Editing help needed

[AbcdeDooDah]

Was a bowl of shiny, red apples a symbol of home? 
OR

Was a bowl of shiny, red apples a symbol of “home”?

~~~
I suck at commas. Do these belong?
Fuji or Gala apples would also do, but never Red Delicious

Since my youngest was only four, he stayed with me. 
 

The answer came, along with a stabbing feeling in my heart. 
 

 

Edited September 4, 2022 by AbcdeDooDah

[AbcdeDooDah]

Adding one more

In an instant, the tears in my eyes matched his, both of us mourning red apples for different reasons.

[forty-two]

39 minutes ago, AbcdeDooDah said:

Was a bowl of shiny, red apples a symbol of home? 
OR

Was a bowl of shiny, red apples a symbol of “home”?

Vote for #1 - the quotation marks just read like scare quotes to me, and I don't know of any formal reason to have them here.

40 minutes ago, AbcdeDooDah said:

I suck at commas. Do these belong?
Fuji or Gala apples would also do, but never Red Delicious

Since my youngest was only four, he stayed with me. 
 

The answer came, along with a stabbing feeling in my heart. 

I vote "yes, they belong" to all three.  In the first sentence, you are joining two clauses with a conjunction, which requires a comma.  In the second sentence, you have an introductory dependent clause, so you'd use a comma.  In the third sentence, I think the comma is optional, depending on the meaning/emphasis you are going for - with the comma, the "along with" phrase is more set off, given more emphasis, than without the comma. 

45 minutes ago, AbcdeDooDah said:

In an instant, the tears in my eyes matched his, both of us mourning red apples for different reasons.

The first comma is optional (short introductory adverb phrase can either have or not have a comma; a longer one should always have a comma).  The second comma comes between the main clause and a dependent clause, so it is needed.

[katilac]

No to the quotation marks, a thousand times no, but all the commas are fine. 

@forty-twois correct about the comma after that introductory  phrase being optional, but I think the sentence reads much more clearly with it there. 

[AbcdeDooDah]

1 hour ago, forty-two said:

Vote for #1 - the quotation marks just read like scare quotes to me, and I don't know of any formal reason to have them here.

I vote "yes, they belong" to all three.  In the first sentence, you are joining two clauses with a conjunction, which requires a comma.  In the second sentence, you have an introductory dependent clause, so you'd use a comma.  In the third sentence, I think the comma is optional, depending on the meaning/emphasis you are going for - with the comma, the "along with" phrase is more set off, given more emphasis, than without the comma. 

The first comma is optional (short introductory adverb phrase can either have or not have a comma; a longer one should always have a comma).  The second comma comes between the main clause and a dependent clause, so it is needed.

 

36 minutes ago, katilac said:

No to the quotation marks, a thousand times no, but all the commas are fine. 

@forty-twois correct about the comma after that introductory  phrase being optional, but I think the sentence reads much more clearly with it there. 

Thank you both! I have a habit of using too many commas so I second guess myself. I will take the advice and apply it to the other sentences I am questioning. 

Thanks again!