Prompt

          In many works of fiction houses take on symbolic importance. Such houses may be literal houses or unconventional ones (e.g., hotels, monasteries, or boats). Either from your own reading or from the list below, choose a work of fiction in which a literal or unconventional house serves as a significant symbol. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how this house contributes to an interpretation of the work as a whole. 

                                                                                 FRQ 3               

      In the novel Verity, Colleen Hoover portrays Veritys actions and Jeremy and Lowens relationship in order to convey how houses take on symbolic importance, ultimately illustrating the idea that things aren't always what they seem to be. 

      Colleen Hoover first uses Veritys actions in order to demonstrate how the house is symbolic and represents the idea that people aren't always what they seem. People looked at from the outside are not the same as on the inside. For example, when Lowen first arrived at the Crawford house, Hoover gave an in depth description of the house. The house was dark and had a “blood red” door. The home gave a very creepy feeling. However, when  Lowen entered the home it was a beautiful big home. There was a lot of space and it was a very nice home. Also, on the outside, Verity seemed to be a very dark person. She had written an autobiography talking about how she killed her daughter and ultimately hated her kids. This made her character seem very dark and twisted. She was not made out to be a good person. Ultimately, her actions made her out to be the villain. On the other hand, at the end of the book the truth about Verity prevailed. Readers learn that Verity really isn’t an evil person that she was made out to be. She was doing a writing exercise in order to learn how to write from a villain's point of view. She was told that the best way to learn how to write from a villain's point of view is to use significant personal life events that have happened and write them like a villain would. This shows how even though from the outside she was made out to be a murderer and a dark person really on the inside she was shown to just be a normal author trying to better her writing. The house symbolized this by also being dark and scary on the outside but gorgeous and bright on the inside. 

       Colleen Hoover also utilizes Lowen and Jeremy's relationship in order to portray how the home presented symbolizes that love is not always what it seems. It can be harder to navigate than it seems for some people. For instance, the house was in the middle of nowhere and nobody really knew about the house or where it was. It was in a small town in Vermont, and even though one of the country's most famous authors lived there, nobody knew about it. The house was always left alone and ignored. Although, once the house is found, the inside is beautiful and comforting. There were lots of amazing memories made in the house.  This symbolizes Jermey and Lowens relationship. At first, when they began having feelings for each other they ignored them. They didn’t really understand or know how eachother were feeling. Jeremy was still married to Verify at this point which made things a lot more complicated. They didn’t know how to navigate their feelings because they both figured that the other one wouldn’t feel the same way. They didn’t know how to find their love because they weren't even sure if it was truly there. However, once they both confessed their love, their relationship was beautiful. They both loved each other significantly and comforted each other through all of the darkness. They made positive and happy memories together and found true love. They started a new happy life. Even though it seemed like they were just business partners and there to help each other, in reality they were both deeply in love and meant to be there to comfort and love each other. The house symbolized this by being in the middle of nowhere and hard to find, but once it is found on the inside it is peaceful and comfortable. 

         To conclude, in the book Verity, Colleen Hoover uses Veritys actions and Lowen and Jeremy's relationship to show how the Crawford's house served as a significant role. The house symbolized that things aren't always what they seem. Things seen on the outside are different from what is on the inside.