Model Essays
Here is an introduction
to a symbolic analysis of Ordinary People by Judith Guest.
STRUGGLING
Thesis Statement
FOR BALANCE
Ordinary People is a very realistic novel about Calvin and Beth Jarrett and their problems relating to the accidental drowning of one of their sons, Jordan. A second son, Conrad,
was with Jordan when hedrowned, and he feels a tremendous amount of guilt for surviving.
He attempts suicide, and as he fights his way back to sanity, a symbolic level emerges in the
novel. The author, Judith Guest, utilizes three different types oj symbols: symbolic characters, symbolic objects, and symbolic actions. They convey the theme that man must sometimes struggle to survive. to overcome negative forces, and to achieve a balance between his
emotions and his intellect.
Bob Murphy
The following introduction
same pa ttern.
to a symbolic analysis of Shirley Jackson's
"The Lottery"
follows the
THE POWER OF TRADITION
Thesis Statement
In "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, the people of a small town gather each year on
June 27 to carry out a ritual of death. The townsperson who gets the black spot in the lottery
becomes a human sacrifice for a good corn crop. This event seems totally unrealistic, suggesting that Jackson has written" highly symbolic story. She uses symbolic characters,
objects, and actions to describe the fearful respect of the townspeople for tradition, which
is carried on through generations
in spite a/its inhumane consequences to the citizens them-
selves. The terrible power of tradition is the powerful theme in the story.
Marius Stropus
The following student essay illustrates
pattern in symbolism analysis.
the overall structure
and the use of the literary
analysis
THE SERPENT AND THE PROUD
Thesis Statement
Topic Sentence
Since many of Edgar Allan Poe's literary works are ones of a wesome horror and macabre circumstances, his short story "The Cask of Amontillado'" is often accepted without
being truly understood; in reality, the contents of this meaningful tale are highly symbolic,
The story is related by the honorable Montresor who, because he has bean insulted by Fortunato, skillfully, patiently, and deviously plans the death of Fortunato. This death is accomplished by luring Fortunato into the catacombs beneath the Montresar family home in
search of a rare and expensive sherry. There was no sherry, as Montresor well knew. There
was only death to be found. Montresor chained Fortunato and sealed him into a death cell.
In this story, Poe uses symbolic characters, objects, and actions to state his theme that
pride is the undoing of man.
The symbolic characters are Montresor and Fortunato. Montresor represents duty and
honor. Family values and traditions are important, and Montresor describes his family coat
of arms in explicit detail: " 'A huge human foot d'or, iii a field of azure; the foot crushes a
serpent rampant whose fangs are embedded in,the heel' " (p 38). Anyone who attacked the
'Edgar Allan Poe. "The Cask of Amontillado," in Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination (New York: Weathervane
All parenthetical page references in this essay refer to the text in this edition.
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Books, 1935).
Topic Sentence
Topic Sentence
Topic Sentence
honor of the Montresor family was subject to punishment. Montresor felt compelled to uphold his family name. It mattered not whether the task was distasteful or pleasurable. Fortunato represents pride at its most arrogant and ignorant. As Montresor states, "He had a ...
weak point-this Fortunato ....
He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine" (p. 36).
It was this pride that led him to his death; he would have no other taste the highly regarded
Amontillado. Honor and pride, sometimes two strong adversaries, are well represented by
the two major characters.
The symbolic objects are the serpent, the bells, the bones, the costumes, and the wine.
The serpent, as depicted in the coat of arms, is the most effective as it represents Satan. How
ironic that the Bible in foretelling the defeat of Satan (Genesis 3:15) 'also symbolically describes him as striking a heel! The similarity between the Bible passage and the Montresor
coat of arms is significant. The serpent becomes synonymous with Satan, who was but a
proud angel, and with Fortunato, who was but a proud fool. The bells represent Fortunato's
inarticulate babbling. Throughout the story, we hear the bells jingle as such: "The wine
sparkled in his [Fortunato's] eyes and the bells jingled" (p. 38). Fortunato was always making noise but never saying anything worthwhile. In fact, he inadvertently caused his own
death by putting his foot in his mouth! He wasn't even aware that he had insulted Montresor,
and how significant it is that, in place of an intelligent plea for mercy, the last sound to be
heard is "only a jingling of the bells" (p. 41). The bones represent the frailty and inevitable
demise of man. In describing the crypt, Montresor states, "Its walls had been lined with
human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris"
(p. 39). The wage of sin is death. Man cannot escape death. The costumes themselves are
also symbolic. Fortunato had on a "tight-fitting, parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted hy the conical cap and bells" (p. 36). How appropriate that Fortunato is dressed
in the role of clown and fool. Montresor is caped in black which is suggestive of the role of
executioner or authority (such as a priest). Mystery surrounded Montresor as he, "putting
on a mask of hlack silk and drawing a roquelaure closely about ... " (p. 37), enticed For-·
tunato to his home. The wine, particularly the elusive Amontillado, symbolizes the "good
life" which is cheering and invigorating but leads to helpless intoxication.
The symbolic actions are the insult directed toward Montresor, the walk through the
catacombs, the thrust of the torch toward Fortunato, and the murder of Fortunato. The
insult directed toward Montresor depicts the one unforgivable sin. Montresor states this
clearly: "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge" (p. 36). The Bible depicts the one unforgivable sin as
the sin to blaspheme the Holy Ghost. Is this yet another ironic similarity? The walk through
the catacombs is suggestive of man's walk through life. Many times Montresor gives Fortunato the opportunity to turn back, but Fortunato always replies, " 'It is nothing' ... 'let
us go on' " (p. 38). He was not forced to approach his death; he went willingly. The thrust
of the torch toward Fortunato depicts hellfire. Montresor calls to Fortunato, but Fortunato
answers not. Surely he should have released his foolish pride and begged forgiveness. However, Montresor, hearing no reply, states, "I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture
and let it fall within" (p. 41). In other words, since Fortunato chose to defiantly keep still,
Montresor threw in the torch and, in so doing, intimated that this was Fortunato's fate---to
burn in Hell. The murder of Fortunato represents the destruction of man. Pride does not
rule with righteousness. Montresor kills Fortuna to heca use honor cannot be compromised:
he kills him" 'for the love of God!' " (p. 41)
And so when the reader isolates and analyzes the symbols, the meaning of the story
becomes clear; pride results in the destruction of man. Montresor could not let the serpent
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Fortunato escape retribution because of his strong sense of family honor and duty. Murder
was more acceptable than living with an insult in his value system. It was his pride in himself
and in his family's motto that led him to bury Fortunato alive. It was also Fortunato's pride
that caused him to fall into Montresor's trap. His belief that he was the only one able to
distinguish an Amontillado led to his downfall. Unfortunately, his pride and his drunken
foolishness kept him from distinguishing Montresor's real motives. Poe seems to be warning
us through Fortunato's fate that respecting the honor of others is essential if we are not to
be dishonored. Sometimes our pride does not let us see or acknowledge how we may have
injured others to glorify ourselves. At other times, our pride can lead to our undoing by
making us think that we are justified in anything we do or that we are invulnerable. Poe
seems to be suggesting that we must keep these values of honor and pride in perspective,
and then they will work for our good rather than for our destruction.
Gayle Wallin
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