Use of Symbols and Symbolism in Steinbecks Flight :: Steinbeck Flight Essays

Use of Symbolism in Steinbecks Flight  In his classic short story, Flight, John Steinbeck uses umpteen examples of symbolism to foreshadow the conclusion.  Symbolism can be anything, a person, place or thing, apply to portray something beyond itself.  It is used to take on or foreshadow the ending of the story.  Steinbeck uses colors, snap, and nature symbolism to help presage powdered gingers tragic death.  Let us now more closely witness 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 sick.  In literature worldly concerny authors use down(p) to represent death.  There are numerous examples in this short story.  Some of these include the black handle on the long blade, Peps 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 travel on this path he is in fact taking the road of death.  Furthermore Peps 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 Peps shack.  The shack is described as brave and very old.  It casts a rather large shadow to the North east.  The darkness of the shadow symbolizes death in the 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 directions South and West are generally bad directions.  Basically this is because the sun sets in the West.  Besides perceive directions, height is also a very popular way of foreshadowing the conclusion of the story.  The direction up, which is also the way to heaven is generally good, while down, the direction of hell, is considered to be bad.  An example of this form of symbolism can be found when Pep is returning home.