Perez1

Jose Perez Prof. Jacobs ENC1102 April 16, 2014 A Monster My story is the Thing in the Forest. The author Byatt A.S uses symbolism, theme, metaphors and fugitive language through this story. The story is about a thing in the forest that the two main little girl characters Primrose and Penny see in the forest. The story takes place during World War II when Germany was taking over and bombing other countries. During that time the elderly people would evacuate the young kids to a further safer environment somewhere in the English countryside from the warzone. These two little girls that had to be evacuated were living there also. The two little girls wonder off to the nearby forest during recess time when they were allowed to go outside to play on the playground. Both Penny and Primrose would wonder into the forest and they come across a strange ugly creature and become terrified. The atmosphere in the space of the creature psychological affects the two girls from the horrific experience. The story will go on and describe a thing in the forest that is encounter by the two girls which resembles about the war that is going on and the psychological effects on the two girls. The creature turns out to look like a worm that seems to be mixed and created out of leaves and tress themselves. The creature that is being described in the story reflects on the war. It reflects the girls emotions, ugliness just like the war. It reflects fear and danger thats going on with the war also. As the story fast-forwards towards the end with them being adults they still cant grasp the full experience.

Perez2

What I plan on using to analyze for this proposal is theme and symbolism. The theme of the story seems to introduce on how ugly war can be by looking at the thing from what the two girls see. The thing represents its self as the war thats going in the story. I think what the author is trying to analyze here is that how human emotions can be horribly effected by death. What the two girls are experiencing are danger and fear. The danger is that the two girls are face to face physical present with the thing and fear is a mental part of them thinking about the bad potential outcome of what this thing is going to do to them. Word Count 396 Lethbridge, Lucy.A Way with Words. America 191.9 (4Oct.2004); 17-18. Rpt in Short Story Criticsm. Ed. Jessica Bomarito and Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 91. Detroit; Gale, 2006. Literature Resource Center. Web.27 Mar. 2014.