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February 15, 2006
Roberts, Chapter 10 - Symbolism & Allusion
Roberts, Ch. 10 -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)
"In determining whether an object, action or character is a symbol, you need to judge the importance the author gives it. If the element is prominent and also maintains a consistency of meaning, you can justify interpreting it as a symbol."
Any writer worth his or her weight in salt tucks in a little bit of symbolism somewhere. But every reader brings a different set of experiences and a different frame of mind to the text....
Roberts made the point just before this passage that a symbol may not be a symbol unless the author made it so deliberately. However, everyone who reads a text brings something different to it. Becaus eof my past experiences, water may have a different meaning to me than it does to Onilee, Brenda or Paul, because they haven't shared in those experiences. Someone who almost drowned at the age of five may see water very differently from someone who is a competitive swimmer. I hate, hate, HATE those who would tell you that because the author did not intend a symbol, did not give an object great prominence, that it cannot be a symbol. I have a passion for seeing symbols in everything. Don't ever tell me that something can't be a symbol just because the author didn' intend it so, because I will not rest until I've found a way to prove you wrong.
Posted by MeganRitter at February 15, 2006 04:25 PM