The Art of Symbolism
“Nature speaks in symbols and signs.” - John Greenleaf Whittier. Symbolism is a very strong and emotional way of writing. It uses symbols to represent ideas or qualities. Such as, the ocean representing freedom and desires or the red flowers in a backyard that symbolize courage and respect. In Inside Out And Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Hà the main character struggles with her family through a time of depression in their country. There is a collection of symbols that Hà and her family use to explain their meaningful feelings. Three of these symbols are the papaya, a doll/chick, and an amethyst ring. All of these symbols represent something else to Hà and her family than what an ordinary person would think. The papaya in Inside Out And Back Again represents hope and life. A papaya is a bright green and yellow fruit that is in the shape of a mango but bigger. It has black seeds inside in which new papayas will grow one day. In the book, Hà carelessly threw one of many papaya seeds out of her bedroom window. Over a period of time she noticed the seedling coming into the new world of sunlight. Every day Hà would look out of her window and watch as the …show more content…
The amethyst ring was brought from America to Vietnam by Hà’s dad. He trained in the navy before Hà was born. He brought the ring specifically for his wife to keep. This moment represented the connection that Hà’s mom and Hà’s dad once had before he disappeared. One day after work Hà’s mother came running into the house. Hà and her brothers seeing that the amethyst ring is gone, go to the sewing factory and start searching.“We repeat so often we lose count,/ propelled by Mother’s/wild eyes and/pressed mouth,/frightened of what/her expression would be/if……./At dusk,/the guards shoo us out” (Lai 248 and 249). In this quote the family finally gives up looking for the most precious and tangible remnant of love Hà’s mother once had with her
“Nature speaks in symbols and signs.” - John Greenleaf Whittier. Symbolism is a very strong and emotional way of writing. It uses symbols to represent ideas or qualities. Such as, the ocean representing freedom and desires or the red flowers in a backyard that symbolize courage and respect. In Inside Out And Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Hà the main character struggles with her family through a time of depression in their country. There is a collection of symbols that Hà and her family use to explain their meaningful feelings. Three of these symbols are the papaya, a doll/chick, and an amethyst ring. All of these symbols represent something else to Hà and her family than what an ordinary person would think. The papaya in Inside Out And Back Again represents hope and life. A papaya is a bright green and yellow fruit that is in the shape of a mango but bigger. It has black seeds inside in which new papayas will grow one day. In the book, Hà carelessly threw one of many papaya seeds out of her bedroom window. Over a period of time she noticed the seedling coming into the new world of sunlight. Every day Hà would look out of her window and watch as the …show more content…
The amethyst ring was brought from America to Vietnam by Hà’s dad. He trained in the navy before Hà was born. He brought the ring specifically for his wife to keep. This moment represented the connection that Hà’s mom and Hà’s dad once had before he disappeared. One day after work Hà’s mother came running into the house. Hà and her brothers seeing that the amethyst ring is gone, go to the sewing factory and start searching.“We repeat so often we lose count,/ propelled by Mother’s/wild eyes and/pressed mouth,/frightened of what/her expression would be/if……./At dusk,/the guards shoo us out” (Lai 248 and 249). In this quote the family finally gives up looking for the most precious and tangible remnant of love Hà’s mother once had with her