What Do You Need to Know About Symbolism and Irony?

Symbols

Public Symbols

Invented Symbols

Allegory

Your Turn

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Irony

Verbal Irony

Situational Irony

Dramatic Irony

Ambiguity

A symbol is an ordinary object, event, person, or animal to which we have attached a special meaning.

Symbols

A symbol stands for both itself and also for something else.

Symbols

Are you familiar with these symbols?

What meanings do you associate with each?

justicelove

luck

Symbols

Symbols help writers suggest layers of meaning in their works—meanings that simple, literal language may never fully convey.

The use of symbols allows writers to communicate on more than a literal, or surface, level.

Public symbols

• have been passed down over time, and

• are widely known.

Symbols: Public Symbols

Lions, for example, have symbolized power and courage for hundreds of years.

They often serve as school mascots and appear on family crests and flags.

Symbols: Invented Symbols

Invented symbols

• are created to convey certain ideas, and

• sometimes become widely known, gaining the status of public symbols.

Charles Dickens’s Ebenezer Scrooge is an invented symbol that has come to symbolize heartlessness and greed.

Symbols

Quick CheckCleo sat pondering the decision she was about to make: Was a move across the country really a good idea? A new city offered better opportunities, but she’d lived in this town all her life. Could she adjust to such a change?

As she thought, she felt a tickle on her forehead. A butterfly, boldly marked with brilliant blues and yellows, had drifted past.

The sight brought tears to her eyes.

In this passage, what might the butterfly symbolize?

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Allegory

An allegory is a story in which the characters, setting, and action stand for something beyond themselves.

George Orwell’s Animal Farm is an allegory. The novel describes a group of talking animals that take over a farm.

Although the story seems simple, the novel’s animals and their revolution have a deeper, abstract meaning.

An allegory can be read and understood on more than one level:

Allegory

The literal level is the simplest way to view the story; it’s what you see on the surface.

On a literal level, Animal Farm is a simple story about what happens when animals try to run their own farm.

Allegory

The allegorical level is the deepest level of the story; it’s the story that lies beyond the literal.

On an allegorical level, the characters and plot of Animal Farm may represent the people and events of the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The novel reflects events that are far more complex than those of the surface story.

An allegory can be read and understood on more than one level:

Allegory

In some types of allegory, the characters and settings represent abstract ideas, like happiness or evil, or moral qualities, like honesty.

Long ago, in a kingdom far away, there lived a family with three daughters: Hope, Faith, and Charity. Their parents treasured each of the girls, and they could never pick a favorite.

Long ago, in a kingdom far away, there lived a family with three daughters: Hope, Faith, and Charity. Their parents treasured each of the girls, and they could never pick a favorite.

These are moral qualities. This story may be more than a simple fairy tale.

Allegory

In other types of allegories, characters and situations stand for historical figures and events.

Sam was a wild child. He was daring and adventurous, always willing to try something new. His father, George, on the other hand, was happy to sit back and profit from Sam’s hard work. He was also very strict with his son, often angering him with his meddling.

Rebellious son, strict father: The situation sounds a bit like the American Revolution.

Sam was a wild child. He was daring and adventurous, always willing to try something new. His father, George, on the other hand, was happy to sit back and profit from Sam’s hard work. He was also very strict with his son, often angering him with his meddling.

Allegory

Summarize the literal level of this allegory.

Quick CheckThere was once a remarkable woman. Her children were too numerous to count, and still she managed to provide for them all. She made sure that they always had food, shelter, and fuel.

For all of this, her children rarely thanked her. In fact, her efforts never satisfied them.

They plotted to take even more from her, ignoring her exhaustion, and they often were messy and destructive, increasing her burden.

What might the author be suggesting on an allegorical level?

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Irony

Irony is the difference between what we expect or find suitable and what actually happens.

Irony

Writers include irony in stories to reflect the real world—a world where expectations aren’t always fulfilled and unexpected events often surprise us.

Katie’s grandfather taught her to play chess a few weeks ago. Now, she consistently wins matches against her grandfather and the other members of his chess club.

Irony

There are three basic categories of irony:

verbal irony situational irony

dramatic irony

Irony: Verbal Irony

Verbal irony occurs when someone says one thing but actually means the opposite.

This is just what I was hoping for this morning.

Wow! You should consider going pro!

Actually, she finds his skating skills comical.

Actually, this is the last thing she hoped for.

Irony: Situational Irony

Situational irony occurs when an event is the opposite of what was expected.

Elodie detested technology and decided that it was time to spread the word about how computers are decreasing our intelligence, harming our relationships, and generally ruining the world as we know it.

For that reason, she set up an anti-computer Web site.

Elodie detested technology and decided that it was time to spread the word about how computers are decreasing our intelligence, harming our relationships, and generally ruining the world as we know it.

For that reason, she set up an anti-computer Web site.

Elodie detested technology and decided that it was time to spread the word about how computers are decreasing our intelligence, harming our relationships, and generally ruining the world as we know it.

For that reason, she set up an anti-computer Web site.

Expectation: She hates computers so much, she probably won’t even use one.

Outcome: Not only does she use one, she uses it to let the world know about the evils of computers.

Irony: Dramatic Irony

Dramatic irony occurs when you know what’s going to happen to a character but he or she doesn’t know.

May sighed as she loaded her laundry into the washer. She had no idea how she would afford the rent at the end of the week. Money was always so tight.

Meanwhile, in the washer, crumpled in the pocket of her jeans, sat the winning ticket from last night’s lottery drawing.

May sighed as she loaded her laundry into the washer. She had no idea how she would afford the rent at the end of the week. Money was always so tight.

Meanwhile, in the washer, crumpled in the pocket of her jeans, sat the winning ticket from last night’s lottery drawing.

Dramatic irony can create suspense and make you feel a little helpless.

Based on the passage, which statement would be an example of verbal irony?

A. “Oh, sir,” she says, “are you sure you want to part with this gem?”

B. “Oh, sir,” she says, “do you really expect to sell this piece of junk?”

Irony

Quick CheckMr. Hapner wants to sell his old van. Mrs. Duran comes to look at it. She notices that the van is rusty and dented, the front bumper is missing, and the engine will barely start.

Based on the passage, which statement would be an example of situational irony?

Irony

Quick CheckDr. Kwan is a pet psychologist. A leader in her field, she has received several awards for her research and clinical successes. Dr. Kwan publishes a book called The Workings of a Dog’s Mind: How to Help Your Dog Behave, and it soars up the bestseller list.

B. Dr. Kwan comes home to find that her two dogs have gnawed on several pairs of her shoes, ruining them.

A. Dr. Kwan gets an offer to host a television show about pets.

Based on the passage, which statement would be an example of dramatic irony?

A. We watch as Detective Boone talks to the waitress about his investigation, sharing sensitive information.

B. Another detective eventually solves the case, and the waitress is arrested.

Irony

Quick CheckDetective Boone, the main character of a play, is trying to solve a string of burglaries. The audience knows that one of the other characters, a waitress at the detective’s favorite coffee shop, is the burglar.

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Ambiguity

Ambiguity presents us with conflicting consequences and meanings.

Why did he fall?

Who are they?

Where are they going?

Is she going to fall, too?

As in real life, some stories and poems contain ambiguities—mysterious situations that we have to figure out.

Ambiguity

For a few moments, the crowd sat in stunned silence.

Up on the stage, the “artist” stood staring down at the splinters and twisted wires.

“Perhaps,” someone called out from a balcony, “the critics will call that your big break!”

Why is the crowd sitting in silence?

Are the splinters and wires part of a sculpture? A broken instrument?

Why is artist placed inside quotation marks?

Based on the passage, which statement best explains the situation?

A. People are cheering because their team has finally won a game.

B. People are text-messaging each other with news about their team’s victory.

Ambiguity

Quick CheckThe news went out quickly, silently bouncing back and forth between ground and sky, a silent set of symbols that landed link to link along a curious chain: For the first time in seven years, their team had won.

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Your Turn

1. This brief poem works on two levels: a literal level and a symbolic level.

A fen is a swampy place.

Analyze Symbolism and Irony

I May, I Might, I Must

If you will tell me why the fenappears impassable, I then will tell you why I think that I can get across if I try.

–Marianne Moore

What does the fen symbolize in this poem?

Your Turn

2. Study the cartoon in your textbook. What type of irony has the cartoonist used?

Analyze Symbolism and Irony

The End