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SYMBOLISM IN
MANSFIELD’S SHORT STORY
THE VOYAGE
I.
INTRODUCTION
The Voyage is a
short story by Katherine Mansfield. Born in New Zealand in 1888, Mansfield
usually brings the sense of New Zealand’s colonial in each story of hers,
including The Voyage. The Voyage tells about Fenella and her grandmother’s
voyage to her grandparents’ house with Picton boat in New Zealand. This story
illustrates the growth process of a little girl who lost mother’s figure very
fast from childhood until adult proved by symbols. On the voyage to her
grandparents’ home, Fennela experiences many new things in her life from the
boat. Her grandmother shows common activities for adults to Fenella. Day by day
she learns it. After the long voyage, Fenella arrives at her new home and she
is ready to continue her life. She has already been grown up to face the world.
This paper focuses
on analysing symbols made by Mansfield. Symbols can tickle readers with their own ways. Those symbols can
give the meaning of something and make a story really new and give some
interests and imagery about what the author’s real message is as talking about
literature is related to life.
II.
THEORY AND FINDING
Symbolism is a part
of intrinsic elements in literature works. Symbols are given to describe
something important to represent the characters or things in a story. Many
kinds of existing symbols in literature works are animals, elements,
things, places, or colors. They are commonly
well-known in culture. Symbols from Mansfield’s story are not only about things
used or worn by the characters but also the conversations of the characters in
the story.
In The Voyage
by Katherine Mansfield, there are many symbols that will be analysed in this
chapter. Each symbol represents big parts of the story. The first symbol
appearing in this story is an umbrella. It is the most important symbol that
always appears from beginning to the end of the story. The umbrella was owned
by Fenella’s grandmother. It is beautiful and seems expensive. Her grandmother
asks Fenella to keep her umbrella in the voyage of the boat. Every time her
grandmother always asks and asks whether Fenella keeps it safe or not. Firstly,
as a young girl, she is not aware of this but dy by day she finally understands
that she has the reponsibility to take her grandmother’s umbrella that has a swan-neck
in it. It is seen when they are about to leave the boat and her grandmother
asks about the umbrella and Fenella gradually knows and proves that she keeps
her umbrella till the end. It is proven that a little girl won’t have awareness. The umbrella in this story represents that
Fenella, a little girl, finally changes into a grown up girl. It shows the
process of the childhood transforming into adulthood. She is not aware of this
meaning when she is still in her childhood and she changes fast in the same
place, the Picton boat. She remembers and takes the responsibilty about her
grandmother’s umbrella. In the end, that changing makes her grand father a
little bit surprised when Fenella arrives in their house while bringing her
grand mother’s umbrella. She can finally make sure it is safe with her till the
end.
The next symbol that is shown in this story is the taking
off of Fenella’s father hat. It means there will be farewell as Fenella’s
father seperates his hat. This occurs when the boat of Fenella and her
grandmother will ship in the next three minutes’ time. It is the first convincing
symbol that she will truly be sepearted from her father. She looks at both of
her father and grandomother hug very tightly and she looks at her grandmother with
full of tears. It seems that they will go forever and she doesn’t have time to
live longer with her father.
The third symbol is seen before her father and Fenella get
separated. It is the second symbol that makes Fenella more convinced to leave
her father. In the farewell, her father gives Fenella a shilling. As a little
girl, she is fascinated with the shilling since it is a big value of money in
that era and she is also afraid that her father will leave her forever. Her
father says to spend it wisely. To spend the bigvalue of money means that
Fenella will no longer live together again with her father. Actually this
shilling means the symbol of farewell of them. At the beginning, she doesn’t
understand that she will have a new life without her father anymore but in the
end she knows about it and she is ready to be an adolesencent girl.
The next symbol from The Voyage
is both Fenella and her grandmother wear black clothes from up to toe. It is seen that grand mother wear the black
thread gloves when she says farewell to her son. As usual the black color is a
symbol of death. The death of Fenella’s mother is also the reason why Fenella
will leave her father and go to her grand parents’ home. Probably her father
decides to let her daughter go because of the financial problem that he has.
Black in this story means the sorrow expressing both of them. At the beginning,
until Fenella and her grand mother arrive in the land, Mansfield mentions that
Fenella still wears the black hat with a crape rose, black blouse, and black
coat and skirt. It is the representative of Fenella’s sadness. But it makes
different when Fenella faces a new place and new thing in her new llife at her
grandparents’ place. All that Fenella can see is just white like a white cat owned
by her grandparents. When she meets her grandfather she feels that the color is
properly white and warm. It means there is a transition from the sadness and
sorrow to happiness represented in the white. The time when Fenella is sad
about her mother now changes into her happiness in her new life with
grandparents.
III.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
This story actually talks about a little girl’s
transformation from childhood into adulthood. Her childhood is dominated by the
black color always appearing in middle of the story. Black in many cultures
such as Western, Asian, and African, has the same maning of death and darkness.
All black colors, in Fenella’s and grandmother’s costumes, the old dark wharf,
the black mushroom are a part of boat’s place in Fenella’s perspective, the
weather and even the dark bush that they face after they arrive in the land are
the representative of her gloomy feeling
because of her mother’s death. As a child, of course, she is not ready to miss her
mother’s figure in life. Then, she must separate from her father because of
economic condition to get along with her grandparents. The Voyage itself means
the life of her life. It represents that Fenella must face the reality and rise
from the darkness going into bright. In her voyage, Fenella finally knows about
the reality and she must learn from that reality even though she loses her
mother and must continue her life and she must begin her new life with her
grandparents with white and full of happiness. In the end of this story,
Fenella finally knows about what she must do to get out from darkness. She also
learns things from her grandparents. She realizes that she must face a bitter
life because happiness or sadness can’t be brought up again. We can’t make the
second chance. Then, the childhood process of her is seen in the symbol of umbrella.
It actually helps me realize Fenella can be aware of something important not only
for her life but also for her grandmother. Her responsibility is the proof that
she is ready to be an adolescencent girl and ready to free from her childhood. Finally,
in the last part of her voyage black now becomes white. She begins a new life without
filthiness.
IV.
CONCLUSION
Actually, the author of the story wants to tell about the
voyage of one’s life. All symbols represented gives a lesson deeper into the
heart of the readers. All voyages of one’s life absolutely has a dark side and
it won’t always be in darkness because that must be an event that she or he
goes out from the darkness into brightness of life. Like the main character,
Fenella, in this story, she has a painful incident, she is guaranteed to have a
new life. In the end, every body has their own voyages and it is our decision
to have a well ending voyage of life or not. It will be proved from our actions
to face situations. The message of this story is identical with time too. Briefly,
we must spend time wisely because time can’t be brought up again. Although the
main character of this story is still a little girl as adult we sometimes think
it is very classic and boring to remind about this. It makes us aware that we
must face the reality even it is a sad fact as Fenella faces. The darkness will
come in every voyage of one’s self and it makes us more mature to face the
reality and we can learn that time can’t be changed or brought up again.
SOURCES
:
http://www.studymode.com/join.php?redirectUrl=%2Fessays%2FThe-Voyage-991622.html&from=essay
http://grammar.about.com/od/rs/g/symbolterm.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Mansfield
http://lynleystace.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/the-voyage-teacher-notes.pdf
link http://sunnivastorebo.blogspot.com/2011/01/voyage.html
http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/cultural-color.html
this is actually really well done....great job keep it up
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