Short story unit

SYMBOLISM IN LITERATURE

Short story unit

Do now: What do the following pictures make you think about? In your note book, write down the first thing that comes to your mind. #1

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Think about it some more: What else do the pictures represent? Write down your second thought next to your first for each picture.#1

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Some Common Symbols: Take notes

1. dove: peace2. ice: death3. spring: youth, birth, life 4. water: birth, rebirth.5. winter: death, dying, old age6. eagle: freedom 7. tree: life, knowledge, immortality8. apple: love, knowledge, wisdom, joy, death, and/or luxury, temptation

Symbolism: Take notes

Symbols are persons, places, or things in a narrative that have significance beyond a literal understanding.

The craft of storytelling depends on symbols to present ideas and point toward new meanings.

Most frequently, a specific object will be used to refer to (or symbolize) a more abstract concept. The repeat appearance of an object suggest non-literal, or figurative meaning attached to the object. Symbols are often found in the book’s title, at the beginning and end of the story, within a profound action, or in the name or personality of a character.

Symbolism: Take notes

The life of a novel is perpetuated by generations of readers interpreting and reinterpreting the main symbols.

When it is used effectively in a work of fiction, a symbol deepens the thematic resonance and involves the reader more deeply in the discovering and making of meanings.

By identifying and understanding symbols, readers can reveal new interpretations of the novel

Symbolism in Tom Sawyer

Most of the settings illuminate Twain’s conception of childhood as reflected in Tom’s adventures.

As a result, Tom himself becomes a symbol of the complexities of the

child’s world adult world intersections between these two

worlds

To identify and interpret a symbol (Take notes)

I should: Look for something that the author draws attention to

(either by emphasis or repetition) within the title or text that may signify additional meaning.

Consider what this may represent given the way the author uses it in the title or text and the other associations that I make with it.

Determine what meaning the author is trying to convey to readers.

Discussion Activity

A particularly powerful symbol, the Mississippi River, represents adventure, freedom, and the world beyond St. Petersburg.

The boy’s journey to Jackson Island begins their separation from the safety and security of small-town life.

In small groups, discuss and represent your answers to the following questions on chart paper: How are the river and the island symbols? What cues in the text suggest they might have a symbolic function? How does the storm affect Tom, and what might it represent? Why

does he believe God sent the storm as punishment for his misbehavior?

Homework

Write a brief essay (≥ 3 paragraphs w/ 5-8 sentences each) examining one of the following topics:

1. Discuss the symbolism of the piece pf bark on which Tom writes his note to Aunt Polly, with emphasis on how it functions to show several different sides of Tom’s nature.

2. Analyze how the fence Tom whitewashes in the novel’s first chapter serves as a symbol. How was Aunt Polly’s punishment both fitting and ironic?

3. Has Tom changed at all since the beginning of the book, or does he just keep displaying the same traits over and over again? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.