Literary Symbolism In The Yellow Wallpaper By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Literary Symbolism
Symbolism in literature is unique because it can give a simple object a much more complex meaning. Symbols can stand for a variety of things, including ideas, beliefs, actions, visual images, and many others. Skilled writers in literature often use symbols so the readers can further interpret a story. Sometimes, the same object can even symbolize two different meanings in a story. The birthmark, the hot-air balloon, and the yellow wallpaper are all symbols that represent a deeper meaning in the stories they play a role in.
In the first story we read, “The Birth-Mark,” the mark on Georgiana’s face represents an imperfection that everyone has. The image on the woman’s face is described as a small, crimson hand on her left cheek. The shape of the birthmark, a hand, also has a deeper meaning. “It was the fatal flaw of humanity which Nature, in one shape or another, stamps ineffably on all her productions” (Hawthorne 213). This helps us understand that the mark represents a handprint left by Nature. The way Nature is capitalized in this

text also implies a deeper meaning in the story than nature itself. Nature stands for a much greater being, God, who touched his hand upon Georgiana’s cheek in the process of her creation. This is why the shape of the birthmark is significant to the symbolism in the story.
“A Wall of Fire Rising” uses the same object to symbolize two different things to two different people. To Assad, the hot-air balloon represents the wealth that he posses. The story states that he “was into all manner of odd things, the most recent of which was a hot-air balloon, which he had brought to Haiti from America and occasionally flew over the shantytown skies” (Danticat 230). This quote from the story implies that Assad had many possessions. However, the hot air-balloon is particularly special in standing for his wealth because it was brought over from America to the less-developed, poor country of Haiti where possessions like hot-air balloons are not common. To the main character of the story, Guy, the hot-air balloon symbolizes a completely different meaning. To him, it represents a new, better life that could carry him away from his miserable life.
The last story we read, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” also uses symbolism throughout the literature.

The yellow wallpaper that the main character thinks has another woman trapped behind it represents her own struggles. The woman feels trapped in her marriage because her husband does not understand her illness. The wallpaper acts as a barrier that does not allow the imaginary, trapped woman to escape from behind it. The woman states in the text that “these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing. John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer and that satisfies him” (Gilman 309). John makes his wife sit alone and do nothing throughout the day and forbids her to write, which is what makes the woman feel better. Therefore, John is a barrier to his wife because he does not realize the extent of her illness and that he is only making it worse by making her be in the room all

day.
Symbolism plays an important role in ”The Birth-Mark,” “A Wall of Rising Fire,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The birthmark, the hot-air balloon, and the yellow wallpaper all stand for something greater than the literal object itself. The use of symbolism allows the readers to further interpret what each symbol stands for. This interpretation helps contribute to the overall understanding of all three pieces of literature that we read. Without the use of symbolism, the birthmark, the hot-air balloon, and the yellow wallpaper would not not represent a deeper meaning in the story that they play a role in.