Lorca Journal 3

Symbols:

Knives - Lorca starts off the play with the symbol of the knife. The Mother jumps right into talking about weapons, which symbolize death and hatred. The knife could also potentially symbolize vengeance. The Mother talks about the murder and she speaks about the murder with such passion, shown in the quote “The knife, the knife! Damn the knife, damn all knives, damn the devil who created knives.” This makes the audience think that she may want to seek vengeance on however is guilty for the murders of her loved ones. The Mother seems to have a lot of pent up anger. The knife could also symbolize blood in general because with death comes blood.

Vineyard - Based off what we learned in the cultural connections, owning a vineyard is a sign of wealth, especially in rural Spain where the land is on hills and difficult to farm. Vineyards in the play could symbolize wealth and the Groom's economic status. The Groom worked hard and bought the vineyard for himself, which also symbolizes the Groom's independent and hard-working personality.


Horse: The horse and the water in the book go hand-in-hand. First, I perceived the water as representing the duende because the water is described as being "bloody" and "dark". In the article we read about the duende,  Lorca used those exact words to describe the duende. As I looked closer into the text, I saw the bare essence of the duende is passion, therefore the water could be described as symbolizing passion. And because the horse and water go hand-in-hand, the horse could represent someone who does not self indulge. In the play, the horse refuses to drink the water even though he is thirsty. The horse could symbolize an internal struggle within a character who is battling his passions and desires with self-control.

Comments:

To Thomas - It's interesting how you talked about the different perspectives of death with the Neighbor and the Mother. It's strange to think that the Neighbor believes her sons are better off dead. I feel like this might actually be pretty disrespectful to Mother. I also agree with that you said about the vineyard. Wealth and status are obviously very important in the play, so this vineyard might play a key role later on.

To Olivia - I like what you said about the flowers. Flowers seem to be really important so far in the play and I never connected it to death and a new beginning before. Your ideas about the horse are also interesting. I also viewed the horse as potentially representing someone rebellious.