"Boys and Girls" and Symbolism

A truly powerful piece of literature incorporates symbolism throughout the work that ties together the main ideas portrayed by the author. In the short story "Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro, the reader can pick up on two influential and potent symbols, which play a huge role in revealing the theme of gender roles and in revealing character. The foxes are an effective symbol of the narrator and protagonist of this story, a young nameless girl who is living on a fox farm with her family. The fact that she is nameless also reiterates the foxes as an efficacious symbol, because a fox would not receive a name until it served a purpose for the narrator's father. Through this connection it is easy to see that in her father's eyes she serves no purpose because she is not a male. The foxes are trapped in pens of her father's design, isolated and enclosed, which is how the narrator feels because of her gender. As a woman she is assumed to spend her life in the house, cooking and cleaning. The house represents the fox pen, a prison that the narrator sees no escape from. The second symbol is Flora, a bright and animated horse who is sentenced to be slaughtered. The narrator allows Flora to escape at the last minute, opening the gate wide and letting her run free. Flora is also a symbol for the protagonist, she is vivacious and energetic but constantly confined by man. When the narrator allows Flora to run through the gate, it is symbolic of her want for freedom and escape from the farm and the limitations of societal roles. Flora's freedom is short lived, and she returns home to the farm  cut "up in fifty pieces". This illustrates the idea that there is no escape from the gender roles society has put in place. The foxes and Flora the horse agglomerate together to enforce the theme of gender roles and reveal the character of the protagonist in an impactful and compelling way.

"Boys and Girls" and Gender Roles

Gender roles have been around for so long that it is sometimes easy to overlook them. It's true, boys and girls are notably different from each other, and not just in the biological sense. The short story "Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro explores the stereotypical gender roles, and how limiting and emotionally upsetting society's standards can be for a young woman. The protagonist, who remains nameless throughout the story, is an ambitious and lively girl living on a fox farm. In the beginning of the story she is unfamiliar with the pressure of being a woman, and considers herself no different than her younger brother, Laird. As her tale progresses we see her repeatedly in situations where a boy is viewed as more valuable than a girl. She begins to comprehend what it means to be a female,  "It was a definition, always touched with emphasis, with reproach and disappointment." The narrator learns that working beside her father on the farm is only tentative, until her brother becomes old enough to take her place. Her "rightful" place, it seemed, is in the house with her mother: cooking, cleaning and sewing. She hates it inside the house and the kitchen, she would much rather be outdoors helping her father with the foxes. To the narrator "work in the house was endless, dreary, and peculiarly depressing; work done out of doors, and in [her] father's service, was ritualistically important.” This is the opposite of what society believes a girl her age, or any age, should think. The narrator becomes conflicted between what she feels and what is expected of a young woman. By the end of the story, she accepts that she is different from a boy and she recognizes differences in herself. In her bedtime stories she does not dream of being the hero anymore, but of being rescued by a boy. The narrator accepts the role society had decided for her from birth, the role her family has pressed onto her; she accepts that "She is only a girl."  

"The Red Convertable: An Execellent Example of an Evolving Symbol

Lyman's and Henry's "red, red Olds" is where the short story "The Red Convertible" by Louise Erdich gets its title, and it is also a powerful and prevailing symbol throughout the piece. However, the red convertible is not a static symbol, it is constantly changing as the characters of the story transform. The car is purchased on a whim by the two brothers, Lyman and Henry. The car starts off initially as a symbol of brotherhood, friendship and exemplifies the strong bond shared between the two young men. It symbolizes excitement, travel and endless opportunities. As the story progresses, Henry is sent off to war and returns a broken man. He is changed completely as a person and this alteration effects his relationship with Lyman. When Henry returns he throws the keys of the convertible to his brother, accompanied with the comment "it's yours", showing the distance that as been put between the brothers because of the war. The car, that was a symbol of their strong relationship, morphs into a symbol of how broken their relationship has become. Lyman tries to restore their relationship, and his brother, to what it was before the war. His attempts prove futile when on a trip in the car his brother jumps into a fast flowing river. Henry drowns calmly, he had accepted that he was barely living anyway since his return from Vietnam. Lyman pushes the car in after him so it could share the same death as it's half owner; the car filling with water just as Henry's boots had. At this point the car becomes a symbol of acceptance. Lyman relates his brother and the strong bond they had to that red convertible, so it seemed right to him that they should die together. He had accepted the fact that he could not bring the old Henry back, and the car symbolizes him accepting that part of his life to be over. It is easy to see what a dynamic symbol the red convertible proves to be throughout this story and how essential it is to connecting characters, emotions and themes together.

"Aunt Jennifer's Tigers": Symbolic Importance Exemplified

"Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" by Adrienne Rich is a  poem that utilizes the complete power of symbolism to illustrate the complex ideas portrayed in this piece. Two major symbols in this poem are the tigers and Aunt Jennifer's wedding ring. The tigers which prance and pace along Aunt Jennifer's tapestries are symbolic of the person Aunt Jennifer wishes she could be. The tigers are strong, proud, and courageous. Aunt Jennifer wishes she could be as carefree and tenacious as the "topaz denizens" of her artwork. She lives vicariously through her tapestries as tigers who have no fear or uncertainty. Her artwork and her tigers symbolize everything that Aunt Jennifer wishes she had in her life, and she knows that her memory will be carried on through her tapestries long after she is gone. A wedding ring is a universal symbol of love and commitment. Wedding rings are typically a positive symbol, however in this poem Aunt Jennifer's wedding ring is viewed negatively. It is described as a "massive weight" sitting heavily upon her hand. The wedding ring is a symbol of constraint and control. It mirrors Aunt Jennifer's anxiety and the melancholy relationship she has with her husband. These two symbols work together to exemplify Aunt Jennifer's attempts of escaping her unhappy marriage through the means of her artwork. These symbols are essential in revealing the ideas woven carefully through this piece of literature. Through the tigers and the wedding ring the reader can truly begin to understand the depths of Aunt Jennifer's emotions and together they make this a very powerful poem to read.