2. definition
• Symbolism: when writers use animals, elements, things, places, or
colors to represent other things.
3. For example
• In western movies, who wears the white hat?
• The good guy or hero
• Why?
• white is the symbol for good
• In western movies, who wears the black hat?
• The bad guy or the villain.
• Why?
• black is the symbol for evil
4. Colors
• Often colors are used to represent various characteristics or
emotions.
• White: the symbol of good or innocence
• Brides and angels wear white.
• Black: the symbol of evil
• Villains in old time movies often wore black.
• Red: the symbol of love or courage.
• Red is the color of Valentine’s Day.
5. Colors
• Blue: the symbol of beauty and loyalty.
• The sky is blue, and Mary in the Bible is usually picture wearing blue.
• Purple: the symbol of royalty.
• In ancient times only the king or emperor was allowed to wear purple.
• Gold: the symbol of wealth and power.
• Gold is the precious metal we prize the most. Only the rich and
powerful possess a lot of gold.
• Green: the symbol of hope, growth, new life;
also the symbol of envy.
• In the spring, the earth turns green bringing the hope of a
new season.
6. Colors
• Writers use symbolic colors in their work in many ways.
• Sometimes color can be used to describe clothing of characters or in the
setting of a story.
• If you are looking for them, symbols can tell you more about the characters
and the story.
7. Nature Symbols
The Symbol: SPRING is the symbol of new life.
The Reason: Spring is when the earth comes
back to life and everything blooms
creating new life.
The Symbol: SUMMER is the symbol of the
young adult years.
The Reason: During the summer, everything is
growing and active just like youth.
The Symbol: FALL is the symbol for middle age.
The Reason: FALL is late in the year, and the
growing season ends the same way
middle age is a time when people
slow down.
The Symbol: WINTER is the symbol of old age.
The Reason: In winter, nothing grows, and
everything is dormant.
8. Nature Symbols
The Symbol: NIGHT represents death.
The Reason: Night is the end of the day the same
way death is the end of life.
The Symbol: SUNRISE is the symbol for a new
beginning.
The Reason: The sunrise is the beginning of a
new day, and each day offers a
chance to start over.
9. Symbols for the Elements
The Symbol: FIRE is the symbol of cleansing and
purification.
The Reason: Fire burns everything away leaving
things cleared to begin again.
The Symbol: WATER is the symbol of life and
cleansing.
The Reason: Water is necessary to live, and
churches use water to wash
(cleanse) away sins.
The Symbol: AIR is the symbol of change.
The Reason: As air sweeps in and takes the form.
of wind, it sweeps away the old and
brings in the new.
The Symbol: STONE is the symbol of building and
solidity.
The Reason: STONE is natural, of the earth, and
the strongest building material.
10. Animal Symbols
The Symbol: BEAR
If a person is described as being a,
bear, they are strong or grouchy.
The Symbol: DOVE
the symbol of peace or love
The Symbol: HAWK
the symbol of war
The Symbol: LION
the symbol of courage, bravery,
and leadership
11. Symbols in the Harry Potter books (movies)
• The Philosopher’s Stone –The story revolves around the fated
Philosopher’s Stone and Voldemort’s quest to gain eternal life. Like
the forbidden fruit that Eve stole in the Bible, it’s a small, round and
red item that symbolizes what humanity should never get their
hands on; Dumbledore, a bearded, God-like figure, says as much,
telling Harry that though the stone brings with it great wealth and
eternal living, these are the two things that can ruin a person’s life.
12. Symbols in the Harry Potter books (movies)
• Snape symbolizes the vampire of the story. He wears deathly black
robes, has very pale skin, and there is the question of whether or
not he ever sleeps
13. Symbols in the Harry Potter books (movies)
• Patronuses symbolize the character traits of The Wizard. For
example: Hermoines’s is an otter (cleverness); Ron’s is a terrier
(obedience, loyalty); Dumbledore’s is a phoenix (hope); Ginny's is a
horse, and horses are thought of as spirited and free, which
matches her personality; Lupin’s is a wolf which is not only a
representation of himself, but also his entire history and maybe his
fate. The list goes on and on.
14. Symbols in the Harry Potter books (movies)
• Luna: The name Luna relates to the moon; where Hermione is a
person who grounds her beliefs in logic, Luna is more interested in
intuition. She’s an absent-minded character, who offers Harry
strange insights at times; she’s pale, seen great darkness in her own
life, and since the moon has long been associated with madness, it’s
perhaps apt that she should live up to her eccentric reputation.
• Even on a more literal level, she appears in the darker films as a
somewhat innocent-seeming source of lightness.
15. Symbols in the Harry Potter books (movies)
• The Mirror Of Erised Reflects A Stage In Harry’s Life: The use of
the Mirror of Erised is important because it establishes the deepest
desires of a main character who up until this point, has never
actually been asked what he wants in life; it sets up the following
stories, grounds the protagonist and gives him a villain to kick
against. (Erised spelled backwards is Desire.)
16. Symbols in the Harry Potter books (movies)
• Horcruxes Are Symbols Of Voldemort’s Insecurities: Lord
Voldemort split his soul into pieces, and placed these fragments
into magical items. Voldemort picked particular items as his
horcruxes for a reason. Voldemort wanted to be considered a great
wizard. He built his reputation on his controversial viewpoint, and
as he spiralled out of control, he longed to be seen as one of the
greatest wizards ever to grace Hogwarts.
• Perhaps most indicative of his insecurities though, he accidentally
placed a part of his soul in Harry. It was his biggest fear to be
defeated; admittedly though, he thought that Dumbledore was his
biggest threat. It seems that when he created his horcruxes, we
saw the true colors of Voldemort’s soul.
17. Symbolism
• Remember: symbolism is when writers use animals, elements,
things, places, or colors to represent other things. Watch for them
when you read and try to use symbols when you write.
18. Symbols
• Most symbols in literature connect to things you are familiar with in
life. Being aware that writers use symbols, means that you can spot
them in the stories you read and make connections to the meanings
these symbols have; thus, you can understand the story on a much
deeper level.
