How do the writters present and use symbolism in their extracts from 'The Go Between' and 'Spies
How do the writers present and use symbolism in the extracts from “The Go-Between” and “Spies”?
The extract from Michael Frayn’s ‘spies’ hints at imprisonment, as though the character is trapped in his past. Frayn portrays this to the audience through the symbolism of a jug. Not only does the jug represent a memory for the character, but the lace, which is ‘weighted down with four blue beads’, is used as a metaphor for showing that the events of his past are, like the beads on the jug, weighing him down. The beads on the jug could however also be representing the darkness of his past, for the colour blue is seen as a cold colour, hinting to the audience that his past may very well not have been the brightest of all. L P Hartley’s, “The Go-Between” uses two important symbols in his extract - the diary and the ‘rather battered red cardboard collar-box’. It could be argued that Hartley has used these two symbols close together, in order to portray to the audience the vast space of time in which the diary has been untouched. Hartley has used language which would suggest this, as the box in which the diary is held in is ‘rather battered’. This could also suggest that the box and it’s content (the diary), has been on quite a rough journey, which could also be a metaphor for the characters past. This extract has similarities to ‘Spies’, for both use symbols of things in which bring back their memories of their suggestible uneven pasts. The symbol of the ‘liguster’ in ‘Spies’ is highly significant in the extract. Frayn has purposefully used this plant as a trigger for the characters past, using the idea that it’s recurring, ‘vulgar’ smell, which is present every year, as a hint that salvation has not yet been found or that the haunting memories of his past have not yet been allowed to have been forgotten. However, the symbol of the plant and it’s smell could have also been used by Frayn as a device to engage the audience, as the imagery Frayn has used of the
The extract from Michael Frayn’s ‘spies’ hints at imprisonment, as though the character is trapped in his past. Frayn portrays this to the audience through the symbolism of a jug. Not only does the jug represent a memory for the character, but the lace, which is ‘weighted down with four blue beads’, is used as a metaphor for showing that the events of his past are, like the beads on the jug, weighing him down. The beads on the jug could however also be representing the darkness of his past, for the colour blue is seen as a cold colour, hinting to the audience that his past may very well not have been the brightest of all. L P Hartley’s, “The Go-Between” uses two important symbols in his extract - the diary and the ‘rather battered red cardboard collar-box’. It could be argued that Hartley has used these two symbols close together, in order to portray to the audience the vast space of time in which the diary has been untouched. Hartley has used language which would suggest this, as the box in which the diary is held in is ‘rather battered’. This could also suggest that the box and it’s content (the diary), has been on quite a rough journey, which could also be a metaphor for the characters past. This extract has similarities to ‘Spies’, for both use symbols of things in which bring back their memories of their suggestible uneven pasts. The symbol of the ‘liguster’ in ‘Spies’ is highly significant in the extract. Frayn has purposefully used this plant as a trigger for the characters past, using the idea that it’s recurring, ‘vulgar’ smell, which is present every year, as a hint that salvation has not yet been found or that the haunting memories of his past have not yet been allowed to have been forgotten. However, the symbol of the plant and it’s smell could have also been used by Frayn as a device to engage the audience, as the imagery Frayn has used of the