Let me start by saying this: THERE
WILL ALWAYS BE AT LEAST ONE SYMBOL IN EVERYTHING YOU WILL READ. (Unless it’s
the weekly edition of “Teen Vogue,” which even then… you’d be surprised.) And
no, I’m not talking about the kind of symbols that tweens use to text. Nor am I
talking about the symbols used on Twitter. I’m talking about the symbol that
means, stands for, or represents something else in literature.
Once again, for this chapter, I thought of
both The Kite Runner and Night. If nothing else, this assignment
as taught me that I should really read more. But in the titles of the two books
themselves, stand a symbol. Now that I think about it, most book titles are a
symbol for something. In The Kite Runner, the symbol is the kite. As Mr.
Foster says, if you think it’s a symbol, it probably is. But what does the
symbol mean? Well, that’s mainly up to the reader. So my take on the kite is
mine and yours is yours. The kite symbolizes many things, but for me, it mainly
symbolizes childhood and happiness. Childhood is something I think Amir longs
for after a certain point of the book. I also think that the kite represents
his guilt for what he allowed to happen to Hassan. At the end of the book he
finally gets to fly the kite again, revealing that he is once again happy, like
he once was as a child, and free of guilt.
In the book Night, the main
symbol is well…the night! Night time is dark, usually quiet, and generally not
a good situation. Continually throughout the book bad things happen at night. I
think it is a symbol of the fear and complete devastation that was felt by many
during The Holocaust. Many felt like they were in the dark, with no one to help
them.
Another book with the symbol right
there for you in the title is The Bean Trees. Bean Trees, and I’ll admit
I looked this up on Sparknotes after reading the book sophomore year, symbolize
transformation. In order for a bean tree to stay alive, they must carry out a symbiotic
relationship with an insect that moves up and down the plant, providing it with
nutrients. The mutualistic relationship between the bug and the tree can be
applicable to humans, as well. In The Bean Trees, although Taylor
Greer completely picks up her life and moves to a new state, she quickly
establishes a group of people who are there for her, and who care about her and
Turtle and vice versa. So in a way, it’s as if Taylor is a bean tree, and her network
of supporters is all the little insects that provide her with life!
One piece of literature that I
surprisingly, since it’s the latest thing I’ve read, haven’t mentioned through
this assignment is The Handmaid’s Tale! A major symbol, although not in
the name of the book itself, is the color red. However, the version I had of
the book was red, so that’s pretty close to the title. Red is the color all
Handmaids are forced to wear. When I think of red I think of blood. Ew, gross,
I know, but bear with me. Blood and flesh are things we are all made up of. It’s
a part of us all. However, in the Handmaid’s Tale, it seems to be something women
are reduced to. Handmaids specifically serve only as incubators for babies. Their
significance to society is the one thing they still have after all of the disenfranchisement
forced on them: blood and flesh, nothing more.
Not these symbols...
but these symbols...
a little less appealing to the eyes... but a lot more to the brain
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