Salinger illustrates symbolism in "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" by the personalities of the characters and the bananafish parable in the story. ... She questions him and he tells her the following parable: They lead a very tragic life they swim into a hole where there's a lot of bananas. ... In the bananafish parable, the bananas represent the mushy, bland temptations of a materialistic society. ... Both Muriel and her mother easily fit into the bananafish parable also. ... Salinger illustrates symbolism in this short story by the conflicting personality of the character and by ...

• Word Count: 747
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Thus, Tan begins each of the sections of her work with a Chinese parable. ... The first parable, Feathers from a Thousand Li Away, sets up how, ironically, the link that they all share, also divides them. ... This holds true until the very last of these parables, which is a coming together of sorts for the characters (Huntley 44). ... The parables are only the tip of the metaphorical iceberg. ... Which is why, once again, the parables play such an important role in tying everything together. ...

• Word Count: 1953
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography

"The Scarlet Letter becomes a kind of parable of lost human potential-the Artist [Hester], the Scientist, and the minister each wasting not only what they were, but what they might have been" (p275). ...

• Word Count: 670
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Traditions are long-established ways of thinking and acting that are passed down from generation to generation. Many of them form the basis for cultures and civilizations that are present today. Common examples of traditions are holidays such as Christmas or July 4th, as well as social norms such as...

• Word Count: 1719
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

From Orwell's depiction of a society that is ruled by an all seeing eye looking over their shoulders in "1984" to a society where the government has all but collapsed to every man is for himself in Butler's "Parable of the Sower". ...

• Word Count: 1647
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Making a resolution through majority voting is democratic, but does it mean the result must be correct? The short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson was published in 1948, three years after ending the World War II. It's like a strong wind triggered a flurry in the society at once. The story is about the people of a small town who hold an annual civil activity - the lottery for the sake of the bumper harvest, and the prize of the winner of the lottery is to be hit until death by stoning. Jackson uses the chronological writing technique with an objective perspective to reveal that the r...

• Word Count: 2165
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" all of the characters - most obviously the Grandmother - are concerned only with their own needs and wishes. There is no real relationship or love between them until they come across the Misfit and his mob. When the Grandmother exclaims at the end, "You're one of my c...

• Word Count: 2384
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School