Multi - Colored Clouds
Clouds often signify barriers that are obstructing people from seeing, what may literally be right before their eyes. They symbolize covers as they themselves cover the sky. Clouds also share symbolism with water and air, as those are the components that they are produced from, resulting in symbols of clear thinking and emotional purity. Anthony Doerr uses the motif of clouds and cloud imagery to convey pathetic fallacies in his characters’ conflicts throughout Memory Wall. For every step in the problem solving processes in the stories, there are different cloud formations and occasionally colors that represent these steps. There are moments within Memory Wall where characters finds themselves confronted with a conflict …show more content…
When Memory Wall’s Pheko stood in line to get medical aid for Temba, his setting contains, “light towers [that] have been switched off and a dull orange glow [that] reflects off the undersides of clouds” (48). The glow from the clouds seems mystical as Pheko realizes he can get medicine from Alma just as the glow appears. The clouds allowed a small form of light, or hope, to get through. That miniscule amount of light was a literal ray of hope, or miracle, that was critical towards solving Pheko’s conflict. Hope strikes again in Procreate, Generate as the sky consists of, “Clouds [that] pile up at the horizon, plum-colored and full of shoulders” (99). The clouds now appear to be less darker, alluding to a more hopeful approach at viewing the mood. Whilst Imogene and Herb have yet to get pregnant, Herb is still hopeful. The shoulders in the clouds suggest that the clouds are no longer spread apart, but clustered together, allowing some form of light to get through and representing a need for closeness or intimacy that Herb was craving. The supposed light however, alludes to the Herb’s hope for a child. Another point in the same story that establishes hope is the point when, “It snows so much it seems the clouds will never empty of it ” (109). This time, instead of allowing light to pass through, the clouds are …show more content…
In the epilogue of Memory Wall, “Temba and Pheko stand in the glaring, cloudless sunlight in front of the glass walls of Virgin Active Fitness” (81). The lack of clouds symbolizes a clear view, meaning that all obstacle are gone. Pheko and Temba, while not set for life, are more financially secure and will have less to worry about. Without clouds, there are no barriers preventing anything, there is only a clear view. Therefore, a satisfying scene, all is clear and calm. Afterworld’s ending is described as, “Above them the clouds shift and—abruptly—sunlight avalanches across the yard.” (242). Just like previously, no more complications appear. Esther has moved on to the actual afterworld. The clouds shift, as if they subconsciously knew that Esther’s struggles in life are over, to let sunshine through. This is yet another scene where the sky becomes clear. It represents clarity and newfound innocence, as Robert’s younger sisters play in the snow, that Robert seems to have forgotten existed after the death of his grandmother. Another positive example of pathetic fallacy in cloud imagery is found in the same story as the girls are surrounded by, “Flights of pink-rimmed clouds [sailing] overhead” (187). Doerr’s imagery creates a smooth, calming mood; as if treating the girls to a beautiful sunset. Unlike the two former stories, clouds appear in
Clouds often signify barriers that are obstructing people from seeing, what may literally be right before their eyes. They symbolize covers as they themselves cover the sky. Clouds also share symbolism with water and air, as those are the components that they are produced from, resulting in symbols of clear thinking and emotional purity. Anthony Doerr uses the motif of clouds and cloud imagery to convey pathetic fallacies in his characters’ conflicts throughout Memory Wall. For every step in the problem solving processes in the stories, there are different cloud formations and occasionally colors that represent these steps. There are moments within Memory Wall where characters finds themselves confronted with a conflict …show more content…
When Memory Wall’s Pheko stood in line to get medical aid for Temba, his setting contains, “light towers [that] have been switched off and a dull orange glow [that] reflects off the undersides of clouds” (48). The glow from the clouds seems mystical as Pheko realizes he can get medicine from Alma just as the glow appears. The clouds allowed a small form of light, or hope, to get through. That miniscule amount of light was a literal ray of hope, or miracle, that was critical towards solving Pheko’s conflict. Hope strikes again in Procreate, Generate as the sky consists of, “Clouds [that] pile up at the horizon, plum-colored and full of shoulders” (99). The clouds now appear to be less darker, alluding to a more hopeful approach at viewing the mood. Whilst Imogene and Herb have yet to get pregnant, Herb is still hopeful. The shoulders in the clouds suggest that the clouds are no longer spread apart, but clustered together, allowing some form of light to get through and representing a need for closeness or intimacy that Herb was craving. The supposed light however, alludes to the Herb’s hope for a child. Another point in the same story that establishes hope is the point when, “It snows so much it seems the clouds will never empty of it ” (109). This time, instead of allowing light to pass through, the clouds are …show more content…
In the epilogue of Memory Wall, “Temba and Pheko stand in the glaring, cloudless sunlight in front of the glass walls of Virgin Active Fitness” (81). The lack of clouds symbolizes a clear view, meaning that all obstacle are gone. Pheko and Temba, while not set for life, are more financially secure and will have less to worry about. Without clouds, there are no barriers preventing anything, there is only a clear view. Therefore, a satisfying scene, all is clear and calm. Afterworld’s ending is described as, “Above them the clouds shift and—abruptly—sunlight avalanches across the yard.” (242). Just like previously, no more complications appear. Esther has moved on to the actual afterworld. The clouds shift, as if they subconsciously knew that Esther’s struggles in life are over, to let sunshine through. This is yet another scene where the sky becomes clear. It represents clarity and newfound innocence, as Robert’s younger sisters play in the snow, that Robert seems to have forgotten existed after the death of his grandmother. Another positive example of pathetic fallacy in cloud imagery is found in the same story as the girls are surrounded by, “Flights of pink-rimmed clouds [sailing] overhead” (187). Doerr’s imagery creates a smooth, calming mood; as if treating the girls to a beautiful sunset. Unlike the two former stories, clouds appear in