Theme Of Water In The Invention Of Wings

In the work of African descended writers’, water is used as a common symbol. In Edwidge Danticat's Krik? Krak!, Jacques Roumain’s Masters of the Dew, and Paule Marshall’s Praisesong for the Widow, tears, rivers, the sea and other forms of water are used to symbolize change. More specifically, it symbolizes the change between life and death; freedom and confinement. The three writers use water as an ironic symbol, representing life, liberty, and their contradictions.

The Novel The Invention of Wings, written by the American author, Sue Monk Kidd, contains numerous examples of imperative symbolism throughout the storyline, but what may be the most significant illustration is that of which is in the title. “There was a time in Africa when people could fly” (Kidd 1), “This all what left of your wings. They nothing but these flat bones now, but one day you gon get ’em back.” (Kidd 1) being among the first lines of the novel, foreshadows what is to come. The main characters and narrators, Sarah and Handful, who are from two extremely contrasting ends of society, both have the desire to soar past social normality of the time.

The Invention of Wings is a historical novel by Sue Monk Kidd that details a story of two struggles for freedom: the battle of Handful to find the wings her mother promised and the equally intense quest of Sarah to liberate her mind and spirit. This triumphant novel also speaks with wisdom about the nature of evil and injustice and the courage to dare what seems unattainable.

The significance of the sea as a motif enhances the story because it develops the theme of independence and solitude being inseparable. During the course of the book, Edna strives for independence, but doesn’t realize that in the society she lives in independence comes with an abundance of consequences such as loneliness. The significance of the sea plays a major part all through the book because the sea comes to symbolize freedom, escape, rebirth, and strengthens the idea that independence and solitude are entwined. Edna’s first encounter with the sea was the beginning of her journey to self-discovery and throughout the novel the sea is associated with Edna’s awakening. The starting point of Edna’s awakening was established by the alluring

It is hard to wrap one’s mind around the horrors slavery brings, which introduces the thought of how slaves were able to persist and remain sane through the daily agony enforced upon them by their owners. Hetty “Handful” for example, used the hope of freedom, to one day regain the wings in which her race had been stripped of unreasonably, as motivation to keep fighting. Hetty and the high society girl she was cast upon, Sarah Grimke, are quite similar, for they both have large aspirations that are quite impossible to achieve in their given setting, Charleston, South Carolina. However, once Sarah is exposed to the wonders of Pennsylvania with the Quakers, new hope arises for both the girls. In “The Invention of Wings”, Sue Monk Kidd displays contrasting settings to introduce the difference in the two atmospheres in regards to freedom, women’s rights, and simplicity.

A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. Many times these symbols work to express ideas, convey meanings, or emphasize certain points. In the novel, “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, water is utilized to signify empowerment. The main protagonist Edna begins her awakening by learning to swim on a family vacation in Grand Isle and ends her journey by drowning herself in the ocean at the conclusion of the novel. This highlights the power water holds by showcasing its power to change people’s lives.

Hetty “Handful” Grimké appears as Sue Monk Kidd’s empowering female voice in The Invention of Wings. As a slave in early 19th century Charleston, Handful yearns for life outside of the oppressive walls of the Grimké household. Displayed in her childhood, Handful’s determination and rebellious spirit develop as she fights through life as a slave. As she matures, Handful’s passionate courage emerges, aiding her in coping with her reality.

The Invention of Wings, by Sue Monk Kidd, is a fictional historical novel, which takes place in early nineteenth century Charleston about two girls who grow up recognizing that they are different from each other in some ways but also the same. Sarah Grimké is the daughter of a wealthy family and Hetty Grimké, also known as Handful, is a slave owed by the Grimké family. Both Sarah and Handful have restrictions of freedom, in very different ways, because of the society they live in. They both look for freedom in a world dominated by males through religion and determination. In the Invention of Wings written by Sue Monk Kidd, she demonstrates a first-person point of view from the two main characters of their beliefs as the story progresses.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd is a beautifully written story that is written in two people’s points of view about their life growing up together in the Antebellum South . One is Hetty “Handful” Grimke, the slave, and the second is Sarah Moore Grimke, the slave owner. The book itself contained a lot of facts on what their true life was like in history, for example how Sarah taught Hetty how to read and how Hetty got in trouble for it and sent to a workhouse. The book itself actually was written based off the lives of abolitionists Sarah and Angel. In the book the author wrote about the differences between whites and blacks, the condition of slaves, the people who wanted change, the resistance in slavery, and the punishment for the

In The Invention of Wings, the people rebel. It’s human nature to seek happiness, due to racism and sexism, slaves and women at the time rebel as a way to try to secure their happiness. Rebellion isn’t always about big acts, the small and almost unnoticeable are the ones that are the most telling. Nor is the rebellion in the novel just about the slaves, the women in the book, such as Sarah fight against the societal norms at the time.

In the novel The Invention of Wings, by Sue Monk Kidd a character in the text who was an important example to young readers was Sarah Grimke. Sarah was an important examples for several reasons such as, showing readers that women do not always need a man to be happy as well as that women are able to have similar dreams and goals as men and should be able to try and achieve these goals and finally Sarah’s idea of what human should have as rights. Several times during the course of the novel, men were interested in attracting Sarah's attention such as Israel and “”. Both times something took place that helped to sway Sarah’s opinion back towards remaining single. Hence making her also consider the fact that women do not always need a man to

When they got into an argument over math but the dad went back to see if they were wrong, “Later in calmer moments his dad recalculates the sum and it comes out right” (lines 14-15). This not only shows they cooled off but reparation for the conflict by them working through the problem again. The symbolisms of water also represents this which imagery of cool, relaxed streams, “Instead of carrying giant waterfalls inside, we’re streams…” (lines 16-17). The water symbolises the flow of emotions, waterfalls are rushing emotions, and streams are relaxed tides. Even though they fight and argue, they still love each other and work through the problems in the

There has been a LOT of talk about the Float and Fly lately in magazines and on regional TV shows. The “Newest” tactic to catch big fish!

To understand the entire symbolic role played by the river in this novel, we need to know what it means by a river. A river is a large mass of mobile water moving past a ground level gradient with an ultimate draw into a lake, ocean, dam or sea. Along it, a number of activities may be involved including transport, a major function.

Within the beginning of Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd incorporates plot events and character relationships that illustrate the components of Southern society and their effect on people. Specifically, readers can understand the Grimke family’s power in the South and in the domestic sense through their poor treatment of and dominance over the slaves. Sue Monk Kidd’s incorporation of this power makes readers realize that power and control over people limit their freedom and success by creating a social and intellectual hierarchy. Aside from Kidd’s novel, we see this theme present in historical events from the time period such as the social hierarchy within the South during the 1800s. This consisted of slaves at the bottom, then free blacks, poor whites, and landowners. Their is this structured ranking present in the Charleston household as Hetty and the rest of the slaves at the bottom, Sarah Grimké and her siblings, and then Mr. and Mrs. Grimké at the top with the most authority. On page three of Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd writes in the voice of Hetty, “We weren’t some special people who lost our magic. We were slave people, and we weren’t going anywhere. It was later what I saw what she meant. We could fly alright, but there wasn’t any magic to it”(Kidd 3). This quote relates to the social hierarchy within the household by showing the effect of this power on Hetty and her mother. The “magic” represents their freedom, voice, and power they no longer due to this