Read Chapter 6, SYMBOL AND FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, pages 380 – 385. . This section explains the specifics of how writers use symbols to highlight the character, context, or important themes of a story. A symbol can be anything: a dragon, a wand, a car, a queen, darkness, the sea, a box of chocolates.
Deciding what symbols mean is a subjective action, BUT to create an effective and powerful argument, there needs to be evidence in the text that proves your argument. When you choose a symbol and give it meaning, you need to find evidence in the diction, syntax, and characters in the story that proves the symbol “works” in your explanation. This is your evidence.
Choose a symbol from 2 different stories from the assigned list . Then do the following:
1. Describe what each symbol is and where and how often each one appears in the story.
2. Describe the meaning of each symbol.
3. Answer the following – What is the purpose of each symbol? Why is each symbol important to understanding the story? How is the use of the symbol different in each story?
As for all formal writing that you will submit, cite the story, author, and page number according to MLA format. This is explained in the text on p. 1973- Citation and Documentation .
Be sure to use accurate and grammatical language. 12 font, double space, Verdana
Write a paragraph of 10-15 sentences for each symbol. This is your original work. As long as you can find evidence in the story to describe what the meaning of your symbol is, you have done the assignment correctly. For this assignment, do not rely on critics or other people’s analysis.
