ger and was betrayed. Elisa's garden was consistent with the Garden of Eden. Her flowers were cast out onto the road as God cast out Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve betrayed God, like the stranger betrayed Elisa's trust in him.In Frank O'Connor's "First Confession", a little seven year old boy named Jackie has been scared by a nun's portrayal of confession. Frightened by this inaccurate encounter, Jackie is nervous about making his first confession. Fortunately, the priest is softened by the innocence of the young boy. Jackie's confession symbolizes his coming of age. It shows that he is growing up. When Jackie finally stumbles in to the confession booth, he is overwhelmed with not knowing what to do. Jackie eventually falls out of the booth onto the church floor. This symbolizes his actual fear of the confession, but the priest consoles him and shows Jackie that confession is something that has to be done. Jackie showed sincerity in his confession so the priest only gave him Three Hail Mary's for penance.Both stories shared ideas in symbolism. Elisa and Jackie both went through a cleansing process. Both were spiritual, but Elisa "scrubbed" herself where Jackie's was all within. Jackie cleansed himself with his confession. Also, both characters gained a newfound wisdom by the end of the stories. Jackie learned that by going to confession he would become a better person. He also learned that confession was not meant to be frightening, but it was spiritual. Elisa and Jackie were terribly frustrated. Elisa's frustration possibly comes about because of her inability to bear any children. She also could be frustrated about being isolated on a far off farm with only her flowers. Jackie was frustrated by the nun trying to scare him. He believed that he would make a bad confession. Symbolism effects all stories in some small way. The symbolism in these two stories had a profound effect on the way the reader understood the story. Elisa an...
