PIGEONS AT DAYBREAK by ANITA DESAI

Ainul Mardiah Binti Azizi Nurul Ain Binti Rahman Niwahsinee Adaikalam Norpahana Binti Sukarno

HOW IS SYMBOLISM USED IN DESAIS SHORT STORY?

Symbolism is portrayed through: Nature Animals Culture

Symbolism
Pigeons Parrot On and Off electricity Blue Bull Newspaper Daybreak

TO WHAT PURPOSE?

PIGEONS
peace and love, understanding of gentleness, spirit messenger, communication between the two worlds, maternity, femininity, prophecy. Mr . Basu is the man who is unable to perform his task on his own because of the different illnesses that developed into his body Otima , the wife of Mr . Basu has the selfless love towards him .

PIGEONS
Then , with a swirl and flutter of feathers , a flock of pigeons hurtled upwards and spread out against the dome of the sky - opalescent , sunlit , like small pearls (pg. 228) . This ending part of the story compressed the entire claim of the story . It means that the ending of the story signifies life as its wondrous creation but soon will end because every one of us will leave the world in beauty and a new journey will begin .

PARROT IN CAGE
denotes the inability to think for oneself, repeats only what others say. It is a symbol of babbling humans. listless parrot in its cage (pg. 223) Basu due to his physical illness is unable to move around freely thus, he babbles like a parrot in cage.

On and Off Electricity

The on and off electricity symbolises the journey/reality of life where there is good and bad times. For instance, when there is electricity Mr. Basu is able to breathe freely. When there is no electricity, Mr. Basu has difficulty in breathing. But, we still have to find a solution so that our life can go smoothly.

BULL
Bull - may denote a tendency toward narrowmindedness and stubbornness. Unlike his wife, Otima who is resourceful, Basu is very narrow-minded. He kept thinking he will suffocate and die as there would be no fan due to no electricity.

BLUE BULL
"Blue bull menace in Delhi airport can be solved by narcotic drug"(221). Blue bull is a large Indian antelope which represent Indian cultures. The author relates the animal to this narrative because she wants to show that Mr. Basu was so irritable when he does not understand the Indian culture.

NEWSPAPER
The author shows the Basu familys social background. They eager to know the current issues. In Indian culture it is uncommon for women to have education. Thus this proves that Otimas family is from an educated family. I am reading right. Think I cant read? Did my B.A.

Daybreak
Daybreak symbolises light or the beginning of new life/ new journey in life. For instance, Mr.Basu was feeling difficulty to breathe all night because it was warm and stuffy. But when dawn came he was able to breathe as it was cool. Leave me alone It is cool now.