Symbolism In How To Read Literature Like A Professor Thomas Foster

Connor MacAdam
Mrs. Mary Smith
AP Literature 6
21 September 2017
Title
Symbolism is present in almost every piece of literary fiction. Symbolism is used in many different forms to accomplish different needs that the author possesses within their literature and the literary environment as a whole. Within How to Read Literature Like a Professor Thomas Foster provides common examples of what authors like to symbolize in their writing to get the most out of each sentence. Foster shows how communion, seasons, and even weather can represent a plethora of literary opportunities for an author when writing.
Foster points out from the beginning how communion can symbolize companionship and foster insight into the true relationship of characters.

Foster provides different examples of how seasons have been used thousands of years ago as well as in modern times. Seasons are often labelled with either the cycle of life and death or emotions commonly experienced in the human condition. For example, spring represents the birth of new life as well as the joy and curiosity that comes with being new to the world, summer represents the finding of love and the naivety of young adults. Autumn represents the aging of the body and the decay of feelings and tiredness associated with the harvest. Winter oftentimes comes to mean the decay and death of the body as well as the gloom and depression experienced in the cold weather of winter. These associations, as is pointed out by Foster, are not new to the literary world. In Ancient Greece, for example, the story of the seasons shows the sadness of winter as a daughter is taken away from a mother and the joy of spring as they are annually reunited once again. Symbolism of seasons is often associated with Shakespeare due largely in part to notable titles such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In an elegy by W. H. Auden, Auden uses every negative association with winter he can possibly use to describe the loss of a fellow poet. In most elegies, however, the deceased is likened to a shepherd taken from his field in the spring or summer in order to emphasize the suddenness of the departure from this

Unless the setting of the story causes a stereotype to be required for the weather conditions, such as in Ireland or the desert, the weather most likely contains deeper religious or other figurative meaning. The story of the great flood appears in most world religions. Ancient civilizations believed that flooding was punishment from the Gods for their transgressions. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism have the story of Noah and his ark while Hinduism tells the story of Manu. With rain comes a rainbow. Rainbows also carry religious significance as rainbows were used to display God’s forgiveness of the human race. Different forms of precipitation symbolize different emotions and environments. Fog, for one, can represent mystery or confusion. Fog creates a murky image that can be easily misconstrued to be something it is not. Rain can mean many things as well. Rain can cleanse a character and give them a new outlook or perspective. In Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms rain is used to cleanse the main character in an ironic way from his lover. In some cases, however, this cleansing backfires. In Song of Solomon, the main character wishes to be accepted by her lover over other women. She spends the last of her money in an effort to become better than others but as she is walking it rains and cleanses her of the need to impress her lover. Unfortunately she later dies. Rain, however, can just be rain. It can rain just