1. Get out a piece of paper…
Love
Freedom
Peace
Justice
Death

2. How to identify symbols in literature

3. What is a symbol in literature?
symbol: a person, place, object, or activity that stands for something beyond itself.
symbolism: the use of symbols in literature or other art forms to communicate complicated, emotionally rich ideas.

4. What is a symbol?

5. How to Identify Symbols in Literature
Let’s think about the snowman…
How is it described? How do the children feel about it? What do you think Harper Lee’s attitude is about it? How does it hold up throughout the day? How does it hold up over night?

6. Discuss Think about the watch as a symbol.
What might The Finch Family watch represent?
Boo also gives Jem a watch. Might it represent the same thing?
Why might it be significant that Boo’s watch is broken?
Does this explain why Jem so badly wants to fix the watch?

7. What is a symbol? What is the difference between a motif and a symbol?
A symbol is a concrete object used to represent an abstract idea, and a motif is a symbol that is REPEATED in a work of literature, found on multiple occasions in the same work.

8. Your Symbol
If you had to create a symbol that represented who you are what would it look like? Think about it…
Create it!