Symbols in The Egg

Symbols in The Egg

The Egg tells a tragic story of a farther who failed twice in pursuiting his American Dreem.Before marriage, farther was a cheerful, kindly farm hand.But after marriage,in order to give “me” a good future, “farther” and “mother” decide d to raise a chicken farm.After ten years, they didn‟t get any return.So following “mother‟s” suggestion, they moved to a town and started to run a restaurant.”F arther ” tried his best to entertain the guests with eggs but finally he failed. The egg is a dominant theme in their living and an inseparable part of their family. In the story,”egg”as a symbol, relates to “father” and “my familly‟s” fate and reveals the disillusion of American dream.

First of all, “egg”stands for Americans‟beautiful but fragile American Dream.Americans believe they could get up in the world through their hard working and become rich. So did the father.He had great expectations for the egg. He believes the hen can be hatched from it and the hen will lay eggs again.From this, they could get more money but actually they failled.Eggs are fragile,so did the farther‟s dream.Finally,it disillusioned.

At the begining of the story, “egg” symbols the beautiful American Dream in farther‟s heart.”They rented ten acres of poor storny land on Griggs‟s Road,eight miles from Bidwell, and launched into chilcken raising”(Sherwood Anderson,1920,1)From the beginning, everything seemed like beautiful and ter,author had wrriten “hideously naked…gets diseases…stupid eyes...sick and dies…so dreadfully disillusioned.”(Sherwood Anderson,1920,1),it seemed talked about the chicken and eggs,their death.But those derogatory words imply farther‟s dream would die too.

Gradually,farther became crazy and the eccentric “eggs and chicken” symbols farther‟s distorted dream.In the chicken farm,there are many grotesques born out of eggs.Farther dreamed of taking the wonder about to country fairs and of growing rich by exhibitting those things.From this, we can find that farther‟s American Dream has a little di storted.In the process of pursuiting the dream, farther‟s heart had broken and intrested in some abnormal things. On the way to the town, farther keeped thoses things,on the one hand, it was farther‟s hope reborn in his heart, on the other hand, it implies father would failed again.

Later,”egg”also symbols farther‟s strong belief,great efforts and poor begging.When they started restaurant,father tried three times to gain people‟s attention: adopt a cheerful outlook on life,use the egg to entertain the people,making the egg stand on its end,show the poultry monstrositties.All these actions indicates that farther was extremly eager to be respect, accepted and concerned.He has strong belief to be successful through his hard working.However, not every dream could come true.

At last,”egg” symbols farther‟s American Dream disillusioned.After father failed to show the m onstrosities to Joe Kane,”He danced and shouted a string of inarticulate words.Grambbing another egg from the basket on the counter, he threw it” (Sherwood Anderson,1920,7)It implies farther …s American Dream had totally disapperaed.”He laid the egg gently on the table and dropped on his knees” (Sherwood Anderson,1920,7)It means farther gave up his American Dream.

What‟s more,the egg s ymbols a life cycle.Egg comes from a hen and could be hatched to a chicken.Life is like a cycle, born and death, death and born.Just like people, they are disable to control their own life.In the last paragraph:”I wonder why eggs had to be and why from the egg came the hen who again laid the egg. …I am the son of my father…”(Sherwood Anderson,1920,7)It also implies that …I‟ like my father,also had my own American Dream and