Symbolism In The Fall Of The City
The Falls from Society
At one point in life, everyone must face the realities of societal pressure, sometimes leading to atrocious experiences. The reality of societal pressures is the borderline of innocence, of which a child has. Teddy, being the child, has been forced to cross that borderline prematurely by his guardians. In Nowlan’s, The Fall of the City, symbolism and characters assist in proving that societal pressure exists and remains to be the reason for one’s downfall, much like Teddy.
Firstly, the short story uses symbolism as a metaphor for society. To illustrate, Teddy often finds himself thinking of “Theodoresburg [, which] seemed more real than the town, the street, and the home in which he lived…” (2). As one can take, Theodoresburg …show more content…
Take, for example, Teddy’s uncle is quite the generic individual as he judges his nephew in the perspective of the society. To illustrate, Teddy’s uncle exclaims, “‘…paper dolls and doll houses. And eleven-year-old boy...you’ll be wanting us to put skirts on you!’” (Nowlan, 3). Often times, the guardian(s) of a child would rather the child be happy than criticise them. From the quote, it is clear that the uncle supports the idea society generated about femininity and would rather Teddy follow them as well than be his own person. Furthermore, Teddy firmly believes that his uncle is a horrid man and a bully, so he related him to the Duke of Anders. To demonstrate, “…he [Emperor Kang, the rival] escaped through the treachery of Zikla, Duke of Anders…the Duke of Anders was brought to Theodoresburg in chains and hanged in the city square…Teddy looked at his uncle’s round, florid face and reflected on the resemblance to Zikla, Duke of Anders” (1-2). In Teddy’s imaginative world, the people, otherwise known as society, hung the Duke of Anders for being a traitor. Perhaps Nowlan is trying to communicate that societal pressures are like chains that hold an individual back from expressing themselves. It is as if Teddy wants to say to his uncle that he betrayed him by siding with society. Hence, the people surrounding an individual makes for a very strong influence; it is easy to fall to
At one point in life, everyone must face the realities of societal pressure, sometimes leading to atrocious experiences. The reality of societal pressures is the borderline of innocence, of which a child has. Teddy, being the child, has been forced to cross that borderline prematurely by his guardians. In Nowlan’s, The Fall of the City, symbolism and characters assist in proving that societal pressure exists and remains to be the reason for one’s downfall, much like Teddy.
Firstly, the short story uses symbolism as a metaphor for society. To illustrate, Teddy often finds himself thinking of “Theodoresburg [, which] seemed more real than the town, the street, and the home in which he lived…” (2). As one can take, Theodoresburg …show more content…
Take, for example, Teddy’s uncle is quite the generic individual as he judges his nephew in the perspective of the society. To illustrate, Teddy’s uncle exclaims, “‘…paper dolls and doll houses. And eleven-year-old boy...you’ll be wanting us to put skirts on you!’” (Nowlan, 3). Often times, the guardian(s) of a child would rather the child be happy than criticise them. From the quote, it is clear that the uncle supports the idea society generated about femininity and would rather Teddy follow them as well than be his own person. Furthermore, Teddy firmly believes that his uncle is a horrid man and a bully, so he related him to the Duke of Anders. To demonstrate, “…he [Emperor Kang, the rival] escaped through the treachery of Zikla, Duke of Anders…the Duke of Anders was brought to Theodoresburg in chains and hanged in the city square…Teddy looked at his uncle’s round, florid face and reflected on the resemblance to Zikla, Duke of Anders” (1-2). In Teddy’s imaginative world, the people, otherwise known as society, hung the Duke of Anders for being a traitor. Perhaps Nowlan is trying to communicate that societal pressures are like chains that hold an individual back from expressing themselves. It is as if Teddy wants to say to his uncle that he betrayed him by siding with society. Hence, the people surrounding an individual makes for a very strong influence; it is easy to fall to