Symbol

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Symbol

• More Than Meets the Eye

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What do these images mean?
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What Is a Symbol?

• A symbol is a person, place, thing, or event that
  has meaning in itself and that also stands for
  something more than itself. The use of symbols in
  literature is called symbolism.
• Symbols may be public, like the dove, which
  stands for peace in many cultures.
• Symbols may be personal, like the raven in Edgar
  Allan Poes poem The Raven, which stands for
  grief and loss in that poem.

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Why Do Writers Use Symbols?

• Writers may use symbols to
• suggest layers of meaning in their work
• call attention to the storys theme
• allow readers to form their own interpretations
• speak forcefully to readers emotions and
  imaginations
• connect their work to their culture

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Identifying Symbols
To identify symbols, keep this in mind

• Symbols are often visual.
• Look for things that seem out of place, such as a
  raven perched on a statue in a library. What
  might its presence mean?

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Identifying Symbols
To identify symbols, keep this in mind

• Symbols are often given great emphasis in a story.

• Look for events, objects, or settings to which
  the writer has given a great deal of emphasis.
• Look for objects, people, or words that reappear
  throughout the story.

The raven dominates the speakers thoughts
throughout Poes poem The Raven.
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Identifying Symbols
To identify symbols, keep this in mind

• Symbols are a form of figurative language.

• A symbol is something that is identified with
  something else that is very different.
• Ask yourself, Does this item also stand for
  something that is essentially different from
  itself?

In the poem, the raven is a bird. The raven is
not a powerful emotion, yet it stands for grief
and loss.
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Identifying Symbols
To identify symbols, keep this in mind

• Symbols usually have something to do with
  astorys theme.

• Ask yourself, How does this item relate to the
  storys overall message?

The ravens only word, Nevermore, concentrates
the speakers mind and the readers attention on
the permanency of the speakers loss.
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Powerful Symbols

• Sometimes writers use a symbol to shape an entire
  poem, story, or novel.
• Nathaniel Hawthornes novel The Scarlet Letter is
  named for its dominant symbol.

• The scarlet letter A
• first stands for a sin against the community
• later stands for the redemption of that sin

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A Word to the Wise

• Dont look for symbols in everything you read.
• Not all writers use symbolism.
• Not all symbols are universal.

• Is the torch
• a symbol of wisdom and the search for truth?
• a symbol of guidance on a dark journey?
• just a torch?

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What Have You Learned?
Are the following statements true or false?
True
_________ Symbols may be public or
personal. _________ A symbol stands for more
than its concrete meaning. _________ All writers
use symbols. _________ Symbols often relate to
and emphasize a storys theme.
True
False
True
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The End