When creating a story, symbolism can be a crucial factor that helps represent ideas and morals that build onto the characters and the work as a whole. Things Fall Apart and The Poisonwood Bible both use a great amount of symbolism to create a picture for the reader and connect ideas throughout the plot. In Things Fall Apart, the harvesting of yams is used as a symbol to represent wealth and fire is also used to describe Okonkwo’s aggressive behavior. The Poisonwood Bible uses a parrot named Meshuselah to represent The Republic of Congo and what they go through. They also refer to the poisonwood tree and the word “bangala” when speaking about Jesus and religion. All of these forms of symbolism help shape the themes and conflicts that arise in
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The parrot is kept in a cage for most of his life and is denied the freedom to roam around where he pleases. He is also fed by the humans and this makes the parrot lose his ability to fend for himself because he relies on others to help him get his food. Not only does he get fed, but he also stays in a home because of his fear of predators that may be a threat to him. All of these qualities the parrot has represent the captivity the Price women find themselves in. They grow accustomed to not having freedoms and being locked up by their father, just like the parrot. The bird also represents the Republic of Congo and their ultimate fate when they break away from alliance and become independent. When Methuselah is finally free, he is eaten by a predator and killed. When The Congo now becomes independent, they will soon seek an unfortunate ending just like the …show more content…
The author of Things fall Apart chose to use symbolism to describe a character and what type of personality they have. It also shaped the climax of the story and showed the reader why the characters would make the choices that they did. The Poisonwood Bible chose to use symbolism to describe a whole group of people and show the downfall of them in a tragic end. These two novels show that symbolism can easily be used to manipulate the plot and develop a story as a
The parrot is kept in a cage for most of his life and is denied the freedom to roam around where he pleases. He is also fed by the humans and this makes the parrot lose his ability to fend for himself because he relies on others to help him get his food. Not only does he get fed, but he also stays in a home because of his fear of predators that may be a threat to him. All of these qualities the parrot has represent the captivity the Price women find themselves in. They grow accustomed to not having freedoms and being locked up by their father, just like the parrot. The bird also represents the Republic of Congo and their ultimate fate when they break away from alliance and become independent. When Methuselah is finally free, he is eaten by a predator and killed. When The Congo now becomes independent, they will soon seek an unfortunate ending just like the …show more content…
The author of Things fall Apart chose to use symbolism to describe a character and what type of personality they have. It also shaped the climax of the story and showed the reader why the characters would make the choices that they did. The Poisonwood Bible chose to use symbolism to describe a whole group of people and show the downfall of them in a tragic end. These two novels show that symbolism can easily be used to manipulate the plot and develop a story as a