d. Katie's love for music and life full of joy is likened to Purple martins is fond

of making sweet melodies.

IV.

Clare, Henry Dee's neighbor is also fond of the birds.

a. Clare can be likened with the purple Martins due to her character.

b. Just as the purple martins prefer to live in colonies, Clare needs a lonely life

after the death of her husband.

c. Clare enjoys the company of Raymond and decided to overlook his dark past.

Raymond is seen as a hawk.

a. Raymond is struggling with drug abuse and is a know-it-all kind of a person

and is disliked by many people. He is seen as a hawk.

b. Just as a hawk preying on the lonely Clare.

VI.

Conclusion

a. Symbolism of birds in the novel brings out the true nature of the characters

involved.

b. Purple martins and the hawks represent two opposing nature of human beings.

Symbolism of Birds in a Bright Forever

A Bright Forever is a novel by renowned author, Lee Martin. The novel is based on the

settings of Indiana in the 1970s (Martin 7). The novel revolves around the disappearance and

death of Katie Mackey, daughter of a respected and prominent businessman in the

neighborhood. There is continued blame game and guilt consciousness among the family

members and other people attached to Mackey's Family. The father, Mr. Junior Mackey, is

guilty of his role in disappearance of the daughter since he proposed that she return the

library books that fateful evening when she disappeared (Martin 17). The discussion and

analysis of the novel will show that the author uses birds as a symbolism on the human

nature.

The brother, Gilley, is guilty of ratting her over dinner for ruining his music tracks.

Henry Dee, her mathematics tutor. However, he is guilty of secretly making sexual advances

on her to an extent of kissing her on the cheek when she tackled a problematic math's

question (Magliocco 1). Besides all these guilt consciousness that fills the novel, the author

uses birds throughout the novel as symbolic features. Martin states, "Katie and Renee Cherry

were anguishing over that the first time that he had come to tutor Katie" (Martins 234). Both

Clare and Henry have a connection and love for these birds and they symbolically represent

specific nature of their characters.

Hawks in the novel symbolically represent the human predators. Biologically, hawks

are natural predators which prey on smaller birds and other creatures for survival. They use

their mighty claws and sharp eyesight to take advantage of the innocent smaller and weaker

creatures and birds like purple martins. Henry Dee is a lonely bachelor and a mathematics

teacher in the local neighborhood school (Martin 26). He gets an opportunity to tutor Katie

Mackey over the summer and he falls in love with her secretly. He spends some nights spying

on the Mackey family and listening to the music that Katie loves (Magliocco 2). Henry was

always watching and waiting for the right moment to make his move. He goes to an extent of

sneaking in her bedroom during the tuition session to get some of her hair (Martin 112).

Henry Dee's behavior can be likened to that of a hawk, with a natural predator waiting to

pounce on a weaker and much lovelier prey.

Katie represents the purple martins birds which are lovely and colorful. They are

usually in colonies and build their nests high up in the posts. Katie is from an affluent family,

high up in the social ladder (Martin 24). She is beautiful and innocent just as the purple

martins. Purple martins are fond of making sweet melodies which is likened with Katie's love

for music and life full of joy. She's a jolly girl and loves singing, playing musical notes and

laughing (Martin 26). Henry Dee's intentions are not genuine. He is desperately in love with

Katie and wants to get romantically involved with her. During one of the sessions, He admits

kissing her on the cheek on the pretense of congratulating her for solving hard mathematical

problems.

Henry Dee's neighbor, Clare, is also fond of the birds. Clare can be likened with the

purple Martins due to her character. She is a humble widow who has lived a lonely life after

the death of her husband (Martin 53). Just as the purple martins prefer to live in colonies,

humans are social beings who need to interact and find suitable companions in their lives.

Clare is a kind lady and humble at heart. Many consider her brainless in the society due to the

choice of husband she choose to marry (Magliocco 2). Clare married a foreigner and a

neighborhood outcast Raymond (Martin 55). Clare enjoys the company of Raymond and

decided to overlook his dark past. She is naïve and does not look into Raymond's older life

which was disturbed and dark at the expense of her happiness.

Raymond is struggling with drug abuse and often experiences blackouts due to

dependence on LSD (Martin 68). Raymond is a know-it-all kind of a person and is disliked

by many people. He is seen as a hawk preying on the lonely Clare. Being an outsider and

taking advantage of Clare's loneliness, Raymond is an opportunist who will go an extra mile

to achieve what he wants. Ray's opportunistic character is also manifested when he

blackmails Henry Dee for killing Katie Mackey (Martin 170). Ray blames Henry for always

hiding in the alley to spy on Katie, kissing her on the cheek and storming her bedroom to take

some of her hair. He categorically frames Henry for disappearance of Katie, although we

know it is Raymond who took her out riding that evening (Martin 220). Such opportunistic

behavior is captured by the author to reflect the hawk nature.

Symbolism of birds in the novel brings out the true nature of the characters involved.

The two opposing nature of the birds, purple martins and the hawks, shows the opposing lives

of the characters represented by the author. Martins are peaceful and innocent while hawks

are shrewd and opportunistic. The author uses such symbolism to capture and portray the true

picture of the lives of human beings.

Works Cited

Martin, Lee. The Bright Forever: A Novel. Broadway Books, 2006. Print. 1-285

Magliocco, Amos: The Bright Forever. Indiana Review; Vol. 27 (2) 168-169

"The Bright Forever" by Lee Martin. A Review

Excerpt

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