Reading Notes: Symbolism Symbolism is an object that is used to represent something else Usually, it is a concrete object representing an abstract idea Concrete - something real that you can see or touch Abstract - something that is hard to define and cannot be physically seen or touched Watch out- not all symbols mean the same thing Symbols allow writers to suggest layers of meanings and possibilities that a simple literal statement could not convey as well. Symbols allow writers to convey an idea with layers of meaning without having to explain those layers in the text. _____________________________________________________________________________ Example from Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe “The Symbol (concrete Textual Evidence with Analysis object) Citation Old man’s eye had the eye of a The old man’s eye symbolizes evil. The “He vulture --a pale blue eye, narrator feels discomfort with the eye, and with a film over it. evil things make people uncomfortable. The Whenever it fell upon me, narrator also has an ominous feeling when my blood ran cold; and so the eye lands on him, which shows the by degrees --very narrator's motivation to commit such an evil gradually --I made up my act, and may characterize the narrator as evil mind to take the life of the himself. However, the narrator would not old man, and thus rid have been driven to such an evil deed if the myself of the eye forever.” old man did not have his eye. “vulture” (Poe, 1)
Reading Notes: Symbolism Symbolism is an object that is used to represent something else Usually, it is a concrete object representing an abstract idea Concrete - something real that you can see or touch Abstract - something that is hard to define and cannot be physically seen or touched Watch out- not all symbols mean the same thing Symbols allow writers to suggest layers of meanings and possibilities that a simple literal statement could not convey as well. Symbols allow writers to convey an idea with layers of meaning without having to explain those layers in the text. _____________________________________________________________________________ Example from “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe Symbol (concrete object) Textual Evidence with Citation Analysis Old man’s eye “He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees --very gradually --I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.” (Poe, 1) The old man’s eye symbolizes evil. The narrator feels discomfort with the eye, and evil things make people uncomfortable. The narrator also has an ominous feeling when the eye lands on him, which shows the narrator's motivation to commit such an evil act, and may characterize the narrator as evil himself. However, the narrator would not have been driven to such an evil deed if the old man did not have his “vulture” eye.
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