A candle can always be rekindled, while the part that was burnt can never be replaced. Life runs the same course where as our souls are burning the sweet smell of life; we are also deteriorating as our flame burns freely. And we each hold our last flame as it finishes us off and we are no longer a candle, but a spirit; no longer burn of fire, but of passion; and no longer stand as a candle, but a spirit. Granny Weatherall is the burning essence of Katherine Anne Porter's work and gives off the thoughts and feelings of the fire that burned within her.
With the intensity and feeling that is incorporated into the works of Katherine Anne Porter, it allows the reader to step inside the character's shoes and see life through their eyes. She expertly develops her characters so that they can be understood as a real person, and gives a sense of color to black and white text. Granny Weatherall can be understood as an irritable old woman whose life flashes before her in an intricate stream of consciousness. You find that she is slowly losing her mind as she also loses herself within this stream that is filled with her painful and joyful memories, along with many symbolism.
The symbolism in this story indicates that the Granny's deepest thoughts are provoked and brought out by the sight of candles or light. Her thoughts of candles or lights were brought out frequently including "blew out the light", "watched the flame rise and settle in an blue curve",
"the lamp was lit", and "it flickered and winked like an eye, quietly it fluttered and dwindled". This informs the reader of how Granny Weatherall views her life considering that it is often when she is happiest that the candle or light is brought to be, and when her thoughts become morbid the light is weak. As her life begins to die off, so does the light in her life.
Granny Weatherall claims that she can no longer be afraid of death because she had gotten over it many years ago. She claims that she is "afraid" of the light for no significant reason. However if you study the character well enough, a reasonable answer to why she would be afraid of the light is because all things can be seen best in the light. It would only magnify and direct attention to the otherwise non-prominent blemishes and faults that made a place for themselves in her face. She was afraid to confront her aging and the fact that she had been running from death for years and it was catching up. She still had yet to accept the fact that her candle had burned, and it was time to blow it out.
In a sense, everyone has to blow out their candle when their duty is done, and in their place is the smoke resembling the life that they lived. As Granny Weatherall had her life flash before her eyes, she realized that her duty was done and her candle was burnt. She could accept the fact that death could have her, for she had had life. As she lay content in bed with a candle at her side she "drew in a breath" and "blew out the light". Although her fire may not burn on the candle, it will forever burn her soul.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Gone Too Soon
My name is Rennessa meaning new life and butterfly, Little did I know, that this name fit me like a piece in a puzzle. I was only 17 years old when I died in a tragic car accident- it wasn't anyone's fault, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I had a great life and two parents who loved me very much, there names were Lisa and Tom Anderson. Every person has their own saying on life: each can be applied or connected to their own thoughts and experiences. Life, to me, is like a puzzle: you have fun putting it together, but there always has to be a last piece signifying the end- sometimes the last piece comes too soon.
While I sit in the car at a red light, I watch the other cars go by. None of them are nearly as intricate as my parents car which is a massive lime-green truck with chrome spinners, and rainbow seat covers. You could see it from 100 ft away and you would know that it was our car. As soon as the light turns green the traffic is off again into the mad rush where everyone has somewhere to go and everyone thinks that there destination is the most important. But as I turned the corner onto the main road I crashed into an oncoming vehicle. I remember hearing the sound of the horn's wasted beeps, and the efforts of the screeching breaks that stopped too late. I recall the smell of gas and smoke as it polluted the air and burned by nose and lungs. The pain was unbearable, I could literally hear myself breaking along with my heart. But the memory that hurt more than the bones or the fractures, was the familiar blur of lime-green and the final beats of my heart.
Some say that everyone has a second life and becomes something that could finish what that person hadn't in their life that ended. I came back as a butterfly and lived up to my name which means reborn and butterfly. By being this creature, I got my long lost question answered. As I was floating in the air I noticed a cemetery below me and recognized my grave. I swooped down to get a closer look and was shattered at what I saw. Directly next to my grave was the names Lisa and Tom Anderson- 2009: the exact day that we had collided for the last time.
While I sit in the car at a red light, I watch the other cars go by. None of them are nearly as intricate as my parents car which is a massive lime-green truck with chrome spinners, and rainbow seat covers. You could see it from 100 ft away and you would know that it was our car. As soon as the light turns green the traffic is off again into the mad rush where everyone has somewhere to go and everyone thinks that there destination is the most important. But as I turned the corner onto the main road I crashed into an oncoming vehicle. I remember hearing the sound of the horn's wasted beeps, and the efforts of the screeching breaks that stopped too late. I recall the smell of gas and smoke as it polluted the air and burned by nose and lungs. The pain was unbearable, I could literally hear myself breaking along with my heart. But the memory that hurt more than the bones or the fractures, was the familiar blur of lime-green and the final beats of my heart.
Some say that everyone has a second life and becomes something that could finish what that person hadn't in their life that ended. I came back as a butterfly and lived up to my name which means reborn and butterfly. By being this creature, I got my long lost question answered. As I was floating in the air I noticed a cemetery below me and recognized my grave. I swooped down to get a closer look and was shattered at what I saw. Directly next to my grave was the names Lisa and Tom Anderson- 2009: the exact day that we had collided for the last time.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
A Clean Well Lit Place
You are on the street where it is dark and cold, and you are invisible; the only light you can see is that of a well lit café on the street corner. As you cross the dimly lit street and make your way into the café, you are enveloped in the heavy feelings of other people worries. But now you can be seen and you have a name for yourself; you are out of the shadows of life. Hemingway can relate to these feeling because he too lived in the shadows. He was brought up with 5 other brothers and sisters and lacked being seen as an individual. All he wished for was a clean well lit place where he could be free of the concealment of his life and problems. Hemingway’s pieces, like abstract art, must be studied and understood to be appreciated. The symbolism in "A Clean Well-lighted Place is the art that must be studied.
Hemingway captured how one would feel if they were lacking attention and were hidden under a shadow. You can tell that this is the point that he is trying to get across because of the pieces of symbolism including “the old man sat in the shadow of the leaves”, “the old man sitting in the shadow”, and “an old man who sat in the shadow”. Hemingway could be referring to himself as the man who sat in the shadow of the leaves, only he sat in the shadows of his siblings. There are many other aspects of the main character that require further analyzing.
The character in the shadows was never without a drink in his hand, and he was constantly asking for more. The drink could symbolize Hemingway’s craving for attention and how there was never enough to provide contentment. Also, the people that said he had everything were always referring to material things such as “money”, Even though it was clearly the things that fed the heart, rather than the pockets that he yearned for. The character was also using many things mentioned in the story for escapism.
You could consider escapism as writing a story that tells your thoughts without revealing that you were the victim of these feelings. Hemingway managed to write about things that fit like puzzle pieces in his life and experiences. He wrote about his desires, his feelings, his concealment, and his pain. While the story remains very important in understanding him, it is the title that says it all. While Hemingway lived in the shadows of everyone and everything, this story was told to show that his mind was truly a clean, well lit place.
Hemingway captured how one would feel if they were lacking attention and were hidden under a shadow. You can tell that this is the point that he is trying to get across because of the pieces of symbolism including “the old man sat in the shadow of the leaves”, “the old man sitting in the shadow”, and “an old man who sat in the shadow”. Hemingway could be referring to himself as the man who sat in the shadow of the leaves, only he sat in the shadows of his siblings. There are many other aspects of the main character that require further analyzing.
The character in the shadows was never without a drink in his hand, and he was constantly asking for more. The drink could symbolize Hemingway’s craving for attention and how there was never enough to provide contentment. Also, the people that said he had everything were always referring to material things such as “money”, Even though it was clearly the things that fed the heart, rather than the pockets that he yearned for. The character was also using many things mentioned in the story for escapism.
You could consider escapism as writing a story that tells your thoughts without revealing that you were the victim of these feelings. Hemingway managed to write about things that fit like puzzle pieces in his life and experiences. He wrote about his desires, his feelings, his concealment, and his pain. While the story remains very important in understanding him, it is the title that says it all. While Hemingway lived in the shadows of everyone and everything, this story was told to show that his mind was truly a clean, well lit place.
A Clean Well Lit Place
You are on the street where it is dark and cold, and you are invisible; the only light you can see is that of a well lit café on the street corner. As you cross the dim lit street and make your way into the café where you are enveloped in the heavy feelings of other people worries. But now you can be seen and you have a name for yourself; you are out of the shadows of life. Hemingway can relate to these feeling because he too lived in the shadows. He was brought up with 5 other brothers and sisters and lacked being seen as an individual. All he wished for was a clean well lit place where he could be free of the concealment of his life and problems. Hemingway’s pieces, like abstract art, must be studied and understood to be appreciated. The symbolism in this story is the art that must be studied.
Hemingway captured how one would feel if they were lacking attention and were hidden under a shadow. You can tell that this is the point that he is trying to get across because of the pieces of symbolism including “the old man sat in the shadow of the leaves”, “the old man sitting in the shadow”, and “an old man who sat in the shadow”. Hemingway could be referring to himself as the man who sat in the shadow of the leaves, only he sat in the shadows of his siblings. There are many other aspects of the main character that require further analyzing.
The character in the shadows was never without a drink in his hand, and he was constantly asking for more. The drink could symbolize Hemingway’s craving for attention and how there was never enough to provide contentment. Also, the people that said he had everything were always referring to material things such as “money”, Even though it was clearly the things that fed the heart, rather than the pockets that he yearned for. The character was also using many things mentioned in the story for escapism.
You could consider escapism as writing a story that tells your thoughts without revealing that you were the victim of these feelings. Hemingway managed to write about things that fit like puzzle pieces in his life and experiences. He wrote about his desires, his feelings, his concealment, and his pain. While the story remains very important in understanding him; it is the title that says it all. While Hemingway lived in the shadows of everyone and everything, this story was told to show that his mind was truly a clean, well lit place.
Hemingway captured how one would feel if they were lacking attention and were hidden under a shadow. You can tell that this is the point that he is trying to get across because of the pieces of symbolism including “the old man sat in the shadow of the leaves”, “the old man sitting in the shadow”, and “an old man who sat in the shadow”. Hemingway could be referring to himself as the man who sat in the shadow of the leaves, only he sat in the shadows of his siblings. There are many other aspects of the main character that require further analyzing.
The character in the shadows was never without a drink in his hand, and he was constantly asking for more. The drink could symbolize Hemingway’s craving for attention and how there was never enough to provide contentment. Also, the people that said he had everything were always referring to material things such as “money”, Even though it was clearly the things that fed the heart, rather than the pockets that he yearned for. The character was also using many things mentioned in the story for escapism.
You could consider escapism as writing a story that tells your thoughts without revealing that you were the victim of these feelings. Hemingway managed to write about things that fit like puzzle pieces in his life and experiences. He wrote about his desires, his feelings, his concealment, and his pain. While the story remains very important in understanding him; it is the title that says it all. While Hemingway lived in the shadows of everyone and everything, this story was told to show that his mind was truly a clean, well lit place.
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