Saving Sourdi Symbolism Analysis
“Saving Sourdi” by May-Lee Chai and “A Good man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor. In the short stories “Saving Sourdi” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” symbolism is used to foreshadow and explain the characters’ views on life or death. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” there are various uses of symbolism including the Misfit’s car, the town, Toomsboro, the family passes through on their journey, and the forest they crash in. The Misfit’s car is described as a “big black battered hearse-like automobile” which gives the reader that feeling of impending doom that is coming to the family and foreshadows the family’s fate (O’Connor 255). Toomsboro is the town the family is passing through when the Grandma wakes up and remembers about the old
plantation she visited once when she was a young lady. The town is the last place the family passes through before crashing their car. The significance of the town is in the name which sounds like tomb which foreshadows the family’s imminent death. When the family crashes and is thrown into a ditch, they are surrounded by a forest described as “tall and dark and deep” which is consistent with the image the Misfit’s car and the town of Toomsboro portray (O’Connor 255). The forest is frightening and again foreshadows the family’s upcoming death which the grandmother is the only person not taken to the woods to be executed. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the main purpose of symbolism was to foreshadow conflict between the Misfit and the family. Symbolism is used in “Saving Sourdi” as well albeit not as prevalent as in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” The symbols identified is the snow falling towards the end of the story, and Nea in the form of Naga. The snow falling at the end of the story symbolizes Nea’s feelings - hopelessness and isolation. She feels this because she realizes that her one true friend, her sister, Sourdi, no longer needs her. Nea was a controlling character and did not approve of change. This can be seen when she confesses her want to be a naga so she could “[swallow] the whole world in one gulp” (Chai 84). Nea’s absurd decision making and overprotective shielding nature cause her to limit the people around her as she “swallows” them just as a Naga might. Unlike “A Good Man is Hard to Find” symbolism is not used to foreshadow in “Saving Sourdi”, rather it is used to show how a character feels and her attitude towards life.
plantation she visited once when she was a young lady. The town is the last place the family passes through before crashing their car. The significance of the town is in the name which sounds like tomb which foreshadows the family’s imminent death. When the family crashes and is thrown into a ditch, they are surrounded by a forest described as “tall and dark and deep” which is consistent with the image the Misfit’s car and the town of Toomsboro portray (O’Connor 255). The forest is frightening and again foreshadows the family’s upcoming death which the grandmother is the only person not taken to the woods to be executed. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the main purpose of symbolism was to foreshadow conflict between the Misfit and the family. Symbolism is used in “Saving Sourdi” as well albeit not as prevalent as in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” The symbols identified is the snow falling towards the end of the story, and Nea in the form of Naga. The snow falling at the end of the story symbolizes Nea’s feelings - hopelessness and isolation. She feels this because she realizes that her one true friend, her sister, Sourdi, no longer needs her. Nea was a controlling character and did not approve of change. This can be seen when she confesses her want to be a naga so she could “[swallow] the whole world in one gulp” (Chai 84). Nea’s absurd decision making and overprotective shielding nature cause her to limit the people around her as she “swallows” them just as a Naga might. Unlike “A Good Man is Hard to Find” symbolism is not used to foreshadow in “Saving Sourdi”, rather it is used to show how a character feels and her attitude towards life.