Q

so i’ve been wanting to do this since after Lord of The Flies and my obsession with the image of the Conch Shell, but managed to put it off till THE NEXT YEAR. YES. WHICH IS NOW.

before that – thinking back to what i’ve read was a pretty amazing journey in itself; i’ve forgotten just how many great books i’ve come across but eventually stopped gushing about. essentially i sat in front of my screen and stoned for awhile but trust me, my inner self was having lots of fun prancing about neurons in literary goodness. trends i’ve observed while excavating best loved symbols:

a. quite a few American classics of the 1950s+- variety, although they take up the least percentage in my reading list. the ang mohs are big on lit devices, i’ve heard.

b. a great lot of them have made me cry. or at least really, really sad after reading them. i point this out as an anomaly because i usually feel happy about books no matter the ending. in fact deaths can be quite satisfying because at least they close the story. these ones are sad in a way where it’s just pervasively upsetting throughout the novel because of it’s underlying message.

c. the ones i’ve chosen are pretty.. STRANGE. my internal journey/external stoning came across many mirrors and water and skulls which i actively avoided. over-usage is such a pity, because pretty things that are just SO. PRETTY. but lose their value as cliches.

d. a lot of books from my childhood. i need to start re-(re-re-re-)reading stuff. for purpose of this exercise i dug out all the books below and it took me quite awhile – very telling of my dying reading habit. also, i can’t find my copy of Wrinkle in Time which is depressing.

YES.

TOP 7 LITERARY SYMBOLS
(AS OF NOW)
(of book i’ve read so disclaimer: this list is far from comprehensive and/or representative of the general public)
(in chronology of my reading them [roughly])

1. The Tesseract – A Wrinkle in Time

i think i read this when i was way too young. still, enjoyed it because of it’s images (which i vividly recall thinking was ‘special’) and the adventure-y theme and plus i LOVED Charles Wallace (i have a thing for precocious boy genius and scary manipulative doll-like girl [Reiko’s piano student in Norwegian Wood brought that out perfect] type characters).

anyway, i started understanding it with age and MAN. this shit probably brought out my life-long interest in sci-fi despite my ineptitude with the sciences. also i was very angry with freaking Mia Thermopolis that whiny piece of princess who went on for five hundred books about her flat chest and multiple boyfriends (I HATE HER) for alluding to Meg and how she could empathize with her FLAT. CHEST. screw you Mia Thermopolis. this is not a book about chests. where there are Tesseracts and The Black Thing concerned, there is no time for you, your neurosis, and your stupid chest or lack thereof.

wow THAT was a plentiful digression.

maybe an odd choice for a symbol, this Tesseract, given it’s very scientific nature. but still, L’engle to me is telling much more than sci-fi. the elusive Dark Thing is an ambiguous representation of Evil, while the Tesseract (obviously), for good. in my case i’d like to see it as a representative of religion. why.

the Tesseract (basically the fifth dimension which allows travel through space), is presented as wholly possible in the novel. yet, because it is not yet experienced, people do not believe in it -in fact they CANNOT comprehend it (such as Meg who understood it for only a fleeting second after given a description). then there are the believers, the natural understand-ers, Charles Wallace and Meg’s parents, who fight to ascertain its truth. if you’d like to take it out of the religious context, let’s think of it in terms of Goodness. Goodness in itself can defeat the Black Thing and enables men to do what was deemed impossible (space travel). Meg (general people) is blessed with Goodness from her family, but herself cannot understand it and thus did not believe (until she actually space travels that is).

i love it. isn’t it just beautiful. the incomprehensibility of Goodness (complicated workings of the Tesseract), it’s undeniable existence (they did space travel all through the novel), people who fight for Goodness, people who understand and believe in Goodness defeating the Black Thing with this belief. it does sound elementary when i put it in those terms, but that’s it. it’s such a simple message, such a crazy adventure. dude, i need to read this book again so badly.

2. Rose – The Little Prince

a symbol of human relations, and despite the somewhat commonplace usage of roses; the Little Prince tells it with such truth. almost all of us have had a Rose in our lives. someone you go into an intimate friendship with the dynamics of power being obviously imbalanced. both are aware of this situation, but take great (almost comical) pain to side-step it to please the one of higher status. this is what we’d call a poisonous relationship, which the Little Prince realises: he starts to doubt her and thought that one ‘ought never to listen to flowers’. what is surprising here is that in exploring this relationship, the Little Prince concludes it was because he was ‘too young to know how to love’.

the most poignant scene, perhaps, would be the scene with the rose bush and later on the Prince’s realization that the Rose was of such importance to him because she was tamed by him. yes, the Rose is vain, she did hurt the Little Prince, but by mere virtue of having formed a relation with him (tamed), she continues to be loved. novels usually pursue the process of extricating oneself from a relationship deemed unhealthy. but the Little Prince recognizes that it is not possible, because human relations are more complex than a measure of what is beneficial for you and what isn’t. it’s about the bond that’s been formed and will last despite vanities, despite manipulation or hurt or doubts.

3. Switchblades – The Outsiders

ok this is here first and foremost for being badass. back when i was a lesbian (i’m kidding, but i was quite a wild monkey-boychild), the Outsiders inspired tremendous feelings of loyalty and courage and general baditude in me. although i also cried and cried like a baby when Darry and Ponyboy made up. i’m a sucker for sad family scenes. i also wished i had a buff older brother like sodapop/darry.

anyway, it is kinda lame, but that is it. blades are just a symbol of being incredibly wild, which i found to be unendingly fascinating. i think only Johnny and Two-bit had switchblades, and they were supposed to be very tough. Two-bit’s: ‘jet-handled.. that would flash open at a mere breath’. but he’s never used it and was only there as a ‘showpiece’. that’s the pride and crazy sophisticated sexyass violence the Greasers had, symbolized by the switchblade. best bit though: ‘Dally knew how much the switchblade meant to Two-bit, and if he needed a blade bad enough to ask for it, well, he needed a blade. That was all there is to it. Two-bit handed it over without a moment’s hesitation.’

if you’ve read the book and also are very much in love with gangfights and badass boys, you’ll understand the attractiveness of the whole switchblade concept. it’s dangerous, powerful, for show. it’s just the appeal of getting up there and fighting it rough and having a life on the streets of living and breathing every second and the extreme pride you’ll never compromise. and then there is the love they have for each other as friends, that they call each other brothers, and would relinquish their prized weapon – representative of their identity – to another in need.

S.E. Hinton makes the Greaser life so incredibly appealing, i’ve always kept a secret desire to join a gang. contact me. i’m very hazardous especially with a floorball stick.

4. Billboard Eyes – The Great Gatsby

this symbol is genius for being meta-everything. as a symbol, it explores the absurdity of symbols. George Wilson sees the large eyes on the billboard as God’s judgment but was mocked by his friend who points out incisively that it is ‘an advertisement’. he highlights that it is Wilson himself, a religious melodramatic emo suffering from a staggering need for pathos at the point, who instills his own misgivings and consciousness on the billboard – making it the Eyes of God as we would eventually see it in the novel.

basically, in the Great Gatsby, a character makes an object the symbol but was later exposed to have given meaning to the meaningless.. in the novel itself. i think it’s trying to bring out the ambivalence of perspectives and sometimes, it’s complete vapidity and pretension. it’s not a brilliant message in itself, but the brilliance lies in it’s meta- and that Fitzgerald quickly controls the search and usage of symbols in his novels before his readers can, a mark of a skilled writer i should guess.

5. Hedwig – Harry Potter

alright i admit i didn’t recognize this until i read it online. but apparently, HEDWIG. SYMBOLIZES. HARRY’S. INNOCENCE. actually i read this off harrypotter wikia which i do for all hp characters. Hedwig’s death is a symbol for Harry’s loss of innocence as he came of age. WOW. tragic.

although if you ask me, i’d much rather liken it to protection. Hedwig was given to Harry by Hagrid as came to discover the magical world and later the truth about his parent’s death. this justifies his first need for psychological dependency. Hagrid is a huge paternal figure while Hedwig becomes Harry’s correspondence to his magical pals and gals + Dumbledore (also protectors), including Sirius, another father figure. so Hedwig becomes a feature much associated to those who’ve always been around to help Harry through almost everything.

in fact, much as i love him, Harry is a complete wuss who enjoys angsting, tries to be self-sacrificial but does little to preserve his life. his dependence on Hagrid, Dumbledore, Sirius and all of the Order shatters (or at least the understanding that he CAN’T anymore). this eventually culminates in Harry being smart enough to outwit Voldemort (still, with help from the unlikely Narcissa Malfoy.. OH WAIT and Neville). isn’t that a much better interpretation, though? Hedwig dies, Harry realizes that he’s by himself. no more convenient heeding of advice or call for help. ultimately he began to deal with Voldemort like a real man.

6. Red Hunting Hat – Catcher in the Rye

Holden, whose one ideal in life is to preserve the innocence and truth of childhood, becomes the catcher in the rye. basically there’s a huge rye field where children play. eventually they fall off the cliff of happiness into adulthood which he alludes to death (of purity and honesty). Holden sees himself responsible for preventing this. the hat represents the role he has taken up.

the flip side is that Holden himself has lost that childlike veracity. he is critical, confused, and a self-confessed hypocrite. this is where the wonders of symbolism take shape again, and Holden passes his Red Hunting Hat to Phoebe. while Holden previously was unceasingly critical of adulthood and society, even messing up his life – which he found pointless – Phoebe understands way more. Phoebe is a child but at the same time perceives the hypocrisy of life (conceivably through Holden). but BECAUSE she is a child, Phoebe possesses a kind of hope Holden has lost. she sees that life is worth it despite all.

Phoebe becomes the catcher, in fact, Holden’s catcher. she brings him from the cusp of depression (i think?), redirecting his immaturity to find a balance between the workings of adult society and that of childhood purity. it’s just a good book in general, and the hat is much better a symbol if you read it than if explained.

7. The Conch Shell – Lord of the Flies

https://dopaminedaze.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/why-lord-of-the-flies-is-a-classic/

Conclusion:

I’m hungry.