Symbolism in "Flight"
...ompensation for the old man in the new situation. The old man feelings are made clear through the symbolism of the favourite pigeon which he: "deliberately held out on his wrist for the bird to take flight" before suddenly withdrawing it and fastening it back in "a small box". This is what he would like to do to his granddaughter who is also about to take ‘flight’ into the freedom of the adult world. The author has used the gate as a symbol to suggest the point of transition between home and the outside world, childhood and maturity. The fact that Alice is swinging on the gate suggests that she is ready to leave her childhood behind her. When she gazes up the road it is clear that her thoughts are elsewhere. Throughout the story, Alice, the young woman, is closely connected with nature. As she swings on the gate: "her long bare legs repeated the angles of the frangipani tree". At the end of the story, the old man comes to realise that he cannot keep his beloved granddaug...