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Every people always ask about life, we all ask common questions. What happens after we die? Do we move to another world, or do we remain spiritual beings among the living? Short story "I Used to Live Here Once" by Jean Rhys, the author invites the reader to join an anonymous woman protagonist when she travels to where she used to live, where she is meeting finally makes her aware of her spiritual existence. The theme of the journey in the afterlife is made clear through the story line and the author's use of symbolism and imagery.
Jean Rhys uses imagery to create real experiences for readers when they imagine describe of the protagonist's journey. From the story, the reader is made to know the protagonist in the movement of the story. Then the story begins with her standing in a river with stepping stones, then walked along the road "Yet it was the same road and she walked along feeling extraordinarily happy" (in paragraph two). When the reader sees phrases like "She turned the corner" (in paragraph three) and "she walked towards them." (in paragraph six) describe that the woman is moving, then it is related to her journey. Natural imagery is used to create a feeling of past memories when the protagonist's observations of changes made to a place are expressed as the journey progresses. Relate to happy feelings about places that bring back memories of the past. In addition, Rhys appeals to the reader's sense of sight by describes what each scene looks like. It is explained in the stepping stone "There was the round unsteady one, the pointed one, the flat one in the middle" (in paragraph one), a clear and detailed description of the road and the day is noon "It was a fine day, a blue day" (in paragraph three), "She came to the worn stone steps" (in paragraph four) and "The grass was yellow in the hot sunlight" (in paragraph six). This explanation through natural imagery by the writer through the senses helps the reader to understand, imagine, and share in the experience of the protagonist in the experience of his journey to another world.
In the plot this story illustrates the theme of travel in the afterlife because the protagonist is depicted in a straight story. The story begins with a depiction of a woman and a river. The detailed description of each stone lets the reader know that she is somehow connected to this place and also hints she is crossing "she was standing on the other side" (in pragraph one). The next plot, the woman moves to the street where she continues to convey a sense of moment through her observations of the changes made to that place. This feeling as well as her observation continued when "She came to the worn stone steps that led up to the house and her heart began to beat" (in paragraph three). The use of the word "the house" shows that is her purpose and her feelings improve when she got there "her heart began to beat". Then she saw "There were two children under the big mango tree, a boy and a little girl, and she waved to them and called 'Hello' but they didn't answer her or turn their heads" (in paragraph five). The protagonist is ignored while communicating with children and his entire journey brings the story to a climax when he realizes that his journey is being carried out in another world. "Her arms fell to her sides as she watched them running across the grass to the house. That was the first time she knew "(in paragraph six).
The theme of this short story is also illustrated through the use of symbolism. The protagonist begins his journey on a river, where he describes a stepping stone "There was a round unsteady one, the pointed one, the flat one in the middle - the safe stone where you could stand and look round"(in paragraph one). The stones here are symbols of steps or stages of her life. Then following the path across the river, the author revealed that the woman "she was standing on the other side" (in paragraph one) The word "other side" is usually used to indicate that someone has died, then in paragraph three describing the sky as "glass" explains that something is not real, because transparent glass is like invisible creatures. The protagonist tries to communicate with the children, calls them and tries to touch them, "Her arms went out instinctively with the longing to touch them" so that's shows the reader the reality that is unknown to her to make she aware at the end of story. Finally, this story leaves questions to the reader about a matter that lives the protagonist and is conscious after everything is proven at the end of the story and also the reader can only guess about the description of the short story. For the protagonist the memory will come when she walks into another world.
Works Cited Rhys, Jean. "I Used to Live Here Once", 1976.
