In the second paragraph of “spring” in walden, how does the contrast of two time periods aid the development of a theme?
thoreau’s description of a burst of light on a winter day resembles his own enlightenment.
the introduction of light into a cold, dark setting reflects thoreau’s happiness at being separate from society.
thoreau is surprised by the appearance of spring sunlight, just as he is surprised at the discoveries he makes about nature during the course of his time in the woods.
the feeling of happiness thoreau describes at the changing of the seasons parallels his contentment as his self-knowledge grows.

as for symbolic actions, the narrator's tearing down the wallpaper in an attempt to find the "woman" in the wallpaper represents her struggle to retain or regain her sanity.   the wallpaper has been part of her confinement and by her tearing it down, she is freeing herself from that confinement.

one thousand and one nights, also known as arabian nights is a collection of stories whose basic structure is that of embedded narrative. this technique refers to a main story which works as the common frame - or framing narrative - for the other stories, and then this series of stories which are connected to the main one. this technique can also be referred to as a story within a story. the stories stem from the original tale, some begin and end on their own, some are connected to the previous or following one, by means of questions that are answered in the subsequent tale, or characters which reappear.