The use of symbols in short stories for thematic enhancement
Symbolism is a widely used literary technique in short stories. The accounts described in short stories generally promote a certain aspect like religion, love, politics and discrimination among many others. These are the themes that are promoted by the stories. Symbols and imagery are an aesthetic way of bringing out these themes and authors have learnt how to effectively use them for thematic purpose, as they serve a better role as compared to plain words. Symbolism not only adds meaning to the theme in question, it creates an aura of aestheticism while reading such stories. The uses of symbolism for thematic purposes in some of the short stories are discussed below.
The theme of American Dream/Nightmare
American dream highlights the epitome of prosperity that the United States promises to any hardworking individual. Most importantly, the notion of freedom is one that aligns to values of prosperity. The American nightmare is the opposite of the American dream in the sense that one’s dream can be another person’s nightmare; which translates to one persons success could be another person’s bad luck.
That explained, one of the most highly symbolized book which promotes this theme is Kate Chopin’s "The Story of an Hour". Through an exquisite display of objects throughout the story, the author describes the life of a woman’s life in the late 1980’s when the wave of freedom was beginning to flow across America. At the
For some the American dream is the value of hard work. To others it's a huge emphasis on material possessions. So, the American dream is no longer the American dream. It is a dream that anyone and everyone can relate to. This dream is the idea of having what ever you want. May it be material goods, ideas and values, or freedoms and rights. This idea also represents the uniqueness of America. It is a dream a lot of people around the world don't get to enjoy;
Symbolism in literature is using an object to portray a different, deeper meaning in a story. Symbols represent ideas or qualities that the author has maneuvered into his or her story that has meaning. There can be multiple symbols in a story or just one. It is up to the reader to interpret the meaning of the symbols and their significance to the story. While reading a story, symbols may not become clear until the very end, once the climax is over, and the falling action is covered. In William Faulkner’s, “A Rose for Emily,” there are multiple examples of symbolism that occur throughout the story.
Symbolism is a prominent part of many short stories. Within the stories “The Smile”, “The Chrysanthemums”, and “The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas”, symbolism is heavily relied on to fully understand and comprehend each story. Although there are many literary devices used within the short stories, symbolism is predominantly used to develop and bring forth the message of each story.
In the book ‘How to read literature like a professor’ the author uses symbolism throughout the book. Foster uses this technique so he can use objects, and short stories to help the readers understand what is really going on without being blunt about it. Symbolism is using an object or word to represent an idea. This style of writing challenges the reader to use their imagination to really grasp what is really going on.
The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity.
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” (Dyer). Symbolism is a technique that helps add interest, create meaning and illustrate emotion in a story. The use of repeated symbolism is an example of how authors unify their writing in stories. Additionally, Symbolism adds a deeper level of meaning to passages written in literature. To some this symbolism is seen as a monotonous repetition that becomes mechanical at times. Authors do this by showing that one item is being represented by other items to help readers find a connection while they are reading. The short story The Scarlet Ibis, by James Hurst is a great example where symbolism is used as it depicts a troubling story where two brothers learn the importance of family.
Stories have always been popular. Some are just stories but some ge deeper. Symbolism is where an object,person,place, or more means more than what it is.Just a few stories that show this are’’The Lottery, 2BR02B,’’ and’’Harison Bergeron.’’
Prompt: Describe each story’s theme in an essay. Draw conclusions about how the symbol in each story helps to illustrate the story’s theme. Provide evidence from the text to support your analysis.
Symbols are important in each story to define the theme. Close observation of the symbols within each story proves to one their
Symbolism is a technique that author’s uses to bring out the main importance of an object, but more emphasized details are being extracted in the usage of it. Alice Walker uses quilts, for example, to symbolize a “bond between women” (Spark Notes) a relationship between women, that would get passed down from generation to generation.
Symbolism in short stories is when a person or object represents something else other than its literal meaning. Throughout “Young Goodman Brown,” “Hills Like White Elephants,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” there are many allegorical moments. In “Young Goodman Brown,” there was many people and objects with symbolic meanings. His wife Faith is an example of this symbolism.
Symbolism is a literary technique that is used to clarify the author's intent. Sometimes it is used to great effect, while other times it only seems to muddle the meaning of a passage. In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne uses objects and people as symbols to allegorically reveal his message to the reader.
American Nightmare Picture this. A young twenty-something Italian woman is a passenger on a small sailing vessel. The floor she is on two levels below deck is crowded with people in similar situations as her. They are all traveling to the United States, all in the pursuit of the same thing, a concept called the American dream. The American dream is the ideal that every citizen of the United States has the opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through dedication, determination, and initiative.
Symbolism, by definition is the use of symbols to represent ideas and qualities. Arguably one of the most powerful literary techniques, symbolism aids to create a sense of understanding and awakens a forthright emotion in the mind of the reader. The adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the novel I have chosen to read the use of symbolism is made common by the author, Mark Twain. Though there is more than one, the most critical and influential symbolism is the Mississippi river. Opposing the river is the pendulum. In the short story, the pit and the pendulum, a horror fiction by Edgar Allen Poe, the pendulum plays a significant part and is a key element of its plot. Contrasting the symbolisms of these classic literature works will illuminate their respective strengths and weaknesses.
Symbolism is when the author uses an object or reference to add deeper meaning to a story. There are hundreds of different symbols authors and poets use and even more ways for them to use each symbol. If you think about it anything really can be a symbol if the author wants it to be. There are some basic things to know about symbolism such as that the night often represents death and the morning usually represents the start of life, another big one to remember is that usually a storm is meaning that there is a conflict. There can be things as Broad as the sky or things as small as a cell used as a symbol. They enhance the theme, ideas, or characters in a story to make it interesting or help prove a point or