WL2 example. Flying High: The use of birds as symbols in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea

WL2 example. Flying High: The use of birds as symbols in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea

Birds have always symbolized the idea of being free and independent because they can just spread their wings and do whatever they want. They draw many parallels between the natural world and the creatures that reside in it. In the novel Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, birds are used as a mirror to the main characters, as they foreshadow events and give us better insight into what is happening inside of each character.

In part one of Wide Sargasso Sea; we are introduced to Coco, Antoinette’s lovely pet parrot. Coco can’t speak very well. The only thing it can say is “qui est la?” and always answered “che Coco, che Coco” (Rhys 25). In English, the meaning of what the parrot says is “who’s there? Dear Coco.” Apart from only knowing that phrase, the parrot had its wings clipped by Mr. Mason so that it can’t escape. Those few words represents Coco’s to learn about life, just as Antoinette wanted to learn more about Rochester and how his personality really is. This particular detail about Coco mirrors what Antoinette’s life will be like. In other words, it is foreshadowing future events that will happen in Antoinette’s life. The clipped wings foreshadow Antoinette being trapped in the attic back in Thornfield Hall. Here, we can see that Coco does not symbolize the idea of freedom that a bird generally represents, but rather represents false parallelism, madness and loneliness. Madness because the bird can’t stand the fact that it can’t fly, just as Antoinette slowly becomes mad as Rochester rejects her more and more, and loneliness because both can’t live without the love of their owner, and that loneliness slowly turns into madness.

The other peculiar thing is another foreshadowing clue that happens a little bit later in part one. This image is very grotesque and takes place when Coulibri is set on fire. Coco “made an effort to fly down but his clipped wings failed him and he fell screeching. He...