Symbolism, Setting, and Objects from The Best American Essays

Object Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major objects in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Objects

Magdaluna - This place is Anwar Accawi's hometown. He fondly recalls the tightly knit community and laments its dissolution.

The Silk Parachute - John McPhee uses this object to symbolize his mother. He notes how both always came back to him, no matter the effort made when he threw them away.

The World Trade Center - This place is the group of buildings constructed during the 1970s in Manhattan, New York. Philippe Petit famously tightrope walked between them and the buildings have since been destroyed.

E-mail - Anne Fadiman laments the...
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