Essay on Evolution Embedded in Symbols

The idea of symbolism is widely understood, but many do not understand that symbols can have many different meanings. Foster highlights this point

Symbols are found everywhere. With or without realizing it we see them everyday in our lives and in things we do. They serve the purpose of representing something bigger. Something as little as a cake is a symbol for it serves the purpose of celebrating something. Symbols are unique and each mean something different depending on the situation.

Throughout the chapter Tomas Foster, the author of the book How to Read Literature Like a Professor consistently mentioned that symbolism was relative and it is different for each reader. There is no debate on whether something is a symbol or not because in most cases it is. Foster mentions that the meaning of the symbol differs between readers because each person has a different perspective on the story. He also presents the idea that if a symbol can be reduced to have meaning that it actually isn’t symbolism being used, but allegory. Foster presents that a symbol has multiple possible meanings and that it changes between literary work and even between reader. He states that if a person wants to figure out the meaning of a symbol they have to look deeper, use their previous knowledge, and question what is happening in order to crack the code on the meaning of the symbol. These are new ideas because most casual readers usually believe that symbols have one specific meaning in each novel. By having Foster say that there are a limitless amount of interpretations for a simple it blows the door wide open. Symbols are used throughout novels of all genres, and sometimes even ironically. Foster’s belief in the importance of intertextuality shines through throughout

According to Foster, the reader chooses the symbols and their meanings. A book symbolizes knowledge to one reader, but holds no significance to another reader. Therefore, anything symbolizes anything else or nothing at all. Foster’s explanation of symbols in literature enlightened my understanding of the novel Feed by M.T. Anderson.

Symbols are determined by the reader. The writer does not just have one set meaning for a symbol. A readers depiction of symbols are based on their own personal experiences.

Symbols: we see them on the street, on the walls, and in our homes, plastered on backpacks, jackets, and even fast food receipts. From the generic images that guide us through our daily lives to the shapes we see on television screens, these symbols are everywhere—and their importance as guides that tell us how to live, what to do and whom to believe is undeniable. Of all of these symbols, perhaps some of the most important are the symbols found in literature. In using simplistic symbols to represent profound ideas, authors construct a kind of “key”: one that allows readers to look past the

The ongoing scientific investigation of how exactly evolution occurred and continues to occur has been an argumentative idea amongst society since Darwin first articulated it over a century ago. The scientific basis of evolution accounts for happenings that are also essential concerns of religion; both religion and science focus on the origins of humans and of biological diversity. For instance, in the reading “Truth Cannot Contradict Truth,” Pope John Paul II, addressing the Pontifical Academy of Science, discussed the matter of God as creator of man. The Pope explains that men cannot relate to animals because men are superior. The reasoning for that is because God created humans under his likeness. What the church is saying about mankind

As human beings with limited cognitive function and memory, we are limited to a perception of reality that doesn’t last long; one which relies heavily on key smells, sounds, tastes, feelings, or visual objects. Being that this is how our memory works, it’s not surprising that the human race has collectively established a way of communicating a whole series of concepts or memories from a single visual image; a symbol. We’ve been using symbols for thousands and thousands of years for art and other purposes, but it’s only been in the last few hundred years that we began using symbols in literature. One of the early and famous examples of symbolism in literature is in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, where the black bird stands for death and loss.

In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Cather’s “Wagner’s Matinee”, Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Rope, and Collette’s “The Secret Woman” all use symbols and each of those symbols are revealed about each character of those stories.

Colour is one of the dominant symbolic aspects of representation; another is the use of words. Expand upon the use of both in the construction of meaning.

Symbols unlock the secrets of a story. Hawthorne, in The Scarlet Letter, uses many symbols to represent different things. Some symbols represent the same thing. The letter “A” has many meanings, each character has their own meanings, and even the different parts of nature are symbols. Also, apart from providing structure for the novel, each scaffold scene conveys something different. One could say, arguably, that nearly everything in The Scarlet Letter is a symbol for something else.

Biological evolution is the name for the changes in gene frequency in a population of a species from generation to generation. Evolution offers explanation to why species genetically change over years and the diversity of life on Earth. Although it is generally accepted by the scientific community, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution has been studied and debated for several decades. In 1859, Darwin published On The Origin of Species, which introduced the idea of evolutionary thought which he supported with evidence of one type of evolutionary mechanism, natural selection. Some of the main mechanisms of evolution are natural selection, mutation, and genetic drift. The idea that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor has been around for

It is in this mythical system that signs derive their meaning (Griffin, 2012). Through these systems which society has created, signs are interpreted and evaluated by the shared meanings of society (Griffin, 2012).These mythical systems are not meant to hide the original meanings of messages but rather

Even before a young child can read or write they learn the alphabet as the beginning of interpreting the process of reading and writing. Equally a small child can generally recognise popular signs and symbols, such as the “M” for McDonalds or the Coke symbol before they can read. Just as society associates signs and symbols with various meanings, artists convey their thinking, beliefs and feelings to the audience through their works. This can be described as visual language or how images are used to communicate messages. This communication is vital to

In Barthes’ “Rhetoric of The Image” he writes about image semiotics and the approach to images, the way they are presented and perceived. He begins with giving us the origins of the word “Image”, and it is of Greek origin meaning “Imitation”. And so he continues to propose two main important questions: “can analogical representation (the "copy") produce true systems of signs and not merely simple agglutinations of symbols? (Barthes 32)” And also: “Is it possible to conceive of an analogical "code"(as opposed to a digital one)? (Barthes 32)”