1 / 10

Chapter 12 Is that a Symbol?

Chapter 12 Is that a Symbol?. Isabel Morano 4 th Period 9/21/11. What is a symbol?. A symbol is something tangible that is used to represent something intangible , like an idea, feeling, or religion.

ohio
Télécharger la présentation

Chapter 12 Is that a Symbol?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Chapter 12Is that a Symbol? Isabel Morano 4th Period 9/21/11

  2. What is a symbol? • A symbol is something tangible that is used to represent something intangible, like an idea, feeling, or religion. • There are plenty of symbols referenced everyday. Like “a white flag means, I give up, don’t shoot. Or it means we come in peace” (Foster 98).

  3. Symbols can have more than one meaning • People seem to think that a symbol stands for one thing and one thing only. • If a symbol only has one meaning only, than “it’s not symbolism, it’s allegory” (Foster 98).

  4. Allegory? • Yes. Allegory is when something represents something else on a one-on-one basis. • Allegory’s job is to convey one message. • It gets you “to get thepoint, not apoint.” (Foster 98)

  5. How is a symbol different? • Instead of meaning one thing, symbols usually have “a range of possible meanings and interpretations” (Foster 98). • In fact, some symbols used by authors could have a nearly infinite amount of meanings • The meaning of a symbol is never just sitting on the surface of the text, you have to dig deeper to find it.

  6. But symbols are only objects, right? • Wrong! “Many readers expect [symbols] to be objects and images rather than events or actions” but this is not the case at all (Foster 105). Many times, symbols can be shown through actions as well as images. • For example, putting your hand over your heart during the pledge or anthem can be a symbol of patriotism or respect for your country. • Even though it’s an action and not an object, like the US flag, it still carries the same symbolism .

  7. But how do I find all this symbolism in literature? How to I add it to things I write? • It may seem hard at first, but symbolism isn’t that difficult to understand once you get the hang of it. • “The more you exercise symbolic imagination, the better and quicker it works” (Foster 107). • Brainstorm! Takes notes and break down sentences, try to think into every word the author uses. • But the most important thing is to remember that you’re trying to find out what the symbol means to you, not the author.

  8. Are there symbols in Great Expectations? • Sure are. Settings are almost always symbols in Great Expectations. One example of this are the marshes. Pip brought files to a convict and almost got killed by Orlick in the marshes, making them seem dangerous. • Dickens uses the marshes to symbolize danger and uncertainty in his writing, and uses it to set a dark, stressful tone. • As Pip is looking at the mist, it states that, “it seemed to [Pip’s} oppressed conscience like a phantom devoting me to the Hulks” (Dickens 15)”.

  9. But can symbols exist in real life? • Sure they can! Symbols aren’t confined simply to literature. • For example, In America our national bird, the bald eagle, is a symbol for freedom, liberty, grace, strength, and many more.

  10. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. Great expectations. New York: Bantam Dell, 1986. Print. Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. New York: Harper-Collins Publishers, Inc., 2003. Print.

More Related