The Flight essays

The Flight essays In his classic short story, "Flight," John Steinbeck uses many examples of symbolism to foreshadow the conclusion. Symbolism can be anything, a person, place or thing, used to portray something beyond itself. It is used to represent or foreshadow the ending of the story. Steinbeck uses colors, direction, and nature symbolism to help presage Pep's tragic death. Let us now more closely examine the ways that Steinbeck uses colors to foreshadow the ending of his short story. Perhaps the most repeatedly used symbol in "Flight," is the color black. In literature many authors use black to represent death. There are numerous examples in this short story. Some of these include the black handle on the long blade, Pep's black hair and the black jerky. Another example may be found when Pep puts on his fathers black coat, which represents death. When Pep puts on the coat he is literally covering himself with death. Another fine example is the trail in which Pep travels. Steinbeck describes the path as a well-worn black path. By traveling on this path he is in fact taking the road of death. Furthermore Pep's appearance also helps foreshadow the ending. Steinbeck describes him as having a black hat that covers his black thatched hair. Pep is also described as being dark, lean and tall. Another example is Pep's shack. The shack is described as weathered and very old. It casts a rather large shadow to the North east. The darkness of the shadow symbolizes death in th e home. As we can readily see, the authors use of black symbolism in the story tells us that the main character, Pep, is impending death. Another commonly used symbol in the story "Flight," is direction. Direction is used to represent positive or negative effects. North and East are generally "good" directions. Many people feel this came about when the early man saw the sun rise in the East. On the contrary, the d ...

Writing Tips How to Use Commas and Semicolons Part 2

Writing Tips How to Use Commas and Semicolons Part 2 Need some writing help with how to use commas and semicolons? Check out Part 1 of this series if you haven’t already, then read on for more punctuation rules and how to fix a comma splice. Semicolons are the proper punctuation marks to use when you want to connect two strings of words that could stand on their own as full sentences, but that are so closely related that you want to make them part of the same sentence. If you read my article last week, you saw some examples of that.   Heres how it works: The following word strings could all  stand as sentences on their own: In high school I was certain of my academic strengths. The daughter and younger sister of doctors, I excelled in math and science and dreaded every English course I was ever forced to take. Addison’s Disease is a chronic adrenal insufficiency that leads to liver failure, kidney failure, effusions, and in some cases, death. I was determined that it would not kill my brother. When you put a comma between two sentences, it is called a â€Å"comma splice† and it is an incorrect way to use a comma! The following is an INCORRECT use of a comma: [INCORRECT] In high school I was certain of my academic strengths, I excelled in math and science. See how each of the two parts of the sentence can stand on its own? In high school I was certain of my academic strengths. I excelled in math and science. You can fix a comma splice in one of three ways: 1.   Replace the comma with a period: [CORRECT] In high school I was certain of my academic strengths. I excelled in math and science. 2. Add a conjunction, such as or or and,  after the comma: [CORRECT] In high school I was certain of my academic strengths, and excelled in math and science. 3. If the sentences are closely related,  replace the comma with a semi-colon: [CORRECT] In high school I was certain of my academic strengths; I excelled in math and science. Conversely, if you have two parts of your sentence that do NOT stand on their own, it is INCORRECT to connect them with a semicolon. Here are two examples of an INCORRECT use of a semicolon: [INCORRECT] Finally you can convert all those friends on Facebook into something useful; spreading the word about your skills, experience and what a great hire you would make. Can you see that while the first part of this sentence is a sentence (â€Å"Finally you can convert all those friends on Facebook into something useful.†), the second part of the sentence is NOT a sentence (â€Å"Spreading the word about your skills, experience and what a great hire you would make.†).   Therefore   it is INCORRECT to divide them with a semicolon; a comma would have been the correct punctuation mark to insert between them. Another example: [INCORRECT] The Justice Action Center would allow me to study and work in anti-discrimination law and criminal law; a few areas for which I have gained a passion. Again, the second part of this sentence, â€Å"a few areas for which I have gained a passion,† does NOT stand on its own as a sentence, so we need a comma. If you use your ear here, you’ll HEAR the difference.   Read the sentences aloud, and you will hear an upward inflection after the word â€Å"useful† in the first example and â€Å"law† in the second example. This upward inflection indicates what?   You got it. A comma. Here are the correctly punctuated sentences: [CORRECT] Finally you can convert all those friends on Facebook into something useful, spreading the word about your skills, experience and what a great hire you would make. [CORRECT] The Justice Action Center would allow me to study and work in anti-discrimination law and criminal law, a few areas for which I have gained a passion. Are you working on an academic paper, cover letter, college application essay, or other writing project? Do you still have questions about whether you’ve used commas and semicolons correctly?   Contact The Essay Expert for professional writing help! Category:Grammar Writing TipsBy Brenda BernsteinOctober 29, 2010 4 Comments Rosanne Dingli says: November 2, 2010 at 1:17 am Brenda! Wow fantastic. This is explained so clearly and succintly. Cant WAIT for how you do the colon. Log in to Reply Rosanne Dingli says: November 2, 2010 at 1:18 am Brenda! Wow fantastic. This is explained so clearly and succinctly. Cant WAIT for how you do the colon. Log in to Reply Laya Bajpai says: December 9, 2010 at 1:53 pm Brenda, This is one of the best lessons in the use of semi-colon, and comma and what is comma splice and how to correct it. You should be a grammar teacher. You are just excellent! Log in to Reply The Essay Expert says: December 27, 2011 at 10:29 am Thank you for your comment Judy. You are correct that no comma is required in this sentence. For my ear it works better. I do not think it is incorrect, though I would be willing to be proven wrong! Log in to Reply