“The Day after Superman Died” by Ken Kesey Research Paper

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The following is an incisive study on the work of Kesey “The day when superman died” it is giving an insight into the symbolism, which Kesey has used to depict the theme of the story to the readers. Though the author’s work is rich with literary symbolism, only those symbols, which appear in the book interconnected with the theme, have been discussed.

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Symbolism refers to the subtle meaning that makes a statement to be more literary and thrilled. The author has used many literary tools to bring out the message in the story when the superman died. Among the many literary tools, which the author has used is the literary symbolism where an author uses certain symbols or descriptions to convey a particular message indirectly. The story about Deboree is one worth of scrutiny and careful examination as the author tries to show the fight between the traditional and the radical points of view in society.

The setting which the writer has used is in many ways a part of the literal symbolism for instance where the setting Deboree is fighting with the hitchhiker over the dog is one of such a setting that conveys a hidden meaning. The hidden meaning of this scenario shows a theme of struggle in the whole story. The writer is, therefore, indicating through that setting, of the struggles, which exist in the society and how they do come about. The indication is that petty issues can easily bring conflicts if handled in a primitive manner (Gerald 93).

Then there is the heavy use of imagery in the work of Kasey. From the title itself the day when Superman died, the word superman is an imagery of a hero, someone who has supposedly done more than the normal human being has. The story, therefore, conveys the meaning of what brings down members of the society who would have been great achievers if they are given time and maybe if only other people could stop criticizing them and appreciate them as they are (Kesey 89).

The writer has also used another serious symbolism, which is likely to go unnoticed. In the story “the day when superman died”, there is a lot of mention about dogs. The writer seems to include dogs in each scenario. Deborah seems to be unbothered by these dogs, which are seemingly a nuisance to many others especially when Sandy passes over a dog. When the plot began, Debora finds himself in a scuffle with the hitchhiker because the hitchhiker mistreats the dog, and Deboree gives that man a thorough beating. There is also an instance when dogs of a neighbor came to their compound and Sandy chases them the way. The writer used the dogs as a symbol portraying the everyday nuisance, which is experienced in life. It is just like the dogs. One will meet bothers and people who annoying everywhere in life but how one chooses to live with that nuisance matters a lot. If one chooses to be annoyed, one will end up being frustrated just like Sandy (Gerald 57).

Kesey has also used peacocks in his work as part of the symbolism. It is hard to comprehend why the author imagined that the readers were superstitious but in a way, the author conveys that there is lots of superstition even in modern society. The author also describes how Deboree could still see the peacock standing on the cloths pole line. It is told that Deboree would look up to the peacock as they flew up and expect them to be an alarm that something bad is very likely to happen. The author, to arouse premonition uses the peacocks. This premonition is an indication of a superstitious society. Then there are also ravens. However, Kesey has used them also as a symbol of likely death. For example, ravens and yard have clear meaning but they indicate death. The author has thereby chosen to use the symbolism to hide the direct meaning and the message to the unsuspecting audience (Gerald 36).

Then when Deboree is digging up the grave alone, the still oak trees watched at him. This is also symbolic indicating that the good one does is certainly noted somewhere by nature. It also shows loneliness in that there was no one to assist him apart from the trees that could only watch him.

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The fact that Debora is burying someone alone is in itself very symbolic, did the fellow not have a family? That is the question, which, the author brings out to portray that the society long ceased to be communal. People now live independently and they have little or no concern over one another. It shows that society is of each man for himself and God for us all. In other words, we are living in a very individualistic society. The author has conveyed that message through the setting of the burial. This is an excellent setting, which has brought about the theme of individualism (Kesey 89).

After Deborah was through with the burial, we are told that he went out to look for wine (Kesey 89). This symbol shows that even modern society still believes that liquor goes a long way in reducing stress. The writer conveys that though society has become self-centered there are still some traditional aspects, which modern society was unable to fight off like drinking beer. Worse still, it has even gone overboard to drug abuse. It can be shown by the scenario where Sandy would gulp a dozen pills because of her divorce and many other misfortunes in her life. Though the writer does not want directly to confront individualism in pursuit of materialism, the author carefully depicts how society suffers silently.

The author uses characters who are writers such as Deboree, a writer probably to show the plight of writers and what they go through (Gerald 57). It shows the solitude they experience, the agony they go through as they try to analyze the society. It took Deboree three days to write a reply to his fellow counterpart who had criticized his view on the revolution movement asking what they had achieved for a long period. Kinsey, therefore, wanted to give his readers a glimpse of the world of writing and the challenges, which are experienced without directly using his own experiences (Kesey 89).

The competitive and success of valuing society is portrayed in the story through the writer’s symbolic description of two writers as giants. Kesey says that Devlin and Houhlier are titans in the field of writing and each had an area of specialization where they excelled the most. Devlin excelled as a psyllid challenger while Houhlier excelled in philosophic writing. These descriptions have been inserted by the writer to portray that the society is concerned with what one excelled in more than who they are. They are titans but their ending is not quite interesting. Perhaps it should have been better. In other words, the writer is asking one major question through his symbolism: does one live for his or her pleasure or the society, and does one’s public success means that one is privately a success (Gerald 70).

The whole story of superman who died is built on a sad tone but it is a symbolism of the fight between radicalism and conservatism in society. However, it does not show which view is the best rather it leaves for the reader to make their conclusions. Deborah and his individualistic lifestyle represent a radical point of view. The conservative is represented by the challenges, which the protagonist faces such as having to bury another individualistic friend alone as the only raven had attended the burial. The writer is, therefore, asking symbolically what it means to be a success.

Works Cited

Gerald, Murphy. Kesey and His Characters. Washington: Harvard University Press, 2002. Print.

Kesey, Ken. The Day after Superman Died. London: Oxford University Press, 1980. Print.

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IvyPanda. 2020. ""The Day after Superman Died" by Ken Kesey." August 28, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-day-after-superman-died-by-ken-kesey/.

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