Symbolism In The Boat By Alistair Macleod

In the short story “The Boat” Alistair MacLeod writes a story that predominately deals with the power of the past over the present. She uses symbols such as the boat which eventually transforms into books. From the father’s strong perspective, the boat symbolizes the means of survival for his family and imprisonment whereas, from the father and daughters point of view the books, which replace the boat symbolizes liberation and escape from the traditions of fishing. The main symbol in “The Boat” is the boat itself. The family thought the boat as their means of survival and that without the boat they would not have a house at the harbor, nice food and clothes to wear. Meanwhile, in the fathers perspective the boat is an ever-lasting trap that without it is impossible to sustain life and with it life is an
The dad had no choice and was compelled to become a fisherman. In his young years, the father’s fantasy of going to university was thwarted, likewise because as being the only son in his own family, his parents’ wanted to sustain the heritage of fishing. The narrator’s mother is a housekeeper and her obligations are to either repair clothes ripped on the boat or make food for the boat. Every day when the narrator’s dad returns home, his wife’s would greet him saying “Well, how did things go in the boat today? “Well how did things go in the boat today?” (MacLeod, 262) The word boat embodies prison to the father. The father feels like he is on a life sentence where there is no way out and he is subjected to one job, fishing. He never wanted to lead the life of a fisherman but since he has no other job and is responsible towards his family the father was forced to work. The narrator’s father is confined by his line because he never had the opportunity to exceed and get a better education. Overall, the father never resent about his job as he knows he has a family and it is his job to keep them fulfilled and