characters.

Gloucester’s characters plot parallels that of King Lear’s. Throughout the play, we explore what is meant by eyesight or the lack of it. King Lear is the first and the main character that faces problems by this idea of blindness. In act one, Lear asks his three daughters to express their love for him in order to get the share of the land and dowry. Goneril and Regan come up with an elaborate speech that uses with wit and deceit.

She starts off by saying “Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter; dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty; beyond what can be valued, rich or rare; no less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour; as much as child e’er loved, or father found; a love that makes breath poor, and speech unable; beyond all manner of so much I love you” (Foakes 1. 1. 55-61). The metaphorical language and beauty of Goneril and Regan’s speeches blind Lear.

Cordelia truly loves him a lot but he doesn’t see it in her response when she says “Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave; my heart into my mouth: I love your majesty; According to my bond; nor more nor less” (Foakes 1. 1. 93-95). But on the other hand, Cordelia’s speech makes him feel less powerful. Her language is legalistic and delimiting. It suggests that it is a contractual relationship (Kronenfeld 96). By using the word bond, she makes it more formal but she’s talking to her father so she should be able to express her feelings in a less formal way.

She declares her love to be of no surpassing quality. She is not like her sisters because it is not in her nature to solicit her father with outward showings of love but instead will show it through her actions (Kronenfeld 106). He misunderstands her love and is unable to see the love she actually has for him because of the way all three of the daughters respond. The two older sisters flatter their father instead of speaking the truth so they can get what they want and this leads to Cordelia being disowned.

The cause of his blindness appears to be an infatuation with his own rank and station, which is a result of senility. Lear’s kingdom is used as a symbol of affection towards his three daughters. In the first act, it is implied that Cordelia is his favorite daughter. He feels that dividing up the land by the level of love they show to him is the right thing to do. He does not see that Goneril and Regan will use this as a chance to become his favorites. They will say whatever they need to for their own benefit because they are greedy.

Driven by his own blindness, King Lear begins to make many mistakes not just with his daughters but also with his loyal supporter Kent. His blindness doesn’t allow him to see the truth in a person’s personality and character. When Kent hears about Cordelia getting disowned, he is shocked by the decision that King Lear. He tries helping King Lear understand the truth about his daughters but ends up getting banished himself. King Lear wants Kent “out of my sight” (Shakespeare 1. 1. 159). Kent responds by saying “See better, Lear; and let me still remain; The true blank of thine eye” (Foaks 1. 1. 60-161). Kent is trying to make him reconsider his decision but Lear’s anger gets the better of him and he banishes him from the Kingdom. The blank can refer to the center of a target but also the absence of something which captures the ambiguity and vulnerability of our seeing. Kent was King Lear’s eyes and ears and literally helped him see things clearly. Without Kent, he is even blinder to the reality than before. Kent disguises himself and manages to get rehired by King Lear which further shows his blindness. He knew Kent very well and yet couldn’t figure out that he was the same person.

His vision and insight on other people never really improves and this leads to his downfall and eventually his death. Shakespeare uses a lot of offstage episodes which also shows the blindness to the audience. This indirect mode of presenting highly significant events generates doubt and confusion because the audience can’t see what is happening but is known only by reports of those who claim to have observed them. But it is hard to rely on here say because of characters like King Lear who are oblivious and blind from the truth.

Due to King Lear’s lack on insight, it causes him to make bad judgements and leads him to endure great emotional pain and suffering as a result. It is through his and Gloucester’s characters that Shakespeare has allowed the audience to see what great emotional torment can plague a person because of disloyalty especially when it is that person’s fault due to a lapse in judgement. Shakespeare uses the plot of Gloucester to explicate Lear’s plot by contextualizing Lear’s blindness with Gloucester’s physical loss of vision.

His character is very similar to Lear’s because they both couldn’t tell which of their children truly loved and cared for them. Edmund blindsides his father into believing that Edgar was plotting to kill him so this would allow him to gain power. Gloucester was easily convinced that the letter was real and never considers thinking if his son could actually do such a terrible thing. Both Lear and Gloucester are very quick to believe their children that use their language in a smart way to deceive their fathers.

Gloucester also ends up disowning Edgar even though Edgar is the son who truly loves him. He doesn’t feel that he is making any wrong decisions and feels that “Come, if it be nothing, I shall not need spectacles” (Foakes 1. 2. 363-364). The word need means requiring something that’s important so in this case, being able to see the truth is a necessity but Gloucester feels that he doesn’t need that. It denies him the ability to distinguish between his good and evil sons. Gloucester ends up getting his eyes gouged out which is like a wake-up call for him.

Edgar feels that “The Gods are just and of our pleasant vices; Make instruments to plague us; The dark and vicious place where thee he got Cost him his eyes” (Foakes 5. 3. 170-173). Not only does Edgar deceive his father but believes that his father got what he deserved. The blinding of a man is a symbol for the destruction of one’s manhood like getting castrated (Halio 222). Gloucester is an adulterer and is somewhat proud of this fact. Edgar goes on to say “Met I my father with his bleeding rings, Their precious stones new lost; become his guide, Led him, begg’d for him, sav’d him from despair” (Foakes 5. . 188-191). Edgar uses the word stone to refer to Gloucester’s lost eyes because it is a slang term for testicles which implies that the blinding was like Gloucester getting castrated (Halio 223). Once Gloucester became physically blind was when he actually started seeing clearly. It is very ironic when Gloucester says: “I have no way and therefor want no eyes; I stumbled when I saw. Full oft ‘tis seen Our means secure us, and our mere defects Prove our commodities. Ah dear son Edgar, The food of thy abused father’s wrath!

Might I but live to see thee in my touch, I’ld say I had eyes again! ” (Foakes 4. 1. 18-24) His inability to see the realities of his sons when he was mentally blind but managed to see his son’s true colors when he was physically blind because his eyes were gouged out. He eventually learns that vision is not just through your eyes but rather through your heart and mind. Gloucester’s subplot paralleled that of King Lear’s. Cordelia’s silence throughout the play usually signals acquiescence as she never stood up against her father or her older sisters.

In Shakespearean tragedies, it generally conveys feelings of fear, despair, and confusion but Cordelia’s silence is evidence of her strength and constancy. Cordelia’s silence in the first few acts can be compared to her unwillingness to communicate in the later scenes. Lear is very similar to Cordelia in the sense that they both are very inarticulate when expressing emotions. After everything that her father has done to her, Cordelia is still devoted to helping her father and brings an army to help him. She doesn’t need to try to convince her father with words but instead her actions show it all.

They are able to reconcile their relationship because of the love that she has for her father unlike her sisters who are willing to do anything to get power. Even though he has wronged her, she sees that he has recognized the errors of his ways. Cordelia is the only loyal daughter King Lear has. Even though she is silent and doesn’t have great communication skills, you can still feel the love she has for her father from the few things that she says. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses King Lear and Gloucester to demonstrate how metaphorical blindness can cause a person to make erroneous decisions.

King Lear’s lack of sight led him to banish Cordelia and Kent, the two people that supported him the most. Similarly, Gloucester is affected by this metaphorical blindness as well and leads to detrimental decisions for him and his family. Ironically, when Gloucester gets literally blind, he starts to think clearly but it is too late at this point to improve things. Only after they lose everything, they recognize that their blindness to honesty has cost them everything. Cordelia chooses to stay silent which she thinks is beneficial but in turn ends up getting her and her father killed.

Archetypal figures present in Chaucer’s “The Miller’s Tale” By Jose Luis Guerrero Cervantes According to Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, an archetype is a symbolic formula that begins to work wherever there are no conscious ideas present. They are innate universal psychic dispositions that form the substrate from which the basic themes of human life emerge[1]. The archetype is experienced in projections, powerful affect images, symbols, moods, and behavior patterns such as rituals, ceremonials and love. Jung[2] compared the archetype, the pre-formed tendency to create images, to a dry river bed.

Rain gives form and direction to the flow, we name the river, but it is never a thing located in any place, it is a form but never the same, it is always changing but it is still a river. Following this analogy, the archetype would be the dry river bed that motivates and modifies our conscious understanding of ourselves and the world (the water of the river) from which emotions, attitudes and ideas arise. It is possible to track the use of archetypes in universal literature, according to Joseph Campbell[3], from the origins of human civilization.

Archetypes help Chaucer to his main purpose when writing The Canterbury Tales: to reflect on the personal concerns and solutions of the evolving medieval society of his time. Characters with strong archetypal features has an automatically and unconsciously effect in the reader’s mind, allowing his mind to recognize experiences, emotions, and typical patterns of behavior, establishing a “dialog” or “unconscious link” between the reader and the text. The purpose of the present essay will be to identify such archetypal characters and situations and their impact in the reader’s psyche. [4]

It is possible to recognize in Nicholas’ behavior elements that match with the archetype of the “Trickster”. In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal that plays tricks or, otherwise, disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior[5]. In modern literature, the classical figure of the trickster survives as a character not necessarily supernatural or divine, but as a clever, mischievous man or creature, who tries to survive the dangers and challenges of the world using trickery and deceit as defense.

For example, many typical fairy tales present kings who want to find the best man for his daughter by setting a trial to obtain the hand of his daughter. Brave knights are not able to overcome the trial until a poor and simple peasant comes. Armed only with his wits and cleverness, instead of fighting, he evades or fools the obstacles between him and the desired object. This way, the most unlikely candidate passes the trials and receives the reward. One example of this character in English Literature is Shakespeare’s Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice who, in order to marry Portia, must pass a trial set by Portia’s father.

In this case, Nicholas is described similarly to this archetype: This lad was known as Nicholas the Gallant, And making love in secret was his talent, For he was very close and sly, and took Advantage of his meek and girlish look[6]. Nicholas is characterized as somebody whose main attributes are not physical strength or economic power, but cleverness in managing the weak points of people for his own benefit (expressed in the words “talent”, “sly”, “took advantage”) hidden under a humble figure (expressed in the word “meek”).

Here it is possible to identify the breaking of conventional behavior that it is proper of the classical tradition when it is said that Nicholas makes love “in secret”. In addition, in order to gain Alison, he must figure out a trick, otherwise, both might die if caught together. Alison’s behavior, on the other hand, shows characteristics that matches with the “Anima” archetype developed at the level of “Eve”. The Anima and Animus, in Carl Jung’s school of analytical psychology, are the unconscious or true inner self of an individual, as opposed to the outer aspect of personality.

In the unconscious part of men’s mind, it finds expression in a feminine inner personality. Anima, in contrast, is in the unconscious of women and it is expressed as a masculine inner personality. It can be identified as the totality of the unconscious feminine psychological qualities that a male possesses; or the masculine ones possessed by the female. The positive anima qualities of a man are tenderness, patience, consideration, kindness and compassion; then the negative anima qualities of a man are vanity, moodiness, bitchiness, and easily hurt feelings[7].

Jung believed anima development has four distinct levels, which he named Eve, Helen, Mary, and Sophia. Eve level is named for the Genesis account of Adam and Eve. It deals with the emergence of a male’s object of desire, yet simultaneously generalizes all females as evil and powerless. This means that when an object of desires arises, the archetype shows an opposite behavior from that she had shown previously[8]. In the preliminary description of Alison, Chaucer describes Alison (with ecstasy and accuracy) this way: She was a fair young wife, her body as slender

As any weasel’s, and as soft and tender; She used to wear a girdle of striped silk; Her apron was as white as morning milk Over her loins, all gusseted and pleated. White was her smock; embroidery repeated Its pattern on the collar, front and back, Inside and out; it was of silk, and black. The tapes and ribbons of her milky mutch Were made to march her collar to a touch; She wore a broad silk fillet, rather high, And certainly she had a lecherous eye. And she had plucked her eyebrows into bows, Slenderly arched they were, and black as sloes; And a more truly blissful sight to see

She as than blossom on a cherry-tree, […] Her mouth was sweet as mead or honey –say A hoard of apples lying in the hay. Skittish she was, and jolly as a colt, Tall as a mast and upright as a bolt Out of bow. […] She was a daisy, O a lollypop For any nobleman to take to bed Or some good man of yeoman stock to wed. [9] Everything in her is lovely. Chaucer centers his attention on the physical description and little is said about her character. However, the adjectives “skittish”, “jolly”, “tall” and “upright” describe her as someone irreproachable in any sense.

After she falls in love with Alison, all the marvelous image of Alison disappears when she decides to play a cruel joke to Absalon: Absalon started wiping his mounth dry. Dark was the night as pitch, as black as coal, And at the window out she put her hole, And Absalon, so fortune framed the farce, Put up his mouth and kissed her naked arse Most savorously before he knew of this. [10] As it can be observed, Alison’s attitude changes dramatically after meeting Nicholas (the object of desire).

This desire unleashes those feelings that are the negative counterpart of the male “Animus”. “Eve” development of “Anima” helps to generalize all women as evil, and Alison attitude towards Absalon reinforces this belief. John represents the archetypal of “The Child” in the developed degree of “The abandoned”. In Jungian psychology, it refers to an instinctual pattern of thought or symbolic imagery derived from the past collective experience (Jung referred to this as “the collective unconscious”), and present in the individual unconscious.

We were all children at one time and we can remember the freedom of being a child, the unconditional love we received from our parents, the spontaneous laughter, how we innocently accepted things as they were and let our imaginations run wild. All those experiences left a mark in the unconscious and arise under certain conditions. In this case, the condition is the fear of losing Alison what makes this feeling to arise[11]. The Abandoned (Orphaned) Child archetype can easily be seen in characters like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz or Oliver in Oliver Twist.

The fear of losing a caretaker and the feeling of vulnerability makes the character to proceed in a blind, precipitously way. Jealous he was and kept her in the cage, For he was old and she was wild and young; He thought himself quite likely to be stung. It is possible to notice here that John’s fear for losing Alison makes him to keep her out of the sight of the rest, “in the cage”. Nicholas takes advantage of this fear and uses it to deceive him in a childish way. ‘This world’ he said, ‘in just about and hour, Shall all be drowned, it’s such a hideous shower,

And all mankind, with total loss of life’. The carpenter exclaimed, ‘Alas, my wife! My little Alison! Is she to drown? ’ And in his grief he very near fell down. As it was explained before, innocence is a mark of our childhood, and here innocence is incarnated by John. Absalon represents the archetype of the “Shadow”. In Jungian psychology, the shadow or “shadow aspect” is a part of the unconscious mind consisting of repressed weaknesses, shortcomings, and instincts. It is a link to the most primitive animal instincts, which are superseded during early childhood by the conscious mind.

According to Jung, the shadow, in being instinctive and irrational, is prone to project: turning a personal inferiority into a perceived moral deficiency in someone else. It is the link to the most primitive animal instincts that are superseded during early childhood by the conscious mind, like the survival instinct. Absalon plans his vengeance for the cruel joke played on him and reacts in a even more violent way than his aggressors: Said Absalon, all set to make a launch, ‘Speak, pretty bird, I know not where thou art! ’ This Nicholas at once let fly a fart As loud as if it were a thunder-clap.

He was near blinded by the blast, poor chap, But his iron was ready; with a thump He mote him in the middle of the rump. This way, Absalon fulfills his vengeance by recalling his most instinctive, irrational feelings. In the situations present in the tale it is also possible to identify two archetypal situations: “The Task” and “The love Triangle”. “The Task” is that situation in which a character is required to perform a task that will restore balance. It is commonly found n literature in the situations like to save a kingdom, to win the fair lady, the identification of the hero so he may reassume his rightful position, etc[12].

Examples of this archetypal situation in English literature are when Arthur pulls Excalibur from the stone or when Beowulf slays Grendel. In this case, the task set for Nicholas is to consume his union with Alison using his cleverness to deceive his husband who has her “in a cage”. The reader is not told about the plan, so the reader and the fooled characters go hand-in-hand in the discovery and the development of the plan, holding the attention of the reader. The “love triangle” works in a similar way than “The task”, however the task appeals to the “logos” of the reader, while the “love triangle” appeals to the “ethos”.

In addition, “the love triangle” works as the counterpart of the “Requited Love”, which is used to enhance the nobler feelings of human nature: sacrifice, loyalty, friendship, fidelity, etc. The “love triangle” enhances rivalry, fight, deceit, infidelity, etc[13]. It is possible to observe how the love triangle made Nicholas to figure out an ingenious trick to have sex with the John’s wife (infidelity), the showing of the darkest side of pure Alison, the wrath of easygoing Absalon, and the showing of the dumbest side of John.

It is possible to conclude, after all this analysis that “The Miller’s Tale”, as the whole Canterbury Tales, explores the nature of human being life and behavior of the people of his time, making the reader to do an introspective view of his own life. The characters of “The Miller’s tale” are very likely to common people, functioning as a mirror in which society can see itself. The empathy that Chaucer is able to establish between the characters, their situations and the readers is possible because he appeals to those universal characteristics that human beings seem to share beyond race, distance, culture and time.

These pre-figured behavior, or archetype, causes an unconscious reaction on the reader, putting them in the same, Jung would say, “psychogenetic frequency”. Therefore, it possible to explain why the Canterbury Tales is a universal piece of work: because it will never lose validity. It appeals to values and characteristics that do not seem to change in time, since it is possible to identify them in the universal literature of all times. BIBLIOGRAPHY Brunel, Pierre. Companion to Literary Myths, Heroes and Archetypes. New York. Routledge. 1992. Chaucer, Geoffrey.

The Canterbury Tales. Translated by Nevill Coghill. Penguin. London. Penguin. 2003. Franz, Marie-Louise von. Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tales. Toronto. Inner City. 1997. Herz, Sarah K. , and Donald R. Gallo. From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges Between Young Adult Literature and the Classics. 2nd ed. Westport. Greenwood. 2005. Holman, C. Hugh, and William Harmon. A Handbook to Literature. 6th ed. New York. Macmillan. 1992. Johnson, Terry D. , and Daphne R. Louis. Bringing It All Together. Portsmouth. Heinemann. 1997. Joseph Campbell. The hero with a thousand faces.

California. New World Library. 2003. Jung, C. G. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Princeton. Bollingen. 1981. Jung, C. G. “Phenomenology of the Self” in The Portable Jung. New York. Penguin. 1976. Stevens, Anthony. “The archetypes” in The Handbook of Jungian Psychology. Renos. Papadopoulos. 2006. ———————– [1] Anthony Stevens. “The archetypes” in The Handbook of Jungian Psychology. Renos. Papadopoulos. 2006. p. 20. [2] C. G. Jung, The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. , Princeton. Bollingen. 1981. p. 9. [3] Joseph Campbell.

The hero with a thousand faces. California. New World Library. 2003. p. 23. [4] C. G. Jung. “Phenomenology of the Self” in The Portable Jung. New York. Penguin. 1976. p. 147 [5] C. G. Jung. Op. cit. p. 18 [6]Geoffrey Chaucer. The Canterbury Tales. Translated by Nevill Coghill. Penguin. London: Penguin. 2003. p. 89. [7] C. G. Jung. Op. cit. 19. [8]. Idem. p. 20. [9] Geoffrey Chaucer. Op. cit. 90. [10] Ibid. p. 103. [11] C. G. Jung. Op. cit. p. 29. [12] Marie-Louise von Franz. Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tales. Toronto: Inner City, 1997. p. 107. [13] Ibid. p. 89.