Writing About Symbolism

What is a symbol? Remember, a symbol can be any object, person, place, or animal that represents a certain idea, feeling, or emotion. In “The Stolen Party,” the kitchen, the monkey, and the two dollar bills are all symbolic. Here are examples of ONE symbol from each of our 4 stories: “Fish Cheeks” – food “Rules of the Game” – chess board “Freddie in the Shade” – sunglasses “The Golden Lie” – the library

Writing about symbolism Yesterday you began by answering the following three questions for your story: 1. What is the symbol? 2. What does it represent? 3. Why is it important? Once you’ve answered these questions, the next step is to go through your story, looking for examples of when and how the symbol is used, and how the meaning of the symbol changes throughout the story.

Writing about symbolism Here’s my example for “The Stolen Party”: What is the symbol? The monkey What does it represent? Rosaura and her role at the party Why is it important? The author uses the monkey to symbolize the differences between Rosaura and the other children at the party. It also helps us understand that Rosaura, like the monkey, is in a cage although hers is figurative and not literal. Examples from the text: “Monkeys at a birthday?” (p. 1) The story begins with the monkey. Rosaura runs straight into the kitchen as soon as she arrives. (p. 1) The monkey is in the kitchen, “deep in thought, inside its cage.” (p. 2) Rosaura and the monkey are quickly linked. They are the only two in the kitchen. Senora Ines says, “Thank you for all your help, my pet.” (p. 5) This word was chosen on purpose to show how alike Rosaura and the monkey are.

Your Turn Find 2 or 3 examples from your story of how the symbol is used. Write the quote (text evidence) on one side of the page. Make sure you put it in quotation marks. Write your explanation (analysis) of how the symbol is used or what it means at this particular part of the story on the other side of the page. Once you’ve done this, you are ready to write your essay!

Putting it all together Your essay will be a minimum of 4 paragraphs long. Paragraph 1: Introduction Tell what the symbol is, how it is introduced, and what it represents. Paragraph 2: Body paragraph (1st example) Introduce your first example and elaborate on how the symbol is used and what it means at this point in the story. Paragraph 3: Body paragraph (2nd example) Introduce your second example and elaborate on how the symbol is used and what it means at this point in the story. ****Optional: Write a 3rd body paragraph with your 3rd example Paragraph 4: Conclusion Summarize and/or restate what the symbol is, what it represents, and how it was used throughout the story.