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/lit/ - Literature

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4758679 No.4758679[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

Am I retarded for missing obvious symbolism? Surely I am not alone.

>> No.4758695

Obvious symbolism is kind of retarded, since it demands the reader see things as the author does.

>> No.4758696

>>4758679
A bump for help.

>> No.4758701

>>4758695
I feel a little better now.

>> No.4758704

>>4758679
i think one of the points of symbolism is to illude those who don't know the context of deeper meaning, but it can be hard to really grasp dual meaning while reading texts

>> No.4758718

>>4758704
I think I am perhaps just an awful person. I've been reading aloud when I can to acquire a better understanding of what I read, but it may just be detrimental.

>> No.4758739

>>4758718
A good writer creates symbolism the reader can use, not symbolism that uses the reader; you might just be reading shitty writers, anon

>> No.4758744

>>4758679
In my experience, which is essentially limited to High School and a couple of general English credits taken in college to satisfy Liberal Arts requirements, you can find "symbolism" on every page of every novel.

What every professor has failed to question is how much of the allegorical content was deliberately placed into the book by the author - my impression was that as students we were generally coming across coincidental story elements and connecting dots where we shouldn't have been.

tl;dr Don't assume that every novel is intentionally littered with symbolism.

>> No.4758760
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4758760

I feel that the symbol of the Ouroboros represents the law of conservation of mass.

Different esoteric orders have their own opinions.

I'm sure it had a different representation to the greeks.

GRRM uses an Ouroboros as the heraldry for two different houses in ASOIAF.
>"A dragon eating its own tail?"
>"The dragon is time. It has no beginning and no ending, so all things come round again."

Gene Wolfe in The Shadow of the Torturer has Severian narrate:
>"We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges. ... it is a profound mistake to believe we must know such things to be influenced by them, ..."

I think the most important thing about symbols is to have a fully engaged imagination. It's ok to be wrong, that doesn't make you retarded.

>> No.4758755

>>4758739
It is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. I read the ending, felt confused, and then read about the story on the Internet, looking for answers. I feel defeated.

>> No.4758773
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4758773

>>4758744
>those archetypes man
>I warned you about those archetypes

>> No.4758781

>>4758760
I wonder about what Severian says about symbols. I think what he means from the second part (about the mistake) is that a symbol can affect us even if we don't know its 'official' meaning. There is something about symbols- something transcendent, something primordial- that allows us to identify them as such, even when we are not sure what they are symbols of. And when we lack that knowledge, those symbols become something we create in our own minds, and yet they leave their deep impressions upon us.

>> No.4758784

>>4758755
If you're a metaphore-newb, start with the four book of Jesus.

>> No.4760031

>>4758679
Read more.

Interest yourself into mythology and religions in general, it's surprisingly helpful.

Visit museums showing classical work-of-arts, it is also a nice ressource. (And why not contemporary or modern art either, doesn't hurt)