Journal Warm-up: Symbols What does an apple stand for, in our society/ culture?

SYMBOL: The use of a concrete thing to suggest an abstract idea (something larger with greater meaning)

A concrete thing Something you can touch, see, or grasp. List some examples of concrete objects in your journals. Ex: A beach chair, grains of sand, a seashell

An abstract thing Something you cannot touch. An idea or concept. List some abstract things in your journals. Example: Love, Bravery

Symbols A symbol may be an object, a place, a person, a color, a sound, a pattern, or sequence of action—anything that reminds us of something else. Go back to your list of abstract things. Come up with an object for some of them that we use to represent that abstract thing. (example: for love, our society uses a heart)

Pick one quote and explain what you think it means… Pick one quote and explain what you think it means…. Put your heads together and look up some new words! “Although we must develop a sensitivity to the possibility that anything unusual may be symbolic, we must refrain from concluding that everything unusual is symbolic. “ “A balance between sensitivity to the possibility of symbols and a common sense approach to the basic meaning if the text is the best guide.” --Roland Bartel from “Metaphors and Symbols: Forays into Language”

Now, looking back… Think of some symbols that may have been in The Giver, Al Capone Does my Shirts, or Wednesday Wars. What was the object? What might it have stood for?