{"id":71303,"date":"2023-12-26T01:09:17","date_gmt":"2023-12-26T01:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essays.homeworkacetutors.com\/symbolism-of-the-boat-by-alistar-macleod-essay\/"},"modified":"2023-12-26T01:09:17","modified_gmt":"2023-12-26T01:09:17","slug":"symbolism-of-the-boat-by-alistar-macleod-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/symbolism-of-the-boat-by-alistar-macleod-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"Symbolism of The Boat by Alistar MacLeod Essay"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThe Boat\u201d written by\u00a0Alistair MacLeod tells a\u00a0story about a\u00a0father\u2019s life and how he\u00a0lived as\u00a0a\u00a0fisherman. The narrator is\u00a0an\u00a0adult man who looks back on\u00a0his life of\u00a0when his father was still living because even though he\u00a0got a\u00a0university education, he\u00a0now wants the life his father had. He\u00a0expresses how his father always wanted him to\u00a0become something bigger and better then what he\u00a0became. The author, Alistair MacLeod, used many different writing techniques within this short story.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The symbolism of\u00a0\u201cThe Boat\u201d expresses inevitability through the little hobbies the father\/husband does through his boring routine life, obligation through the father\/husband\u2019s commitment as\u00a0a\u00a0fisherman to\u00a0provide for his family, and imprisonment through his life as\u00a0a\u00a0fisherman even though he\u00a0always wanted a\u00a0university education.<\/p>\n

The father\/husband wants a\u00a0life outside of\u00a0the fishing world he\u00a0lives\u00a0in. He\u00a0finds ways in\u00a0his everyday life to\u00a0add exciting pieces of\u00a0the outside world to\u00a0his because he\u00a0feels the need to\u00a0learn things outside of\u00a0the boat as\u00a0demonstrated by\u00a0the radio he\u00a0keep on\u00a0and listens to\u00a0daily.<\/p>\n

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Symbolism is\u00a0provided through the tourists who his daughters meet through their work; they provide a\u00a0certain fulfillment of\u00a0wanting a\u00a0bigger and broader world. He\u00a0goes out of\u00a0his way after a\u00a0long days work to\u00a0take these tourist on\u00a0boat rides. \u201cThe tourists with their expensive clothes and cameras and sun glasses awkwardly backed down the iron ladder at\u00a0the wharf\u2019s side to\u00a0where my\u00a0father had waited below, holding the rocking Jenny Lynn in\u00a0snug against the wharf with one hand on\u00a0the iron ladder and steadying his descending passengers with the other.\u201d (Macleod, p.\u00a0229) The father\/husband got to\u00a0experience new excitement from the tourist; he\u00a0could see in\u00a0their eyes that \u201cawe\u201d effect that the sea gave them even though he\u00a0did not feel that feeling anymore. He\u00a0felt appreciation from a\u00a0different point of\u00a0view for once, allowing him to\u00a0sing and be\u00a0joyful. The new clothes and cameras the tourist brought on\u00a0his boat showed him different culture that he\u00a0had never experienced. The main enjoyment of\u00a0the tourist was the conversations he\u00a0encountered, to\u00a0hear what everyone else\u2019s lives were like. The father\/husband is\u00a0inevitable to\u00a0his craving of\u00a0what else is\u00a0beyond the sea in\u00a0which he\u00a0spends everyday\u00a0on. This is\u00a0one of\u00a0the main reasons why he\u00a0allows his daughters to\u00a0get a\u00a0job in\u00a0a\u00a0near by\u00a0restaurant. He\u00a0feels as\u00a0if\u00a0they deserve to\u00a0experience everything he\u00a0wishes he\u00a0could have experienced. Even though his inevitability for the outside world is\u00a0influencing him to\u00a0push his children to\u00a0do\u00a0better, he\u00a0also has obligations that may set him back from that goal.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0person has certain things in\u00a0life they have to\u00a0do\u00a0in\u00a0their role; this is\u00a0referred to\u00a0as\u00a0their obligations. \u201cThe Boat\u201d delivers many types of\u00a0obligations for a\u00a0man as\u00a0a\u00a0father and a\u00a0husband. The wife\u2019s \u201cway of\u00a0life\u201d is\u00a0a\u00a0match to\u00a0the man\u2019s obligation as\u00a0a\u00a0husband because as\u00a0a\u00a0couple raising children, a\u00a0husband and wife need to\u00a0work together. The wife has a\u00a0very narrow view of\u00a0how life should\u00a0be, as\u00a0a\u00a0husband he\u00a0is\u00a0obligated to\u00a0fulfill those views and work together on\u00a0raising their children to\u00a0this specific way of\u00a0life. She believes the best life for her children is\u00a0to\u00a0take on\u00a0the roles of\u00a0their parents: the son become a\u00a0fisherman like his father, while the daughters become housewives. As\u00a0a\u00a0father, he\u00a0holds an\u00a0obligation to\u00a0provide his family with food on\u00a0the table, a\u00a0roof over their heads, and clothes on\u00a0their backs. He\u00a0achieves this obligation by\u00a0being a\u00a0fisherman everyday, even though this is\u00a0not what he\u00a0wants. The wife is\u00a0obligated to\u00a0help her husband; she is\u00a0very wrapped up\u00a0about the boat by\u00a0filling her days working in\u00a0preparation for her husband\u2019s next day on\u00a0the boat. Even though the husband is\u00a0obligated to\u00a0support the wife\u2019s view of\u00a0life, he\u00a0disagrees. He\u00a0believes his children should grow up\u00a0and get an\u00a0education to\u00a0become more then he\u00a0ever was. The father\/husband tries his best to\u00a0make his life not only to\u00a0his obligations but also to\u00a0his wants. \u201cWhen he\u00a0came home he\u00a0threw the money he\u00a0had earned on\u00a0the kitchen table as\u00a0he\u00a0did with all his earnings but my\u00a0mother refused to\u00a0touch\u00a0it.\u201d (Macleod, p.\u00a0230) The father\/husband takes tourists out on\u00a0the boat to\u00a0satisfy his wants to\u00a0a\u00a0broader world, but his wife finds the thought of\u00a0the money earned from his joy ride distasteful. He\u00a0starts feeling trapped from every angle, having to\u00a0live his life in\u00a0routine everyday without any freedom to\u00a0his interests of\u00a0the outside world.<\/p>\n

The father\/husband has had to\u00a0live a\u00a0life of\u00a0following patterns passed down by\u00a0many fishermen, his life thought about university and a\u00a0higher job opportunity was shot down. This story is\u00a0strongly influenced by\u00a0the traditional folk culture of\u00a0Cape Breton.\u00a0A university degree was never an\u00a0accomplishment in\u00a0his culture; his father raised him to\u00a0be\u00a0a\u00a0strong, hard working fisherman. For many reasons such as\u00a0supporting a\u00a0family, supporting his economy and having the family business continue, the father\/husband had stepped into his father\u2019s shoes thinking it\u00a0would get better. Over the years of\u00a0carrying on\u00a0the family business of\u00a0fishermen the father\/husband has realized he\u00a0is\u00a0becoming imprisoned in\u00a0his own life. He\u00a0starts finding himself reading books in\u00a0his spear time, which shows symbolism to\u00a0his imprisonment. He\u00a0uses these books to\u00a0try and educate himself because he\u00a0never got to\u00a0go\u00a0to\u00a0university and get a\u00a0high-leveled education. \u201cThe bracelets of\u00a0brass chain which he\u00a0wore to\u00a0protect his wrists from chafing seemed abnormally large.\u201d (Macleod, p.\u00a0230) A\u00a0symbolic representation of\u00a0his life imprisoned by\u00a0the boat is\u00a0told from this sentence of\u00a0the story. He\u00a0has no\u00a0other life outside of\u00a0being a\u00a0fisherman; the chains on\u00a0his wrist are like shackles that the boat and the sea have put on\u00a0his life. He\u00a0has been \u201cchained\u201d to\u00a0this boat all his life, his life has revolved around the sea. He\u00a0wants to\u00a0make sure that his children have the opportunity to\u00a0view the world, not to\u00a0be\u00a0stuck in\u00a0a\u00a0narrow view of\u00a0life. He\u00a0knows that the life he\u00a0is\u00a0living will cause curiosity to\u00a0his children if\u00a0they follow the same footsteps, therefore he\u00a0strives for them to\u00a0do\u00a0bigger and better things in\u00a0life.<\/p>\n

Symbolism is\u00a0a\u00a0very evident throughout \u201cThe Boat\u201d in\u00a0many different forms. It\u00a0has been used to\u00a0provide evidence of\u00a0a\u00a0fathers struggle to\u00a0empower his children to\u00a0a\u00a0life beyond the sea. His inevitability causes him to\u00a0push his children to\u00a0see the world the way he\u00a0never did, but at\u00a0the same time his obligation to\u00a0his wife and her narrow way of\u00a0life causes a\u00a0set back to\u00a0his goal for his children. Imprisonment is\u00a0throughout this whole story from his wife and his struggles to\u00a0see eye to\u00a0eye, to\u00a0his goal for his children to\u00a0grow up\u00a0with the opportunity at\u00a0a\u00a0university education.<\/p>\n

You may also be interested in the following: the boat alistair macleod<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Boat\u201d written by\u00a0Alistair MacLeod tells a\u00a0story about a\u00a0father\u2019s life and how he\u00a0lived as\u00a0a\u00a0fisherman. The narrator is\u00a0an\u00a0adult man who looks back on\u00a0his life of\u00a0when his father was still living because even though he\u00a0got a\u00a0university education, he\u00a0now wants the life his father had. He\u00a0expresses how his father always wanted him to\u00a0become something bigger and better then […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6036],"tags":[5288,9590,9587,9588,5287,9591,9589],"class_list":["post-71303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","tag-ace-myhomework","tag-au-assessments","tag-cheap-essay-writing-services-online","tag-dissertation-writing-help-for-students","tag-homework-ace-tutors","tag-homework-tutors","tag-write-my-essay-fast-online"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71303\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}