Tuesday, 1 November 2011
What's With the Egg and the Colour Yellow in Wickham's Story?
What are your thoughts / interpretations of the episode with the old man and the egg, and also the "dry yellow leaves" at the beginning and the end, respectively, of "The Light on the Sea"? Is there some kind of symbolic or metaphorical signification? Tell me what you think.
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There are two distinctive perspectives regarding the colour yellow in John Wickham’s short story “The Light on the Sea”. Firstly, the narrative voice sees the yellow as a sign of withered, pitiful and wasted, as in “yellow viscous liquid”, (96), “yellow mess” (97) and “dry yellow leaves” (100). The yellow alludes to autumn where all the trees become bare and dry, thus showing the narrator feels sorry for Mr. Farley thinking that he is now so old, sickly and lonely.
ReplyDeleteOn the contrary, Mr. Farley’s view of the yellow as represented through the light is one of knowledge, enlightenment and hope. The light on the sea is symbolic to a lighthouse which is a beacon of hope and guidance for lost sailors. Mr. Farley was lost before, but now that he has found his light has become fulfilled and happy.
Very good analysis, Denielle. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYellow shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness, which is seen not only in relations to Mr. Farely, but also to the narrator. I agree with Denielle, that the colour does allude to autumn, a representation of decay in order to bring a new sense of restoration; a new beginning.
ReplyDeleteYellow is a warm colour, bright and vibrant. Owing to the fact that Mr. Farely lived his prior life enveloped in darkness via his social immobility. However, his life has changed by his appreciation of what the light offers, he has made a new beginning for himself. This can also be said for the narrator, as his prior views of Mr. Farely has changed.
Dawn’s yellow rays provide the light and warmth we need for life. It lights our existence, thus clearing the shadows of uncertainty. It tends to lift our spirits, it makes us feel happy, optimistic, expressive and friendly. All the traits Mr. Farely seemingly had not possessed before.
I like Denielle's analysis of the symbolism associated with the lighthouse, it makes perfect sense. He has found his light.
I agree with Denielle, that the colour does allude to autumn, a representation of decay in order to bring a new sense of restoration; a new beginning.
ReplyDeleteHowever yellow brings into significance the constant reiterating of coming out from the dark to the light by Mr. Farley. A new beginning, a new dawn for Mr. Farley a reawakening and a sense of rebirth. this reference to the yellow could also show the transition from birth to adult to almost a child existence once again.
As it pertains to the old man and the egg, the only thing I can think of is the issue of aging. Older people tend to suffer with dementia, and if I apply the colour concept where yellow-which is said to activate memory- then I can conclude that he was trying to grasp a memory perhaps and eventually he failed.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, he was not disturbed by the egg being an egg. This in turn can relate to his internal struggle, which leads to another association with yellow- that being it signifies “sadness” in the Greek's culture. He highlighted a lack of peace, which contrasts with Mr. Farely's own sense of joy and peace.
From the story and the above posts, I agree with what was being said about yellow symbolizing happiness, optimism, cheer, etc. It was interesting that the colour was found in such bleak, dismal circumstances. However, I thought that this helped in creating an appearance versus reality theme for the story.
ReplyDeleteAs we have seen, any person coming to the place, would have shared the opinion of it being sad and gloomy. These thoughts would have brought up feelings of pity for anyone who had to stay there. But, Mr. Farley was most at home in this environment. He was comfortable far beyond what anyone would have thought, while it was assumed that he was there, depressed and wasting away.
The color yellow signifies the theme of aging that is very much at the heart of this short story. The fact that the yellow and white content in the "yellow bowl" cause a sensation of "disgust amounting to revulsion" conveys that the "the white haired old man" could not deal with the process of aging. The yellow bowl represented his world or his reality. A world where everything seems old and faded. The white and yellow separation of the egg represents both the former and latter years of this "irritated" old man" who is depressed because of the starkly different reality that he now has to exist in.
ReplyDeleteThe old ladies at the end represents the senior citizen who tries his or her very best to deal with the fact that he or she is getting older and thus weaker or even more dispensable. In order to cope they have allowed themselves to be dedicated to the "pulling dry leaves off.." and thus making the tree a little younger and healthier looking. Their disposition seems to be far more pleasant than the disgruntled old man because they have accepted their reality. The old man never does.