The Short Story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Short Story - Essay Example This story utilizes a great deal of symbolism to tell the story of divine justice and retribution. Much of the action takes place under the Juniper Tree, which was typically associated in folklore with witches and the unnatural things they could do with their magic. This is reinforced by the blood sacrifice, however accidental, of the first wife and her surety of having a child as well as by her foreknowledge of her own death. Other instances of witchcraft occurring under the tree include the young daughter’s placement of the bones under the tree and the transformation of the bones into the beautiful bird that is then able to act on his own. It also uses the Biblical symbolisms of the Evil One, who continuously influences the second wife to do evil to the young son and the form of the apple. The second wife uses the apple to tempt the young son to the trunk with the sharp lock on it that functions to behead him and an apple is used to entice the daughter to strike her brother, causing her to feel his death is her fault. Although it is a story of retribution, the husband and the daughter suffer no ill effects because their participation in the boy’s murder were unintentional, unlike the second wife’s deliberate entrapment and murder. The husband was not aware that the boy’s body had been cut into the stew he ate and the daughter realistically played no part in the murder yet suffered a great deal of grief over his loss. Therefore, the husband received a golden necklace, to remind him to always be mindful of what he swallows while the daughter received a pair of apple red shoes to remind her to always watch her steps. Like the Grimm’s Brothers â€Å"Juniper Tree†, Edgar Allen Poe’s story â€Å"The Black Cat† deals with the concept of retribution or justice. In this story, the main character has a fondness for a cat that gradually turns to hatred as the man is overtaken by alcoholism. He first cuts out an eye of the cat and then hangs him.