In the story Powder, there is an overwhelming amount of symbolism. This wonderful story is about a father that’s determined to enjoy spending time with his son during Christmas time. Part of what makes this story so good, is the fact that the author ,Tobias Wolff, adds in subtle symbols throughout the story. Some symbols featured in “Powder” are the snow, the barricade, jazz, and the title: powder. One of the symbols, the snow, symbolizes the unknown. When the father and son are going past the barricade, “there was nothing but snow: snow on the road, snow kicking up from the chains, snow on the trees, snow in the sky, our trail in the snow.”(Paragraph 20). So, they cannot see anything but snow. This causes the boy to have to keep his hands
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After the road block is removed, the father and son’s relationship improves. The son learns to appreciate his father for how he “was a great driver”(Paragraph 34) and the father speaks of his son’s strong points. Getting past the barrier also allows the son to “[stop] moping and [begin] to enjoy [himself].”(Paragraph 33).This is a big change from when he was afraid of feeling “the snow brush the floorboards under [his] feet.”(Paragraph 20). One other symbol is the jazz music that is mentioned in the story. The father takes the son “to see Thelonius Monk”(Paragraph 1), who is a somewhat crazy jazz musician. He also hums “Stars Fell on Alabama”(Paragraph 20), which is a jazz song. Jazz symbolizes spontaneity, which is something the father appreciates. The last symbol is the title: powder. Powder symbolizes a fresh start. The snow is a type of powder and in the story, the father and son break “virgin snow”(Paragraph 20). This symbolizes their new relationship. At the beginning the boy is angry at the father because he thinks they “should have left earlier”(Paragraph 11) from the mountains so that they could be home on time. However, by the end of the story the boy and his dad have a new relationship where the son admires the father and the father compliments the
After the road block is removed, the father and son’s relationship improves. The son learns to appreciate his father for how he “was a great driver”(Paragraph 34) and the father speaks of his son’s strong points. Getting past the barrier also allows the son to “[stop] moping and [begin] to enjoy [himself].”(Paragraph 33).This is a big change from when he was afraid of feeling “the snow brush the floorboards under [his] feet.”(Paragraph 20). One other symbol is the jazz music that is mentioned in the story. The father takes the son “to see Thelonius Monk”(Paragraph 1), who is a somewhat crazy jazz musician. He also hums “Stars Fell on Alabama”(Paragraph 20), which is a jazz song. Jazz symbolizes spontaneity, which is something the father appreciates. The last symbol is the title: powder. Powder symbolizes a fresh start. The snow is a type of powder and in the story, the father and son break “virgin snow”(Paragraph 20). This symbolizes their new relationship. At the beginning the boy is angry at the father because he thinks they “should have left earlier”(Paragraph 11) from the mountains so that they could be home on time. However, by the end of the story the boy and his dad have a new relationship where the son admires the father and the father compliments the