Writing

In this story, writing symbolizes innate passion and interest, especially as juxtaposed with direct conflicts to that innate interest. Throughout the story, Francie finds that she cannot resist an interest and proclivity towards writing. However, she receives much discouragement from her mother, her teachers, and her classmates. At the end of this story, this discouragement continues to coexist with her reflexive passion for writing as her main interest.

Francie’s Stories

Francie’s stories symbolize the difficulty of understanding the essence of one’s identity and one’s artistic tendencies. Francie generally likes to write stories about heterosexual adult couples dying in ridiculous and unlikely ways. The exact source of this artistic proclivity is never made clear, but it may potentially be reflexive of a subtle and deep-seated sense of resentment born by Francie towards her parents.

War Injury

Francie’s brother’s war injury symbolizes...