Describe an important symbol in your novel. (If you are not sure what a symbol is in a literary work, think: How can I find that answer? Working at the advanced level means using resources outside of your teacher to figure out the answer.) What does the object symbolize? What role does it play in your novel in terms of theme, conflict, characterization, or tone? Why do you think the author chose this symbol to play such an important role? (Don't forget your textual evidence.)
25 Comments
Gaby Bowman
10/18/2015 01:59:25 pm
In my novel “The Great Gatsby” by F Scott Fitzgerald, the author makes Gatsby’s car an incredibly important symbol. In every good story there are symbols. They help you learn about the characters. They find their way into the conflict. They expands the reader’s reality. In a way they’re a bit of a mystery and once you figure it out everything about anything makes sense. Symbols have been used in documents dating back thousands of years. The bible is a clear enough example. Symbols do enough to help the readers even figure out the tone. Whether it’s something dark or something cheerful symbols are everywhere.
Reply
Ethan Konrad
10/19/2015 02:36:36 pm
In the novel "The Sword of Summer" By Rick Riordan there is an important piece of symbolism throughout the book. and that is the use of the wolf. The wolf is an important part of the story because it is Magnus' worst fear. it was the animal that killed his mom and it was what made him have to live on the streets. Wolves make him terrified and jumpy until he's sure that they are gone. And at the end of the novel he has to face that fear and face the father of all wolves.. literally. In a way, these wolves are his kryptonite. Whenever a wolf shows up, it means something bad is about to happen. I think that the author chose the wolf as this symbol because it is an important symbol in Norse mythology because when the Father of all of the wolves, Fenris gets freed, it means that doomsday will start and after all, everyone is afraid of doomsday, right?
Reply
Brayden Kelly
10/21/2015 01:43:27 pm
In one of the books I am reading entitled Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins has a very obvious symbol. The main symbol in this book is a Mockingjay. A Mockingjay is a bird that “mocks” verbal sounds and or songs. The protagonist named Katniss Everdeen first discovers this symbol while in the Hunger Games which can be described as simply a fight to the death of teens age 10 to 18. The Mockingjay helps the protagonist because she uses the unique bird to guide her, along with using it to communicate with other tributes.
Reply
Aiga Petelo
10/27/2015 07:25:03 pm
A symbol in “Going Bovine” by Libba Bray is Dulcie. Even though Dulcie is not an object she represents a sign of hope for Cameron. One reason Dulcie is a sign of hope is because she comes in a time of desperate need. “‘Dr. X is the one person who can cure you.’ I sit straight up. ‘Wait, they said there is no cure –‘‘– That they know of,’ Dulcie interrupts. ‘But there is a cure and Dr. X has it.’”(119)” ‘your temporary pass. It’ll keep the symptoms at bay and stabilize you for about two weeks.’” (120) these two quotes show how Dulcie comes into Cameron’s life when he is in desperate need for a cure. They sold it creates a conflict in the story where Cameron now has only two weeks to complete his task to save the world (as said on page 120).
Reply
Chloe Williams
11/8/2015 07:06:37 pm
Dear Aiga,
Reply
Will Smardo
12/9/2015 07:24:37 pm
Dear Aiga,
Reply
Gia Colosimo
10/29/2015 06:01:44 pm
In my book “Walk Two Moons” by Sharon Creech there are many symbols but there is one that is very important, Salamanca`s mom. “As the days went on, many things were harder and sadder, but some things were strangely easier. When my mother had been there, I was like a mirror.” “For the first few days after she left, I felt numb, non-feeling. I didn’t know how to feel.” (38) Instantly you as the reader know that Sal feels lost because she doesn’t have a mother who can guide her through her life. The conflicts that arise have a different outcome then they would if she had a mom. She wouldn’t have moved, she wouldn’t have met Phoebe, and she wouldn’t have gone on the road trip. The author had to ass this symbol to create the tone of sadness throughout the book. The story with her mom would not be the same.
Reply
Peyton Clark
11/8/2015 06:06:31 pm
Gia,
Reply
Autumn Detor
12/6/2015 10:09:49 am
Dear Gia,
Reply
Delaney Kidd
11/1/2015 12:58:48 pm
Symbolism, like in many books create a sense of deeper meaning, not just a story. “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier has symbolic meaning just in the title. The story starts with a boy named Jerry who goes to a Christian all boys’ school and a group called the vigils. The vigils goal is to create as much psychological pain as possible on other students. The vigils find special jobs for the boys and they have to oblige. Jerry gets assigned the job of selling chocolate but defies the unspoken rule by going against the vigils and says no.
Reply
Noah Butzine
11/1/2015 04:52:30 pm
“To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is overflowing with a variety of symbols, but the most prominent one is the mockingbird. This is evident from the title, but the first description of the connotative meaning of a mockingbird comes on page 103. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (103) Now the reader knows that a mockingbird represents innocence due to the fact that they don’t do anything to harm/disturb other creatures.
Reply
Joe Williams
12/9/2015 04:27:57 pm
Noah,
Reply
Michael Winward
12/9/2015 05:24:01 pm
Noah,
Reply
Chloe Williams
11/1/2015 07:22:20 pm
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. Authors use symbolism to tell the reader important elements in the story and give meaning or feeling to the text. In my book, "1984" many symbols are used by George Orwell to portray theme, conflicts, characterization, and tone, but there is one main symbol. Big Brother symbolizes many key ideas and it plays an large role in "1984".
Reply
Joe Williams
11/3/2015 07:53:54 am
In the story that I am currently reading, The Martian by Andy Weir, there are many types of figurative language, but one that is very imminent is the symbolism, for in the story, the main character is trapped on a yet unexplored planet by himself. If somebody is trapped alone, by themselves, and are sure they are going to die, they are sure to focus and even give new meaning to an object. In the story, there are several types of symbolism, maybe when Mark Watney (main character) is talking about something in the text while being humorous, or there is actually an underlying sense of symbolism that the character gives to things to treat the life he is living as one more normal than its reality.
Reply
Tysen Trujillo
11/3/2015 08:39:27 pm
In the book Paper Towns by John Green, there is one form of symbolism that is very strong and plays a very strong role in the novel. There are two characters in my book Q (Quentin) and he is the antagonist, then there is Margo she is the protagonist. The symbolism in my book is used from Margo’s beliefs, Margo hates Orlando. (which she lives in Orlando) Then one night Margo takes Q to the SunTrust building which is located in downtown Orlando. From the top of the building you can see all of Orlando, Margo states how Orlando is such a “paper town”. “It’s a paper town. I mean look at it Q.” (57) What Margo is saying is how Orlando is so fake. From the top of the building everything comes so alive that it almost seems fake. In theme it plays a role because Margo runs away from Orlando because she hates it so much, but the theme of the story is chasing after what you want in life no matter what is left behind. Margo makes this sacrifice by leaving everything behind in her senior year in high school. Q eventually finds Margo in a “paper town.” In the conflict Q has to sacrifice his future to go find the love of his life by clues that she leaves behind before high school graduation. “Typical Margo. Why hide something in her own room when she could hide it in mine?” (134) Green uses his characterization and tone together, his tone towards the story is mysterious, just like the protagonist Margo, “I could never stop thinking that maybe she loved mysteries so much that she became one.” (8) Green used the tone of the story to describe the characters.
Reply
Grace Smith
11/4/2015 08:45:28 pm
Noah,
Reply
Peyton Clark
11/8/2015 04:52:44 pm
In my book "Confessions of a murder suspect" by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, the symbolism is limited but it's still there. The first form of symbolism in this book that I found was the bioluminescent sharks that they had in there house. Throughout the story the shark were kept in a tank but in the end, after they solved the murder, the Angel kids let them free into the ocean. "Even Hugo was mesmerized into silence by the luminous, bobbing bags. But the sharks soon became restless. They banged into the sides of the bags and their tails and frothed the water. They knew what was coming."(369). I think that this is a symbol of the freedom the Angel kids gained when their parents died. This also symbolizes the amount of anger they had built up when they died and they knew that they were alone now and had to be independent.
Reply
Joshua Case
11/8/2015 08:15:48 pm
In the current book i am reading "Going Bovine" by Libba Bray there is a very big symbol on the cover of the book. The cow holding the gnome. This symbolizes the mad cow disease that Cameron contracts. This flips the entire story on it's head. The author makes you believe that eventually the story will have a resolution in which cameron uses his genius to do something amazing with his life. But then you are hit with this and cameron knows he will die. This changes your mindset from thinking that this story will end happily ever after to a much darker feel. When cameron contracts this mysterious disease a little while later a mysterious figure with angel wings that looks like a punk version of cupid this "person's" name is Dulcie.
Reply
Brayden Kelley
11/9/2015 03:41:51 pm
Reply
Kassia lowery
11/9/2015 03:25:23 pm
In my book "Before I fall" by Lauren Oliver, the symbolism is popularity. It goes much deeper then popularity in this book. Samantha Kingston is a very popular student or to her the "most important" student, and always gets chosen first for everything at Thomas Jefferson high. Her popularity affects the friends she makes and rumors around the school. It also affects the more hatred you have going onto yourself. Lindsey is one of the characters in my book and she is the "mean girl". She spreads rumors about everyone and continuously bully's everyone around her. Lindsey does not like how much attention Sam gets at the school. Lindsey bully's a student named Juliet which Sam later stands up for and talks her out of suicide. I believe that Sam should be Juliet's friend and walk into school with no fear of popularity and who will judge her for being friends with an "unpopular" student. I feel popularity does not matter and if you really care for that person what people say about you being friends should not affect your relationship. Although in the beginning of this book, Sam does not like Juliet Sykes one bit. She always make stabbing motions towards he when she walks near. Sam shows up too a party with two more of her friends, she sees Juliet there and her and her friends decide to pour alcohol on her head. Sam gets into a crash on the way home because she is drunk driving. Sam wakes up the next morning to find out that she relives cupids day once again. On the third day of Sams seven days of reliving "cupids day" at Thomas Jefferson high school, she has found out that Juliet was dead. On the fifth day, she follows Juliet to a party before she kills herself to prevent it from happening again (Sam relives "cupids day" seven times). Sam follows Juliet outside in front of a highway and tries to convince her to not kill herself. It is too late and she watches as Juliet jumps In front of a car causing the crash of Sams death on the night of the party. At this time Sam is realizing that popularity does not matter because she realized that what Lindsey says can affect everyone in the school and cause them to kill them self. I wish Sam would understand that popularity doesn't matter but because of popularity in this story, it goes deeper into people killing themselves because of the affect their words can have on their feelings.
Reply
Caleb Upson
11/9/2015 07:49:49 pm
In the book I’m reading, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, one of the most important symbols in it (and probably the entire series.) is Harry’s lightning bolt scar on his fore head. It mainly symbolizes and it’s the proof of Harry’s defeat of Voldemort. One thing it does in the book is that it attracts attention to Harry. For example, “Malfoy bent down to examine a shelf full of skulls. ‘. . . Everyone thinks he’s so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar and his broomstick-‘“(Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Page: 50). I think that the author J. K. Rowling chose the scar to be a lightning bolt because sometimes when people get hit by a lightning bolt they survive with some things different like lost toes and in Harry’s case what was different for him was his gained scar and also, “… Unless I’m mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I’m sure…” (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Page: 333). In conclusion, an important symbol in my book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is Harry’s lightning bolt scar on his fore head.
Reply
Gaby Bowman
12/6/2015 09:33:22 am
Dear Caleb,
Reply
Gia Colosimo
12/6/2015 06:08:26 pm
Aiga,
Reply
Raleigh Carlton
12/16/2015 07:02:11 pm
I am reading "The Martian" by Andy Weir. In this book, Mark Watney gets stranded on mars. He has two rovers, four EVA suits (space suits), and a HAB (Habitat/living space).
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
March 2018
Categories |