Ethan Frome Group

Question:

madenab
madenab
Student
High School - 9th Grade

what are the meanigs of these symbols in the story?

name of town,  Frome gravestones,    missing "L" of the the farmhouse,     shutterless windows,     dead cucumber vine, geraniums,     kitchen,     cat,     red pickel dish,     red scarf and ribbon,     elm tree,     and final sled run

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Posted by madenab on Thursday July 23, 2009 at 1:59 AM and tagged with ethan frome, meaning of symbols.

Answers:

  1. sarahsmilesalot
    sarahsmilesalot Teacher
    Middle School

    In the first two sentences of chapter one, The village lay under two feet of snow, with drifts at the windy corners. In a sky of iron the points of the Dipper hung like icicles and Orion flashed his cold fires," Edith Wharton has portrayed the barron landscape and dismal lives of the town and people of "Starkfied."  Vivid sparks of red appear throughout the story; geraniums, a pickel dish, Mattie's scarf and hair ribbons, in stark contrast to the dead cucumber vine, the breaking of the picket dish, and the outcome of the final sled run.  'Orion flashed his cold fires' (an oxymoron worth remembering) and death might have been preferable to that which passed as Ethan Frome's life.

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    Posted by sarahsmilesalot on Saturday July 25, 2009 at 11:22 AM

  2. amarantha
    amarantha Student
    High School - 10th Grade

    the name of the town- its pretty much the title, stark and emptiness (field)

    gravestones- "I don't see's there's much difference between the Fromes up at the farm and the Fromes down in the graveyard; 'cept that down there they're all quiet, and the women have got to hold their tongues." (the end of the book)

    missing L- diminished home; lack of life in the Frome farmhouse "i saw then that the unusually forlorn and stunted look of the house was partly due to the loss of the 'L'"

    shurtterless windows- (just guessing) darkness, despair; poverty

    dead cucumber vine- "a dead cucumber vine dangled from the porch like the crape streamer tied to the door for a death" forshadows death

    kitchen (not sure) seeking comfort; dreams

    cat- Zeena's ally; ruin for Ethan + Mattie's relationship

    red pickle dish- symbolizes Frome's marriage and Ethan and Mattie's loyalty to Zeena- it is ruined

    red scarf and ribbon- life, happiness; and lust i think

    elm tree- Ethan + Mattie's relationship- passionate yet dangerous

    final sled run- coasting through life; Ethan not able to be decisive

    this is the first time ive answered a question on this site haha. i hope it helps =)

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    Posted by amarantha on Sunday September 6, 2009 at 2:36 PM