Hans Christian Anderson’s short story “The Little Match Seller”, or “The Little Match Girl”, offers a look into the harsh realities of what life was like for children living in extreme poverty. The main character of the story undergoes a tremendous amount of grief throughout the story because of her low financial status and her inability to escape the harsh winter she is exposed to. Anderson’s use of setting, conflict, and figurative language develops the themes of suffering and loss by recounting her story in a way that readers are able to empathize with the character and vividly imagine her suffering.
Andersen’s “The Little Match Seller” is about a girl struggling to provide for herself and her family. The story begins on New Year’s Eve with …show more content…
She stops in an alley to rest and begins to light her source of income to keep warm. She begins to hallucinate and see wonderful images of Christmas trees and feasts, possibly things she’s never had the opportunity to experience in her own life. She soon sees her dead grandmother, and begs her to take her with her, because she wants the nice images to stay forever. The little girl ends up dying, and is discovered on the street with a smile on her face and burnt matches scattered around her (Anderson).
Anderson’s “The Little Match Seller” alludes heavily to the theme of suffering. The “unfortunate young protagonist” (Walter) in “The Little Match Seller” is put in a perilous situation throughout the story. She and her father are victims of poverty that live in a dilapidated house, with “only the roof to cover them, through which the wind howled, although the largest holes had been stopped up with straw and rags” (Anderson 2). Living in those conditions contribute greatly to the overall theme of anguish. Surviving the harsh winters of the setting they’re in is not easy when adequate housing is not a reality. The little girl is forced to carry around matches to sell in order to …show more content…
In the beginning of the story, Anderson utilized imagery when he describes the girl’s feet as “naked … and quite red and blue with the cold” (1). This phrase seems to paint a picture of a girl struggling with poverty and in the minds of the readers and evokes feelings of empathy. His use of the words “little” and “poor” scattered throughout the story to describe the girl also make the reader feel sympathetic, because it describes just how young and truly helpless this deprived child is. That imagery led critics to label her the “most pathetic character in children’s literature” (Phelan). The author’s imagery when describing the matches the little girl uses to keep warm also relate back to the theme. To an ordinary person, a match is virtually useless. To the girl however, this match signifies warmth and offers her a chance to fantasize about a better life, for even just a second. Anderson’s description of the match being “beautifully warm” and a “wonderful light” (3) highlights her predicament even more. Matches don’t give off that much warmth or light, but to the girl this match is the only thing keeping her from freezing to death. The matches are imperative to her survival, as they allow her death to be a smooth and relaxing transition instead of a cruel and miserable one. The author also uses descriptive language to further reflect on how depressing her situation is. She isn’t
Andersen’s “The Little Match Seller” is about a girl struggling to provide for herself and her family. The story begins on New Year’s Eve with …show more content…
She stops in an alley to rest and begins to light her source of income to keep warm. She begins to hallucinate and see wonderful images of Christmas trees and feasts, possibly things she’s never had the opportunity to experience in her own life. She soon sees her dead grandmother, and begs her to take her with her, because she wants the nice images to stay forever. The little girl ends up dying, and is discovered on the street with a smile on her face and burnt matches scattered around her (Anderson).
Anderson’s “The Little Match Seller” alludes heavily to the theme of suffering. The “unfortunate young protagonist” (Walter) in “The Little Match Seller” is put in a perilous situation throughout the story. She and her father are victims of poverty that live in a dilapidated house, with “only the roof to cover them, through which the wind howled, although the largest holes had been stopped up with straw and rags” (Anderson 2). Living in those conditions contribute greatly to the overall theme of anguish. Surviving the harsh winters of the setting they’re in is not easy when adequate housing is not a reality. The little girl is forced to carry around matches to sell in order to …show more content…
In the beginning of the story, Anderson utilized imagery when he describes the girl’s feet as “naked … and quite red and blue with the cold” (1). This phrase seems to paint a picture of a girl struggling with poverty and in the minds of the readers and evokes feelings of empathy. His use of the words “little” and “poor” scattered throughout the story to describe the girl also make the reader feel sympathetic, because it describes just how young and truly helpless this deprived child is. That imagery led critics to label her the “most pathetic character in children’s literature” (Phelan). The author’s imagery when describing the matches the little girl uses to keep warm also relate back to the theme. To an ordinary person, a match is virtually useless. To the girl however, this match signifies warmth and offers her a chance to fantasize about a better life, for even just a second. Anderson’s description of the match being “beautifully warm” and a “wonderful light” (3) highlights her predicament even more. Matches don’t give off that much warmth or light, but to the girl this match is the only thing keeping her from freezing to death. The matches are imperative to her survival, as they allow her death to be a smooth and relaxing transition instead of a cruel and miserable one. The author also uses descriptive language to further reflect on how depressing her situation is. She isn’t