This document discusses symbolism in literature and life. It explains that symbols convey the theme or deepest meaning of a work. Symbols can be cultural/conventional, universal, personal, or literary. Cultural symbols derive meaning from shared understanding within a culture, while universal symbols may have the same meaning across cultures. Personal symbols gain meaning from individual context. Literary symbols recur throughout a work and help suggest its theme. The document provides examples of different types of symbols and encourages analyzing symbols in works studied for an upcoming essay.

1. Symbolism
In Literature & Life
Symbolism. ENGL 151L 1

2. Prep for Essay #3
In the 3rd essay, we trace a theme running through
three or more pieced studied this semester. Theme
and symbolism work hand in hand in that both
relate to the deepest meaning of the piece. Think of
Theme as the message, moral or lesson that the
piece can be distilled into, although different people
might take different meanings from the same piece.
Symbols convey the theme. Think of them as
bubbles of meaning rising up from the depths of
the piece to pop on the surface.
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3. When things represent ideas
they’re symbols
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A mask hides our true face
with a false one. That might
be just plain fun on
Halloween or at a costume
party. In other contexts,
however, it means
something. As many pointed
out in our discussion of the
short film “Identity”
masking one’s face can stand
for hiding true identity. So
the physical thing, the mask,
stands for an idea or set of
ideas.

4. Actions can be symbolic too
Taking off that false face
is important. It carries
meaning: I reclaim my
identity. Taking it off is a
symbolic act. And a big
deal in the film.
There’s a forum thread
this week for discussing
symbols and symbolic
acts in our own lives.
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5. Symbols & Symbolic actions in our lives
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Getting matching
tattoos is a weighty
symbolic action:
tattoos are permanent.
And here the tattoos
themselves are
symbols. They say, We
fit together like lock
and key. Or perhaps
You open me.

6. Symbols can be broken
down into 4 types:
Cultural/conventional
Universal
Personal
Literary
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7. Cultural/conventional Symbols
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Within a culture, things & actions become linked to
certain concepts that most everyone in that culture
understands.
• The color red = warning, danger (stop lights, fire trucks)
• Red line = not (don’t cross, don’t feed the geese)
• Doves = peace (releasing doves at opening ceremony)
• Water = purification (baptism, washing before prayer)
• Circle = wholeness, unity (wedding rings)
• The flag = love of country
(on veteran’s graves)
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8. Cultural Symbols are not Global
In European-American culture black has come to symbolize
death and is worn at funerals. In other cultures, Asian for
example, white symbolizes death and is worn at funerals.
Traveling can be disorienting because of changing symbols.
Even shaking the head left and right, no in the United
States, means yes in some places. Or a general I see what
you mean, I agree. Could lead to some amusing
misunderstandings!
For up to 10 Bonus Points, tell the story of a time
when you misunderstood a cultural symbol.
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9. Universal Symbols
Some Things and actions have the same symbolic
meaning around the world because we share biology
and . . . a world.
• Morning = new beginnings
• Green = spring, rebirth
• Candle = a light in the darkness
• Lions = power
• Chains = bondage
Caution. What IS universal? Darkness = danger,
or safety? Red = blood/death or (in China) joy/marriage?
Are snakes symbolic of evil in every culture?
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10. The serpent has a bad reputation
in Judeo-Christian cultures
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But in
other
cultures it
symbolizes
spiritual
energy

11. Personal Symbols
Our personal context gives meaning to things &
actions:
• A sled stands for lost winter fun to a child who
moved to Florida
• The smell of butterscotch means Gramma, because
she always has butterscotch gum in her purse
• Geese leaving means change to one person; geese
leaving, to another, means togetherness
• For some families, touching the lawn gnome before
a trip means “We’ll be back.”
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12. Read the symbolism in your life
• Are there actions you repeat, for good luck?
• Do you have recurring dreams?
• Do you own things you associate with friends and family?
Items you’d hate to lose?
• If your best friend moved far away forever, what would you
give him/her to remember you by?
• Do you have a tattoo? What does it mean to you? What
would it mean if you had it removed?
• Do you own anything that if you lost it would ruin your
day? (And not just because of the cost.)
• Do certain numbers when you see them convey some
meaning to you?
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13. Literary Symbols
Creative writers, film makers, song writers, visual
artists all create about and for people in cultural
contexts. They can’t not use symbols. Even words are
symbols – just marks on the page that stand for things
and ideas. C A T =
As we consume culture, we absorb the symbols like a
plant absorbs light. In studying literature, we look
closer at symbols and symbolic actions in order to get
the full meaning and enjoyment. We also deepen our
understanding of ourselves and our multi-cultural
culture.
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14. Open up to another culture
For up to 20 Bonus Points, read a short story from
another country. Then send an email with some
initial observations about that country.
Some excellent writers to choose from: Ha Jin,
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Chinua Achebe, Nadine
Gordimer, Jhumpa Lahiri, Salman Rushdie,
Arundhati Roy, Anton Chekhov, Alice Munro
Some of these writers are in our text. Let me know
if you have trouble finding a short story to read.
And if you like, you could use the story in Essay #3.
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15. Something is a literary symbol if it…
• Keeps coming up
• Is given detailed and poetic description
• Appears in prominent places – the title, first
sentence, the ending, the climax
• Suggests the theme
• Is dynamic, gathering meaning throughout the
piece
• Is deep, not easy to pin down, carrying more
meaning than even the writer knows – about the
writer; their culture; or about human nature itself
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16. A Paring Knife as Symbol
In “The Paring Knife” (pp. 240-241), the knife is in
the title, the opening and the ending. It’s a real
object literally in the story (not figuratively in it, as
with the simile “his voice that cut like a knife”). It’s
also a symbol that stands for a fight the couple had
years before. When the narrator finds the knife
under the refrigerator, he remembers the fight.
When the woman he loves sees the knife and slides
it back under the refrigerator, it’s a symbolic act. As
if she has said: Let’s forget about that terrible fight
we had. Or even, Let’s never fight again.
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In the novel The Great Gatsby, which many read in high school, there is a green light at the
end of Gatsby’s dock. Many times he gazes out at it. It symbolizes all his dreams and hopes
for the future. But at the end of the book, we realize those dreams and hopes are rooted
in the past. He can never reach them. He can only gaze at the idea of them, as symbolized
in the green light. It’s tragic.
Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes
before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster,
stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning—
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
A famous
literary
symbol

18. Questions about Symbolism to
consider for Essay #3
 What objects or actions come up more than once in this piece?
Or receive extra description?
 What are all the ideas I can think of associated with the title?
 Does the author use conventional and universal symbols
much?
 Do there seem to be symbols personal to the writer that are
hard for me to interpret? (Poets are most guilty of this.)
 Does the main character do anything that feels (to you or
them) like a ceremony or ritual?
 Is there a moment in the piece that feels heavy with meaning?
What things or actions are part of that moment?
 Are there conventional or universal symbols that I see
recurring over more than one piece?
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