8 Chapter 8: Analyzing Symbolism

Chapter 8: Analyzing Symbolism

As the previous chapter notes, one of the main ways that many works of fiction develop theme is through the use of symbols. A symbol is an object, plot occurrence, aspect of setting, or name which stands for some abstract idea. Again, a symbol is something actually occurring in the world of the narrative that can be read as representing some idea; this is different from a metaphor, which is a turn of phrase that verbally puts one thing in terms of another, thereby transferring the attributes of the latter onto the former.[1] Some instances of symbolism would be a downturn in the weather symbolizing a negative twist of life circumstances, a rotting melon symbolizing missed or wasted promise, and the laying of a building’s foundation symbolizing establishing the groundwork for a future.

All cultures have reservoirs of stock symbols, objects and actions that conventionally stand for certain ideas. For instance, flowers and colors traditionally have very set meanings attached to them (a red rose symbolizes passionate desire and a yellow rose symbolizes friendship), while something like an owl conventionally symbolizes wisdom (because of its association with Athena, the goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology), and an olive branch symbolizes a peace offering (because of its role in the biblical story of Noah). Whenever we encounter in a work of fiction an object, action, or attribute with a stock symbolism attached to it, we should ask if this symbolism is being drawn upon, if this object or whatnot is functioning symbolically and not just literally within the narrative. But we should keep in mind that symbols can be very culturally specific, and must thereby approach the narrative with a strong sense of socio-cultural context (see our chapter on setting). The color red might symbolize danger or passion in U.S. and most Western European cultures, but it symbolizes good luck in Chinese culture. An oasis (wadi) carries strong symbolic overtones of protection, comfort, relief, and life in Arab culture that it does not in the aforementioned North Atlantic cultural traditions.

So how do we recognize a symbol when we see one? – certainly not everything appearing in a narrative is symbolic and some works of fiction don’t draw upon symbolism much or at all. As Sigmund Freud once said, “sometimes a snake is just a snake.” If we encounter something in a narrative that has a strong conventional symbolism attached to it, like a fox or a dove, we should ask if perhaps the narrative is drawing on these symbolic association or perhaps even introducing them to subvert them. If something appears in a narrative that doesn’t serve any role in advancing the plot, like an ancient olive tree described in a narrative aside, we should ask if it is serving as a symbol. If something appears repeatedly, like images of bulldozers that crop up again and again in a narrative, we should ask if it can be read as symbolic. And if something is described in long, lingering terms, like a half-page description of an abstract painting, we should ask if there is symbolism at play.

There is a type of narrative that involves a complex system of interrelated symbols, where characters, plot events, and even settings can all be read simultaneously as standing for ideas: this is what we call an allegory. For example, in the assorted medieval Everyman plays, a character named “Everyman” symbolized any old member of European Christian society[2] and his interactions with characters named “Fellowship,” “Good Deeds,” etc. represented the play of moral forces in the universe as imagined at the time. Not all allegories are so blunt, though. The historical allegory Animal Farm by George Orwell uses animal characters to represent the major figures of the Russian Revolution (like Lenin and Stalin) and the farmer characters to represent the czar and other figures of Europe’s old aristocracies.  Some narratives are quite manifestly allegorical, while most are not allegorical at all, but another way to think about allegory would be as a reading strategy that lends itself to some texts more than others.

So having recognized something within a narrative as symbolic (or probably symbolic), how do we unpack this symbolism and connect it with our unfolding understanding of theme in the work? What idea(s) does the object or whatnot seem to evoke, either drawing on conventional symbolic associations or based on the tenor of how the object has been described? Does the narrator make any sort of commentary upon the object? Do the ideas you are seeing symbolized accord with the other meanings the narrative seems to be developing? Just because a character is wearing a black shirt, for instance, doesn’t mean that we should interpret this as symbolizing evil if the character is otherwise drawn as morally upright and affable. Analyzing symbols involves developing the human capacity to see and evoke the abstract through the particular and the concrete, to see sand flowing through an hourglass and connect it to the finiteness of human lifetimes or to see a chameleon and think about how humans adapt to different social and other environmental circumstances. As with all other aspects of the analysis of fiction, the more that you do this, the more it will become second nature to you.

Suggested Short Stories to Accompany this Chapter

Ralph Ellison is one of the masters of symbolism in U.S. American letters, and so I tend to use his richly symbolically laden story “Battle Royal” when I teach about symbolism – particularly since its themes regarding race and racism in the U.S. are as relevant as ever now, with our resurgent attention to race and civil rights in the wake of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Another story with a rich use of symbolism—so prominent that it takes on almost surrealistic overtones—is John Cheever’s “The Swimmer,” a work whose symbols students tend to have little difficulty recognizing and unpacking.