SYMBOLISM

definition• Symbolism: when writers use animals, elements, things, places, or colors to represent other things.

For example• In western movies, who wears the white hat?• The good guy or hero• Why?• white is the symbol for good

• In western movies, who wears the black hat?• The bad guy or the villain.• Why?• black is the symbol for evil

Colors• Often colors are used to represent various characteristics or emotions.• White: the symbol of good or innocence • Brides and angels wear white.

• Black: the symbol of evil• Villains in old time movies often wore black.

• Red: the symbol of love or courage.• Red is the color of Valentine’s Day.

Colors• Blue: the symbol of beauty and loyalty.• The sky is blue, and Mary in the Bible is usually picture wearing blue.

• Purple: the symbol of royalty.• In ancient times only the king or emperor was allowed to wear purple.

• Gold: the symbol of wealth and power.• Gold is the precious metal we prize the most. Only the rich and

powerful possess a lot of gold.

• Green: the symbol of hope, growth, new life;

also the symbol of envy.• In the spring, the earth turns green bringing the hope of a

new season.

Colors•Writers use symbolic colors in their work in many ways.• Sometimes color can be used to describe clothing of

characters or in the setting of a story.• If you are looking for them, symbols can tell you more about

the characters and the story.

Nature Symbols The Symbol: SPRING is the symbol of new life. The Reason: Spring is when the earth comes back to life and everything blooms creating new life.

The Symbol: SUMMER is the symbol of the young adult years.

The Reason: During the summer, everything is growing and active just like youth.

The Symbol: FALL is the symbol for middle age. The Reason: FALL is late in the year, and the

growing season ends the same way middle age is a time when people

slow down. The Symbol: WINTER is the symbol of old age. The Reason: In winter, nothing grows, and everything is dormant.

Nature Symbols The Symbol: NIGHT represents death. The Reason: Night is the end of the day the same

way death is the end of life.

The Symbol: SUNRISE is the symbol for a new

beginning. The Reason: The sunrise is the beginning of a new day, and each day offers a chance to start over.

Symbols for the Elements The Symbol: FIRE is the symbol of cleansing and purification. The Reason: Fire burns everything away leaving things cleared to begin again.

The Symbol: WATER is the symbol of life and cleansing.

The Reason: Water is necessary to live, and churches use water to wash

(cleanse) away sins.

The Symbol: AIR is the symbol of change. The Reason: As air sweeps in and takes the form. of wind, it sweeps away the old and brings in the new.

The Symbol: STONE is the symbol of building and solidity. The Reason: STONE is natural, of the earth, and the strongest building material.

Animal Symbols The Symbol: BEAR If a person is described as being a, bear, they are strong or grouchy.

The Symbol: DOVE the symbol of peace or love

The Symbol: HAWK the symbol of war

The Symbol: LION the symbol of courage, bravery, and leadership

Symbols in the Harry Potter books (movies)• The Philosopher’s Stone –The story revolves around the fated Philosopher’s Stone and Voldemort’s quest to gain eternal life. Like the forbidden fruit that Eve stole in the Bible, it’s a small, round and red item that symbolizes what humanity should never get their hands on; Dumbledore, a bearded, God-like figure, says as much, telling Harry that though the stone brings with it great wealth and eternal living, these are the two things that can ruin a person’s life.

Symbols in the Harry Potter books (movies)• Snape symbolizes the vampire of the story. He wears deathly black robes, has very pale skin, and there is the question of whether or not he ever sleeps

Symbols in the Harry Potter books (movies)• Patronuses symbolize the character traits of The Wizard. For example: Hermoines’s is an otter (cleverness); Ron’s is a terrier (obedience, loyalty); Dumbledore’s is a phoenix (hope); Ginny's is a horse, and horses are thought of as spirited and free, which matches her personality; Lupin’s is a wolf which is not only a representation of himself, but also his entire history and maybe his fate. The list goes on and on.

Symbols in the Harry Potter books (movies)• Luna: The name Luna relates to the moon; where Hermione is a person who grounds her beliefs in logic, Luna is more interested in intuition. She’s an absent-minded character, who offers Harry strange insights at times; she’s pale, seen great darkness in her own life, and since the moon has long been associated with madness, it’s perhaps apt that she should live up to her eccentric reputation.• Even on a more literal level, she appears in the darker films as a somewhat innocent-seeming source of lightness.

Symbols in the Harry Potter books (movies)• The Mirror Of Erised Reflects A Stage In Harry’s Life: The use of the Mirror of Erised is important because it establishes the deepest desires of a main character who up until this point, has never actually been asked what he wants in life; it sets up the following stories, grounds the protagonist and gives him a villain to kick against. (Erised spelled backwards is Desire.)

Symbols in the Harry Potter books (movies)• Horcruxes Are Symbols Of Voldemort’s Insecurities: Lord Voldemort split his soul into pieces, and placed these fragments into magical items. Voldemort picked particular items as his horcruxes for a reason. Voldemort wanted to be considered a great wizard. He built his reputation on his controversial viewpoint, and as he spiralled out of control, he longed to be seen as one of the greatest wizards ever to grace Hogwarts.• Perhaps most indicative of his insecurities though, he accidentally placed a part of his soul in Harry. It was his biggest fear to be defeated; admittedly though, he thought that Dumbledore was his biggest threat. It seems that when he created his horcruxes, we saw the true colors of Voldemort’s soul.

Symbolism• Remember: symbolism is when writers use animals, elements, things, places, or colors to represent other things. Watch for them when you read and try to use symbols when you write.

Symbols• Most symbols in literature connect to things you are familiar with in life. Being aware that writers use symbols, means that you can spot them in the stories you read and make connections to the meanings these symbols have; thus, you can understand the story on a much deeper level.