The story I selected is Roger Malvin’s Burial because I find that the symbolism expressed in this story is very strong and detailed. In an almost sadistic fashion, Hawthorn is trying to make the reader feel the pain, anguish and despair of these people, by depicting everything in intricate detail and with overly-specific descriptiveness.
This is typical of his style, however this particular story seems to be more graphic than most. The one part of the story that impressed me the most was the following quote: “Reuben felt it impossible to acknowledge that his selfish love of ife had hurried him away before her father’s fate was decided”. The usage of the words “selfish love of life” and of the expression “fate was decided” makes everything sound so final and dramatic.
But further to this melodramatic expression of the emotions of the characters, Hawthorn’s usage of such colorful language makes his characters come to life. Most average people can relate to the characters due to the extremeness of their emotions as displayed and expressed in the story. Another quote which sticks out in the expression of sorrow and the haracters is: ““You dug a grave for my poor father in the wilderness, Reuben? ” was the question by which her filial piety manifested itself.
The simple expression of sorrow is compounded strongly by the use of strong vocabulary and descriptive tone and mood. “Her filial piety” for example is clearly one such example of how the character’s inner feelings are displayed so deeply and passionately. This is a typical format for a Hawthorn story. His general writing style gives for intense feelings and emotions to his characters, and he also gives his readers the experience of these emotions.