When discussing the symbolism of the story by Danielle M. Gordon, it should be noted that the major symbols are linked to the theme of death and loss. As the narrator, a teenage girl whose mother died faces the issues of coping with her tragedy. That is the reason why symbols of the white color and skulls, implying death are used by the author. In parallel, the pink color, as that symbolizing life, is also applied to create a conflicting opposition. Symbolism is used in the story for characterization and exposing the character’s emotional state and its transformation.
First of all, the use of colors is symbolic in the story, and it helps to identify the psychological condition of the narrator, and suggest what feelings she prefers to hide to look strong. When reading the heroine’s monologue, which reminds a stream of consciousness at times, it is easy to notice that she mentions white objects quite often. In fact, they reflect the character’s attempt to demonstrate her feeling deathly, and probably pale in complexion, as well: “I am pale white shell and blue-patterned china. I am the Washington Monument. I am infallible, unbreakable”. This use of symbols is quite peculiar because it reveals not only the girl’s loss but also her vulnerability. There is also presented an inner conflict, when she calls herself unbreakable, but compares herself with shell and china, at the same time. Later on, the readers find out that colors are meaningful for the narrator, when she recollects that her mother used color code to tag family members’ clothes for washing. The same white color is referred to the following in the story: “I am egg shells and white daisies”. It is important to note, while the same white color is used, it is attributed to objects, which are far more fragile, than china and a monument. In this way, the symbolism of the white color goes beyond the meaning of relationship to death; it also denotes fragility and vulnerability. In contrast, the pink color symbolizes life and energy: “I am pink skin and full breath; I’m real, I’m real”. Yet, this feeling of being alive is just a flashback in narration and a reminiscence of the time, when the girl’s mother was alive and the whole family united. This is no longer the case, and the heroine’s expectations from her father fail, because he is unable to disclose his emotions and his affection for children, who desperately need care. He prefers to stay reserved and cope with his grief on his own, which slowly drives his children away from him.
Speaking about the theme of death, it should be mentioned that the symbol of a skull is used in the text to contribute to the topic of death. Yet, it should be understood that this deadliness refers not only to the late mother, but to interaction inside a family. There is a father and four children, the narrator being the oldest of them, so she has to take the role of a mother, in some ways. The father is unable to take care the way he should because of his lack of emotional contact with his children. He overcomes grief in his own way. Thus, when he touches the glasses that used to belong to his wife, the narrator sees a different picture: “ His thin, sullen hands leave prints like skulls and I imagined they were my mother’s, as if the tips of his fingers were wet-water stamps for her pretty, white bones”. It is also symbolic that the narrator later wipes away these fingerprints, as if refusing to accept her mother’s death. Later on, she turns to the symbol of a skull again, as she feels that these marks of death cannot be removed from the wine glasses: “I draw red skulls on their fat, sloping sides, then place them back into the hutch”. The narrator points out that the father waits some kind of rebellion from her, because her ideal behavior is unbearable to him in the same way, as his reserved behavior to her.
There is a share of unspoken despair in the heroine’s narration, which is related not only to her mother’s death, but to inability to restore healthy family relationship. Therefore, all symbols of death, such as the white color and skulls are also related to this situation, when the children are losing their father two. In contrast, the pink color as a symbol of being alive is mentioned only once and refers to the past that will never return.
“Truth about Blue”: Symbolism
When discussing the symbolism of the story “Truth about Blue”, it should be noted that there are two major symbols that penetrate into the canvas of narration. To start with, the very title is based on the play of the words; and the heroine’s nickname Blue has extended meaning of being sad and disappointed about life. Secondly, the symbol of a camera is used to demonstrate the protagonist’s detachment from her own life.
In order to disclose the meaning of blue in the story, the readers’ attention should be paid to the contexts where it is used. The reader is informed that the heroine’s name is Carrie, who is a young girl of twenty-one, lonely and leading idle lifestyle. When she starts dying her hair blue, a nickname Blue is given to her, which she hates. Yet, both her best friend and her boyfriend call her this name, which symbolizes her image of a sad girl, which is hidden behind the bold façade of independence. When the narration goes on, the reasons for her sadness are revealed: it is, somehow, related to her late father; so, she is unable to contact other members of her family, including her mother and grandmother. She seems to have fixated on the idea of the lost happiness, and prefers to escape from emotional challenges of present. It is remarkable that no emotions of the heroine are described directly, which is a sign of alienation and depression. She is reserved, and she prefers rude humor to sincere confession, even with her best friend, whom she accompanies to clubs. Even in communication with her boyfriend Bobby Carrie, she feels lack of meaningful connection and warms; this is why sexual scenes are included in the text. The heroine is tired to be a toy for a man, while we may have an idea that her late father was a man who gave her love that she greatly needs at present, and does not have anyone who would give it to her. “I just can’t work you out, Blue” says Bobby, which implies that he is unable to see what happens inside her. At the end of the story, the blue color emerges again as a symbol, and the revelation suggests that the heroine’s father, in fact, played a horrible role in her life: “Carrie’s father shut the door behind him as he left her room…The bitter flavor on her tongue was as unpleasant and lasting as the act that produced it. Blue light crept into an open window”. Thus, this passage discovers truth about Carrie: she was a victim of sexual abuse on part of her father; so this is the reason, why she cannot build close relationships with other people, especially with men. The blue color symbolizes her loss of joy and security as a woman that does not let her breathe freely and enjoy life.
The second symbol in the story is Carrie’s camera that she constantly uses, as a reflex that suggests that she is alienated from her life, and wants to be just a watcher. Perhaps, it is her way to soothe pain that she feels about her secret that makes her suffer: “She takes a picture of her bedroom and watches as the grainy image bleeds slowly to the bright-white border. She pins it to the wall next to dozens of nearly identical photos”. By the end of the story, we find out that her attempts to take pictures of the window are related to her past experience of sexual abuse. So, every time she thinks of the past, she attempts to do that again. “Silent and shaking, she took a picture of her window, trying to capture the moon”. This is the last sentence of the story, which suggests that the ghost of the past is haunting her again and again.
All things considered, in the course of the story, it is made clear that both symbols are related to the traumatic experience of abuse, which tortures Carrie, even though it is in the past. The nickname Blue reflects her depression and sadness, her reserved manner to communicate without revealing her true identity. In its turn, a camera is also a symbol of her alienation, as she tries to be a spectator to her life to make her experiences less painful.

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