Furthermore the setting symbolizes the pain of the mother is reflected through the use of symbolism by the writer.” I’m lying curled up in the middle of the bed” here the mother is lying helplessly like a foetus. The verb “curled” perhaps suggests to the reader hat she is trying to keep her emotions locked up. “I’ve locked the bedroom door” it is also shown here that the mother is insecure this is shown to the reader mainly through the symbolism of the shoes.
The non-chronological structure of the story symbolizes that the mother is insecure and is most definitely missing her daughter. Roberts has used first person to symbolize the loss of the mother she is mourning and grieving for her daughter, whom she longs to be near.
In contrast to “Your shoes”, Lessing, the writer of “Flight” has decided to write the story in third person; this idea of writing from this viewpoint shows the emotions of the other characters. Another difference is that “Flight” is written in chronological order which symbolizes that the narrator of the story was not confused compared to “Your shoes”. The mother in “Your shoes” emotions are mixed these are expressed through the symbolism of the non- chronological order of the story. At the start of the story the reader can see that the grandfather is struggling to let go of his granddaughter. The pain which is not revealed through the character of the grandfather is shown through the pigeon, which he cannot let go. This symbolizes that the grandfather is unable to accept. The conflict between the grandfather and granddaughter, in the middle of the story, shows the stage that they are at with their relationship. This furthermore is shown through the symbolism of the pigeon; that he has accepted, but on the other hand the reader sees that, “he saw tears run off her face” Here the verb “shivering” encourages the reader to think that Alice realizes that life will change.
The character of Alice is explored through the pigeon “he deliberately held out his wrist for the bird to take flight and caught it again at the moment it spread its wings” here Lessing has used a pigeon to symbolize Alice. The grandfather is unprepared to let go of his granddaughter and the fact that it is his “favorite… homing pigeon” straight away encourages the reader to think that the grandfather does not want Alice to “fly the nest” The grandfather is insecure like the mother in “Your shoes” as both the characters hold onto an important possession which reminds them of the girls that are leaving.
Additionally the metaphor “took out his favorite…then clenched in the pain of loss” here the verb “clenched” symbolizes that the grandfather is accepting that Alice will have to leave. This brings in the theme of letting go.
The themes of letting go, growing up and relationships explored in families are important themes, which are mentioned in both stories. In “Flight” we see that the pigeon symbolizes the theme of letting go “watched it soar” Here the grandfather has let go of the pigeon which furthermore symbolizes that he has released Alice. In contrast, “Your shoes” shows the experience of letting go in a way that the daughter leaves the mother, but the mother fails to let go of the shoes; which symbolizes that she is still hanging onto her daughter
A major difference between “Flight” and “Your shoes” is that in the story “Your shoes” the setting symbolizes the daughter; whereas in “Flight” the setting does not symbolize anything which is relevant to the story.
In conclusion the theme of growing up is important in both stories as it symbolizes how the daughter/granddaughter left the home. Both the writers have successfully used symbolism in their stories to emphasize the theme of growing up and also the emotions that the characters feel. These are shown through symbolism. Perhaps if the writers had not used symbolism in the stories they would not have been as interesting, which is why the use of symbolism has an impact on the stories.
