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Post by Dodger Thirteen on Jun 2, 2011 0:15:55 GMT -5
So...the bane or love of every English major's existence: symbolism.
Do you love it? Hate it? What are some of your favourite symbols in literature? Some of your least favourites?
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callmeishmael
Young Armadillo
Believe it or not, I use this username on other forums as well.
Posts: 66
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Post by callmeishmael on Jun 2, 2011 0:27:20 GMT -5
I was waiting for this thread to be born, so here I go:
I despise searching for symbolism in literature. Whether the author included it or not, I simply don't care, I won't search for it no matter how much you pay me. For me, the joy of literature is in the tale, and if I notice some interesting quirks that might stand for something bigger; cool, but I will never look for it on purpose.
Searching for symbolism actively completely destroys the story for me. It turns the characters into mere puzzle pieces for the author's "true" message, and they are no longer people in my eyes.
This probably isn't viewed favorably by armadillos, but that's my view on it.
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Post by onlyaworkingtitle on Jun 2, 2011 1:04:08 GMT -5
I... hm. I'm conflicted about symbolism. I like it sometimes, in some places, but hate it most of the time. Mostly I think I hate having it forced down my throat by a professor who is so sure that hir interpretation is the right one. Mrrblgrmbl. But when I catch glimpses of it on my own, and take the time to root it out of its shell and think to myself "Ah! it all makes more sense now" and gain a new appreciation for the text as a whole... Well, that's an awfully nice feeling, if I may say so myself.
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alyoshka
Young Armadillo
Vous etes un chanteur des pommes.
Posts: 94
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Post by alyoshka on Jun 2, 2011 1:07:43 GMT -5
I love symbolism. It is one of the things that make literature fun for me.
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rayyychul
Armadillo
On ne voit bien qu'avec le c?ur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.
Posts: 159
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Post by rayyychul on Jun 2, 2011 1:11:26 GMT -5
It depends on what I'm reading, I suppose.
If I'm reading a more politically charged novel, like the Handmaid's Tale, then I look around a little more than usual for symbols and allegories. I don't actively seek out every object that could be symbolic and then analyse it, but I do pay a little more attention and make a few more mental notes.
However, when I'm reading for pure pleasure, I can't be fussed to look for symbolism. If something symbolic jumps out at me while I'm reading, then great! I have a little deeper understanding than I did before.
I can't say that I've ever sat down, read a book and then dissected the symbolism it offered, though.
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jasper
Armadillo Pup
On. Say on. Be said on. Somehow on.
Posts: 9
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Post by jasper on Jun 2, 2011 8:20:47 GMT -5
I love symbolism, when it's done right. My favorite piece of poetry is The Waste Land, and there's an incredible joy in piecing together the way the symbols interlock and play off each other and have multiple meanings.
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Post by embonpoint on Jun 2, 2011 9:29:57 GMT -5
I love symbolism, but hate looking for it; I'm lazy, basically. I also love putting it into my own writing - everything means something.
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Epif
Armadillo Pup
Count the shadows...
Posts: 31
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Post by Epif on Jun 2, 2011 9:49:45 GMT -5
I love symbolism, but detest when people point it out to me.
For example, in one of the sestinas that I wrote a while back had one of the six words be "read," and one of the people who commented on it told me that it was a nice bit of symbolism with the word "read"/"red" and blood even though the narrator was a car lamenting its final drive. I was like, "... uh... that is a great idea; I wish I had thought of it..."
Yeah, if you look for something, then you'll find it...
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Post by Eternal Lobster on Jun 2, 2011 12:19:55 GMT -5
I have a hate/love relationship with symbolism. I hate it when people constantly enforce the symbolic meaning of something. But then I like it when I spot it for myself or when someone points out something that I would have never have figured out by myself. There is that "Oh, I see what you are doing there" moment when you spot symbolism in a story. I also don't care for symbols when the author repetitively uses them. Seriously, I think that I can figure out the meaning of the white whale. You don't have to write 600 pages on it.
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Dobby
Young Armadillo
Posts: 80
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Post by Dobby on Jun 3, 2011 18:25:29 GMT -5
I love symbolism. Its like a secret author/reader language.
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alyoshka
Young Armadillo
Vous etes un chanteur des pommes.
Posts: 94
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Post by alyoshka on Jun 3, 2011 18:35:27 GMT -5
I love symbolism. Its like a secret author/reader language. That's an awesome way to look at it!  |
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Post by Marina on Jun 3, 2011 23:19:19 GMT -5
When I'm forced to nitpick, I hate it, but when the teacher has the right way about it, I feel like I'm putting pieces of a puzzle together and then suddenly illumination and enlightenment.
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andy
Young Armadillo
Posts: 80
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Post by andy on Jun 4, 2011 6:16:24 GMT -5
Symbolism is actually one of my favourite literary currents. Very drug, sex & rock'n'roll. Otherwise I prefer close reading to more ideology driven analysis techniques.
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Post by onlyaworkingtitle on Jun 5, 2011 3:20:35 GMT -5
Otherwise I prefer close reading to more ideology driven analysis techniques. Ditto. |
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Post by Dodger Thirteen on Jun 5, 2011 11:57:32 GMT -5
Now for my $0.02.
I enjoy symbolism, but only in the fact that they're symbols. Since my primary field of interest is mythology, it's cool to pick up on the little mentions here and there, even if it's just a pomegranate lying in a fruitbowl, or some red ants fighting some black ants while the "narrator" looks on and associates himself as a god (thank you, Thoreau). That, to me, is the best part of writing. Finding the story within the story.
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