The Use of Symbols in Adrienne Richs Poem, Aunt Jennifers Tigers Essa

The Use of Symbols in Adrienne Richs Poem, Aunt Jennifers TigersFreedom has always been an in-chief(postnominal) value in the United States that most people are not willing to give up. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a writer who lived in the 1800s, reminded Americans of their rights of liberty at a time when many people started to conform to established norms. He voiced his opinions about the loss of freedom and invited society to realize that they were relinquishing their rights. Years later, his views lifelessness had an impact on citizens. Adrienne Rich, a poet of the mid-1900s, also found her autonomy a necessity in life. She wrote a poem in 1951 called Aunt Jennifers Tigers, which exhibited her opinions about lifetime a life of reliance on others. The poem illustrates a woman sewing a scene of tigers roaming through a field, whose hands are weighed downwardly by the heavy wedding band that she wears. Rich uses the symbols of the ring and the tigers to convey her belief in Emersons ide as of self-reliance.An Emerson-influenced world would be one without interdependence, as his principles of self-reliance would be employed. In the 1800s, the American government and literary movement . . . were calling for conformity (Loving). During this time, Ralph Waldo Emerson decided to testify his disagreement with the movement by publishing Self trust in 1841, which explained his ideas of the importance of mortalal independence. He states, Nothing can bring you peace but yourself, illustrating his negative view of relying on others (Loving). His audience, the Americans, grew to agree with his individualistic concepts, leading(a) focus from conformity in society.Throughout her life, Richs experiences led her to wish for more independence. In her marr... ...ctly what Rich discovered through her experiences, primarily from her marriage. The freedom of each person to live as they wish to live is a common value between the two writers. Rich uses the two different symbols in o rder to express her negative feelings about dependence. By showing her dislike toward the control that one may have over another, she implies her agreement with Emersons established principles of self-sufficiency. Works CitedLitlinks. www.smpcollege.com/litlinks/poetry/rich.htm. Bedford/St.Martins. present 28, 2000.Loving, Tim. What If Aunt Jennifer Had Listened? Responding With Consequence. www.cwrl.utexas.edu/nick/evans/firstpapers/tlovingpaper.html. March 28, 2000.Rich, Adrienne. Aunt Jennifers Tigers. Discovering Literature Stories, Poems, Plays. 2nd ed. Hans P. Guth and Gabriele L. Rico. Upper Saddle River Blair. 1997. 590