Leslie Norris's 'Blackberries'

Growing Up Stained Leslie Norris’s “Blackberries” describes a little boy’s journey of maturing into adulthood. Imperative to the story is her use of symbolism emphasizing that growing and changing is often hard and scary, yet necessary and beautiful if one is allowed to flourish. Norris begins with the boy “hav[ing] his locks shorn.” The boy is having his first real haircut, which represents coming of age and growing older. The barber’s hands are cold and the boy “[is] quite frightened.” Change is often scary and overwhelming, not warm and welcoming. The cold in this represents the daunting aspect of growing up and the fear associated with it. The boy’s hair “grows so quickly” though and soon more changes are in progress. Change often happens rapidly, not giving adequate time to adjust to the …show more content…
Humans, during their teenage years are just beginning to bloom and be productive members of society, just as the plant is beginning to bring drops of sweetness to those who consume their fruit. After the boy and his father have had their fill of blackberries, their mouths and hands are stained purple. Often life has hurdles to leap over that leave semi-permanent or permanent marks on people’s hearts, souls, and minds. These stains are memories of experiences and the impact that they have made on people’s lives. They are mottled and irregular, like the stains of blackberry juice, bittersweet memories from the past. In this instance the stains also represent the parents’ failed marriage and the financial issues that they are suffering. This comes to show us that life is not perfect and even sweet things like marriage and blackberries are semisweet. Even though the benefits of maturity are not yet experienced by the story’s protagonist the effect that change has on him is evident. Norris uses symbolism in her story “Blackberries” through her meanings behind the haircut, walk in the woods, and blackberry bush to accentuate the frightening yet vital process of