Motif The second tier of literary interpretation. Symbol Motif Theme

Symbol Gatsby: Green Light His yellow car East and West Egg Remember: A symbol is anything that is itself, but also represents another thing, such as an idea or emotion. Gatsby: Green Light His yellow car East and West Egg Valley of Ash Crucible: Mary’s Poppet The Judge’s Gavel The gallows

Motif A motif is a repeating pattern, concept or idea. In art, it might look like this:

Motif In literature: a motif is an element or idea that repeats throughout that piece of literature. A motif could be expressed by a collection of related symbols. For example, the motif of fragmentation (of a family, for instance) could come from several symbols that appear in a book: shattered glass an unfaithful spouse a runaway (pet, teen, car) A motif is the same idea over and over again, but perhaps shown in different ways, through different symbols.

But, a motif can be represented in a number of other ways too, such as a contrast, like "light and dark: shadows (shades of darkness) a candle (a light in the darkness) storm clouds (temporary darkness) a ray of sunshine (emerging from darkness) a tunnel (through the darkness) Or, a scene or reference: The children Janie plays with as a child The school yard kids The porch-sitters

Motif Just like the repeating pattern in this graphic, Motif is a repeated idea or concept in a literary work. Crucible: Powerful vs. Powerless False ideology Reputation / Integrity Gatsby: Wealth/poverty Time Corruption What are you seeing is the common factor in each one of these slides? Possible answers: curves, symmetry, pattern In each one a design is repeated, it may be moved or flipped or a different color but you see the same basic shape again and again. This is connected to a motif. You see a pattern, a repetition of ideas or symbolic figures. And what is symbolism again? Let’s go back and review, because you really need to understand symbolism if you’re going to identify the motif in pieces of literature.

Symbols and other structures are used to create motifs Symbols and other structures are used to create motifs. Motifs are then used to build the theme, or larger message, of a text. When you encounter a motif such as "light and dark" in a book, you should think about a message that the author is trying to send about life. The light and dark of a story might tell us: Love survives death Life renews itself Knowledge conquers fear

What motifs have we seen so far?

Their Eyes Were Watching God Community Individuality/Independence Race/Racism Spirituality/Folklore/Religion

Their Eyes Were Watching God Symbols The porch The Pear Tree The gate Motif Community The porch sitters, Janie’s early companions and her school enemies are all examples of community, both good and bad. The pear tree and the gate are symbols of things that impact community by offering a chance to escape it.