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SYMBOLS: Signs of Something More
symbols in t�eir work. Some
literary symbols, like the great
white whale in Moby-Dick and
like that stubborn spot of
blood on Lady Macbeth's hand,
become so widely known that
eventually they too become a
part of our public stockpile of
symbols.
lri literature, a symbol is an
, object, a setting, an event, an
T he ring on your fin­
animal, or even a person that
functions in a story the way
ger, though actually a
you'd expect it to but, more
piece of metal with a
important, also stands for
stone in it, may also be
something more than itself,
usually for something abstract.
a symbol of something
The white whale in Moby-Dick
less concrete.
is a very real white whale in
the novel, and Captain Ahab
spends the whole book chasing
There are many symbols in
it. But certain passages in that
our culture that we know and
novel make clear to us that this
recognize at once. We auto­
whale is also associated with
matically make the associations
the mystery of evil in the
suggested by a cross, a six­
world. That is how symbols
pointed star, a crown, a skull
work-by association. Most
and crossbones, a clenched
people
associate the color
fist, the Stars and Stripes, and a
green with new life, and theredove with an olive branch.
' fore with hope. In some cul­
These commonly accepted
tures, the color white is asso­
symbols are public symbols.
ciated with innocence and
purity; in others, white is a
Symbols in Literature:
color of death. We usually as­
Making Associations
sociate gardens with joy and
wastelands with futility and de­
Writers of fiction, poetry, and
spair. We associate winter with
drama create new, personal
Our everyday lives are heaped
with symbols. The ring on your
finger, though actually a piece of
metal with a stone in it, may
also be a symbol of something
less concrete. For you it may
symbolize love, calling to mind
the special person who saved
for months to buy it for you.
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THE SHORT-STORY COLLECTIONS
sterility and spring with fertil­
ity. We associate cooing doves
with peace and pecking ravens
with death. But these are asso­
ciations, not equations.
A symbol isn't just a sign
with one specific meaning. The
picture of a cigarette in a circle
with a line drawn diagonally
through it is a sign meaning,
precisely and specifically, "No
Smoking." The white whale, on
the other hand, doesn't mean,
precisely and specifically, "the
mystery of evil:' Instead, the
associations suggested by the
writer, made by the characters
in the story, and ultimately
made by the reader evoke im­
ages of evil (and perhaps other
elements), suggest aspects of
the darker side of life, and hint
at possible ways of seeing and
thinking about the events por­
trayed.
That is how symbols
work-by association.
Symbols invite the reader to
participate in making sense of
the text by building on the as­
sociations and connections
that the symbols suggest.
by John Leggett
Is It aSymbol?
However, you must be careful
not to start looking for symbols in everything you read:
They won't be there. Here are
some guidelines to follow
when you sense that a story is
operating on a symbolic level:
I. Symbols are often visual.
2. When some event or object or setting is used as a
symbol in a story, you will
usually find that the writer
has given it a great deal of
emphasis. Often it reappears throughout the story.
In a story called "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, a
rare bird dies because it has
strayed out of its natural
tropical setting. The scarlet
ibis, which symbolizes the
special delicacy and beauty
of the narrator's younger
brother, is mentioned many
times in the story and even
is used as the title.
3. A symbol in literature is a
form of figurative language. Like a metaphor, a
symbol is something that is
identified with something
else that is very different
from it but that shares
some quality. When you are
thinking about whether
"I don't know. What do you
think it is?"
Copyright © 1993 by The Saturday Evening
Post Society, Inc.
something is used symbolically, ask yourself this: Does
this item also stand for
something essentially different from itself? Think of
"The Scarlet Ibis" again.
The beautiful, fragile ibis
functions as a real bird in
the story (it actually falls
into the family's yard}, but it
also functions as a symbol
of the frail, little boy and his
unusual nature.
4. A symbol usually has something to do with a story's
theme. When we think
about the ibis, we realize
that the death of the exotic
bird points to the fact that
the little brother also died
because he could not survive in a world in which he
was an outsider.
Why Use Symbols?
Why do writers use symbols?
Why don't they just come out
and tell us directly what they
want to say?
One answer is that people
are born symbol makers. It
seems to be part of our nature. Even in the earliest paintings and writings, we find symbols. Think of all those
mysterious markings on the
walls of caves. Think of the owl
used in ancient Greek art to
symbolize the great goddess of
wisdom, Athena. Think of our
language itself, which uses
sounds to symbolize certain
abstract and concrete things in
the world.
In some sense, we never
fully exhaust the significance of
the great symbols. For example, critics have written whole
books to explain Moby-Dick,
yet probably no one is certain
that the meaning of that white
, whale has been fully explored.
You may not be able to articulate fully what a symbol
means. But you will find that
the symbol, if it is powerful and
well chosen, will speak forcefully to your emotions and to
your imagination. You may also
find that you will remember
and think about the symbol
long after you have forgotten
other parts of the story's plot.
ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE! SYMBOLS
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