Symbols, Symbols and More Symbols
2009. A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning.
Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol write a response analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole.
In the novel As I Lay Dying, the representation of the casket is an ever-present and blatant symbol that is the focus of the entire novel. Although it may seem as if choosing this wooden box would be rather superficial, I believe that the entombment means more than one might initially perceive. For example, I believe that the detail that the author adds in the description of the story, such as when the casket begins to reek of stench, the holes that are put into it, and how they nearly loose her to the raging waters mark how even the travel into Hell is not as straightforward as someone might inagine. These three instances are like putting salt into the wound of the woman's death inflicted on the family as a whole. In fact, this literary work is full of horrible evils as a result of the family's lack of spiritual and moral direction before and during the events of Faulkner's novel. This goes to show how even a pitfall to Hell is filled with edges and platforms to crush yourself further, as if eternal suffering wasn't enough.
ReplyDeleteA key symbol Faulkner includes is the fish. It’s first introduced through Vardaman, when he catches the fish in the river but no one really cares. He gets upset when he sees the fish being cooked because he sees the fish as Addie, something that he loved and that was alive. The fish as a symbol also connects to water, which is a Christian symbol of baptism. However, the river that they cross could be the River Styx, which is the river crossed to get to the Underworld and the Fields of Asphodel. Also, in the Greco- Roman times, the fish held the symbolic meaning of transformation and change, something that the family experiences after Addie’s death. No one steps up to be the leader of the family, and it falls into turmoil. The symbol of the fish itself also connects to Christianity and the Bible (the Ichthys). The fish is used as to represent the Greek phrase Iesous Christos, Theou Yios, Soter, which translates to Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior. The fish and its death in the book are used to represent the decay that the Burden family experiences after Addie’s death, which also can be expanded to apply to the South as a whole.
ReplyDeleteThe coffin is a symbol of decay, representing the dysfunctionality and decay of the family itself. It is like the coffin is the crucifix that the family must carry, and all of them lack the self awareness to realize the disaster that is their family. The symbol of the coffin enhances the general theme of decay, and is the central driving force of the novel
ReplyDeleteA key piece of symbolism in the setting of this novel is the road by the house. This road is mentioned once. It then proceeds to be mentioned over a dozen more times, particularly by Pa, who denounces the structure entirely. While this seems nonsensical, it's another representation of the Bundren's familial decay. But it is not the decay itself. Rather, it is Pa's fear of the decay he knows is going to follow Addie's death. The road symbolizes progress; when the Bundrens travel that road to bring Addie to her final resting place, their lives change...even if they do not. Pa is afraid of the road being an out of sorts for his kids. With the road, they can leave. With this road, they can move on from the dreary farmhouse where nothing ever changes, and he will be left alone and forced to fend for himself for the first time in forever.
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