Analysis Of Ziggurat By Stephen O Connor - 1894 Words

1st Paragraph: Symbolism in â€Å"Ziggurat† In Stephen O’Connor’s â€Å"Ziggurat,† the author utilizes symbolism to portray a raw tale of life and death’s conflicting relationship. O’Connor’s usage of a mythological character, the Minotaur, and a human, the new girl, creates a juxtaposing link that reveals the inevitability of death. â€Å"Ziggurat† follows the Minotaur’s life throughout the labyrinth where he meets the new girl. Through his harsh characterization and foreseeable destruction of those around him, the Minotaur can be seen as a personification of death. The Minotaur believes in the idea that we were â€Å"created to be destroyed† (O’Connor), a hint at the inescapability of the death that the Minotaur symbolizes. Subsequently, the new girl†¦show more content†¦This story, with its lack of rhyme structure and rhythm, is similar to a prose poem. The sharp and repetitive sentence structure makes the list of instructions seem as if they are being given in one endless dialogue. The seemingly infinite commands create a suffocating sense of obligation for the daughter. By including questions in the mother’s list of commands, the author makes it seem like the mother is speaking in a stream of consciousness and is rattling off orders and advice to her daughter. â€Å"Soak salt fish overnight before you cook it; is it true that you sing benna in Sunday school?; always eat your food in such a way that it won’t turn someone else’s stomach† (Kincaid). Simultaneously, it smothers the exchange between the daughter and mother, restricting the idea of a real, two-way conversation. Throughout the story, the daughter rarely speaks, only to protest against her mother’s claims, including the belief that the daughter will become a â€Å"slut† when she is older. Her mother states, â€Å"prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming† (Kincaid) twice within the story, emphasizing the mother’s accusatory words that simultaneously assume the daughter is already on track to becoming a â€Å"slut.† Subsequently, the daughter argues how she doesn’t â€Å"sing benna on Sundays at all† (Kincaid) when harshly criticized by her mother. The daughter’s haste and sharp responses to her mother’s brusque accusations suggest that the daughter has already