The Big Fish has many symbols incorporated in the story but there are three main symbols. The three main symbols are the fish, the witch, and spectre. In each of these stories there is a common aspect, they are all something Edward Blume puts himself in the position to be bigger than. In the very first story that was told the symbol is the uncatchable fish. The next symbol that arises is the witch and the third symbol that shows up is spectre. The uncatchable fish is referred to many times throughout the story. When Edward tells the story of the uncatchable fish at the wedding the uncatchable fish is introduced as a female. He told the audience that once he figured out the uncatchable fish was a woman he told the crowd he caught it by using his ring as a bait. He then said “ the only way to catch an uncatchable woman is to offer her a wedding ring.” (Edward Blume) This means that he could conquer any woman by just giving her a ring. I interpreted that as extremely rude to women because he is saying that all a woman …show more content…
wants is a man. The next symbol introduced into the stories is the witch.
The witch is brought up twice. The first time she was introduced was when he was a child. He referred to the witch as the most feared. The actress was dressed to be old, not so pretty and scary. Later in the story, the little girl he met in Spectre becomes a witch. She is portrayed by the same actress as the scary most feared witch he met as a child. I think that was demeaning because he squished two characters into one so that Jenny loses her importance and so does the witch. When he returned to Spectre to try and buy it, he owned all of it except Jenny's house. She refused to give it up. He fixed something new everyday until he wore her down and she finally gave up her house. He treated her as just another thing he had to conquer. During the time he was buying all of the town, he was away from his family. He came so close to cheating on his wife with Jenny. Jenny was treated as a
temptation. The last major symbol included in the story was the town, Spectre. Spectre was a small town he came across when he was eighteen and thought he was too big for the town he’d grown up in. He decided to leave because he was a fish that was too big for that small pond of a town. He then returned to the town when he decided he could buy it. He treated the town and everyone in it as something he could conquer. He Convinced all of the people in the town to give up the deeds to their homes so he could own it. I think this was really uppity of him because he left the town because he thought he was too big for it and came back to it just so he could conquer it. I think that Edward Blume always thought so highly of himself. He mistreated women and objectifying them by treating them as something that he could conquer. He grouped women together for example the witch and Jenny were grouped together as the same person and the siamese twins he met were probably originally two different girls and he just put them together to better his story. He then thought he was too big for a town but returned to it to prove once more that he could conquer it. Throughout the story he had to make himself bigger and better.
During Whale Talk, there was so much symbol in the book. Symbol is when an object, or person representation
The Pigman by Paul Zindel is a book that has many symbols, and means of those symbols can be explained to the farthest extent. This will talk about some of the many symbols that are used in this story.
He uses 2 symbolic elements constantly during the film. One of them is the use of colors especially yellow, which interpreted as a warning of danger. Examples of this are Chrissie being a girl with blonde hair, the childing having a yellow raft and the man in the boat with a yellow cord, and it is not by coincidence that shark attacks happened during these scene, Spielberg was trying to let the view know that a shark attack was underway. More use symbolism is the film is the shark itself, the shark brought 3 men together as friends and allies. When they first are together they were constantly arguing about the shark and how to kill it, but as time goes on they find themselves spending more time out at sea with the shark as a danger they develop a sort of bond. The shark is meant to bring Quint, Hooper and Brody together, and more to prove this is the meaning of Amity which means
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.
Various symbols are used in "The Lesson," by Toni Cade Bambara, to represent the social and economic inequality faced by the children in this story. The children, not that they asked for it, are dealt the bad hand by fate. It is up to them to decide what to do about it or even to do anything at all.
A symbol is a unique term because it can represent almost anything such as people, beliefs, and values. Symbols are like masks that people put on to describe their true self. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author uses Tom Robinson and Arthur Radley to represent a mockingbird which illustrates the theme of innocence by presenting these characters as two harmless citizens that do not pose a threat to Maycomb.
Symbolism is strongly represented through Kaplan’s short story. The symbols represented are the ocean, the killing of the doe and the woods. Visiting the ocean for the first time at the Jersey Shore was new for Andy. Since then she had been awfully frightened of the ocean. She believes the ocean to be a huge, vast that constantly moved, keeps shifting
Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye follows the journey of a young boy, Holden Caulfield, from adolescence to adulthood. There are a number of symbols that Salinger uses to help to portray the various stages that Holden goes through as he matures into adulthood. The snowball incident, his sense of fulfillment when at the museum, and his run in with a pimp, are all representations of how Holden is deeply obsessed with innocence thoughts and how reluctant he is to give them up.
In the play titled Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, Minnie Foster Wright is being accused of murdering her husband, John. In this production, Mrs. Wright is consistently referenced, and although she is not witnessed, she is very recognizable. There are important symbols in this play that signifies Mrs. Wright and her existence as it once was and as it currently exists to be. Particularly the canary, this symbolizes Mrs. Wright's long forgotten past. Additionally, the birdcage, this symbolizes her life as it currently exists. Certainly the quilt is a symbol, which is an important clue on how Mr. Wright was killed. In addition, the rocking chair, this symbolizes her life as it has diminished throughout the duration of her most recently survived years. Lastly, but not least, the containers of cherry preserves that seem to be a symbol of the warmth and compassion that she has yet to discover in her life. Every one of these symbolizes and characterizes Mrs. Wright?s character and her existence in the play.
Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is a story about a band of patients in a mental ward who struggle to find their identity and get away from the wretched Nurse. As audiences read about the tale, many common events and items seen throughout the story actually represent symbols for the bigger themes of the story. Symbols like the fishing trip, Nurse, and electroshock therapy all emphasize the bigger themes of the story.
In the dystopian novel, Brave New World, Huxley uses symbols to create meaning and to get his agenda across. The use of sex and reproduction, and Shakespearian writing and religious texts, as symbols in the novel help to push Huxley’s agenda that total government control is devastating, and the inner human drive to be an individual can never be suppressed. Also, the fact that the novel was written in 1931 shows that Huxley was attacking the newly forming Socialist nations.
The Symbolism of Homer's Odyssey Throughout Homer's The Odyssey, many tangible symbols are used to represent abstract ideas. Each symbol that Homer uses has two meanings. The double meanings of these symbols are used to represent Odysseus and Telemachus as they strive to meet each other. While each symbol has a meaning that represents the growth of Telemachus, each one also represents, by another meaning, the growth and development of Odysseus. When they meet for the first time, the symbols, and the character traits that they represent confluence, and the resemblance between Odysseus and Telemachus becomes complete.
Lord of the Flies is a novel that is all about symbols that have different powers which is used on the boys. Two of the symbols which are the conch and the sow’s head contain powers that are opposite of each other and they have a great affect on the boys. Lord of the Flies would be a different story without symbols. The conch has the powers that lead to civilization and order. It represents the authority that the boys will need to get rescued from the island. The sow’s head on the other hand represents the evil powers to lead the boys to total chaos and savagery which is created by Jack. Jack has used one of the sow’s head’s symbolism which is the beast to control his group. The conch has a power that is used for order and civilization, while the sow’s head has a power to control evil and savagery.
According to Etherington-Wright and Doughty, “The signifier is the form that the sign takes. It can be a word. It can be a word. It can take the form of a specific sound or marks on a piece of paper (a combination of letters of letters or symbols). The signified is the conceptual stage of communication. This is when the sign stimulates a mental idea/image” (Doughty, p. 65). A signifier in Alice in Wonderland, is the world of Wonderland itself. The signified is her quest for knowledge. The signifier is her physical journey through wonderland, but signified is her search for understanding. Another example is the signifier of the white rabbit. The rabbit signifies a figment of her imagination. While the thing that is signified by the rabbit is her curious nature as whole. In the Wizard of Oz, a signifier is the ruby slippers. They symbolize magic, and what’s signified by them is Dorothy’s potential power. “She has it, she just doesn’t know how to use it yet, which is really why Glinda sends her off to see the Wizard. Only after all of her adventures, and the attendant self-reliance that comes with taking out two wicked witches single-handedly, can she tap into that power and use it to get what she want” (Shmoop). In the move Big Fish, the fish is another great example of signified and signifier. The signifier is the fish, representing Edward himself, while the signified is his life and
All through the novel there are symbols of