Recurring Symbols In Foster's The Shipping News

Tie a Knot Around That: Different Interpretations of a Recurring Symbol

Every novel embodies symbols that impute different elements of the plot and characters, though some symbols are right at the surface while others must be dug up from the core. The author of How To Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster, discusses symbols in his novel and states “They are what provide texture and depth to a work; without them, the literary world would be a little flat” (243). A symbol that is prevalent in The Shipping News, written by Annie Proulx, is the knot, as visually displayed all throughout the novel. The Shipping News discusses social and emotional change, along with growth, which all can be symbolized by the knot. While knots habitually symbolize conjointment, the implications of knots in this book symbolize strengths and weaknesses, past and present, as well as emotional and social change.

Foster explains that symbols can hold several different meanings, explaining how knots can portray both weakness and strength: “The thing referred to is likely not reducible to a single statement but will more probably involve a range of possible meanings and interpretations” (Foster 105). In The Shipping News, an expert on knots comments “The strangle knot will hold a coil well. It is first tied loosely and then worked snug.” (qtd. In Proulx 18). This quote symbolizes how Quoyle was tied to Petal⏤first the relationship was loving, and the knot was tied loosely. As the relationship progressed, the knot abruptly closed tight, capturing