How to Write a Symbolism Essay: The Great Gatsby, The Lottery, & Other Examples

In this article, we will discuss the keys to a good symbolism essay. You should know many nuances to master this type of writing.

Symbolism essay isn’t the same as other types of essays. Let’s say you’re writing The Yellow Wallpaper symbolism essay. Under no circumstances should you retell the whole plot of the story.

So, we are here to help you become a symbolism essay professional.

Let’s get down to it!

🤿 Symbolism Essay – Writing Guide

It’s time for us to look into the main aspects of the essay on symbolism.

First, we will try to define it. After that, check for information about the most common symbols in literature.

What Is an Essay on Symbolism?

A symbol is an object, or phenomena, or anything else, that has some additional notions behind it. In literature, the setting, an object, or an image can symbolize something.

A symbol in literature is a device for delivering multiple meanings and ideas through an image, concept, or object. That means an object in question has other layers of meaning beyond the literal one.

For instance, specific colors may be associated with certain ideas. What comes to your mind at the thought of black color? Probably, death, or grief, or tragedy. So, the author uses this color to express a gruesome atmosphere.

This is how symbolism works.

Common Symbols in Literature

There’s an endless number of symbols in literature, and they all are different. However, most authors use particular types of symbols: objects, events, and characters. We will try to interpret them with you.

We suggest considering some examples of symbolism in literature.

Objects

Symbolic objects are everything that exists in the material world. For example, things, their parts, animals and birds, plants. In other words, it is anything you can potentially touch.

An American poet Sara Teasdale uses a flower as a symbol of the wisdom of youth in her poem Wild Asters. In the lines,

In the spring I asked the daisies
If his words were true,
And the clever, clear-eyed daisies
Always knew.

Teasdale chooses symbolism through personification. The daisies serve as a symbol for youth wisdom and can give answers.

Characters

Symbolism can also be developed through characters representing abstract ideas and delivering a solid association. Animals count, too, if they play a significant role in a plot. Let’s not exclude spirits, ghosts, and other mythical creatures because they are often common symbols in literature.

• Shakespeare was intensely into symbols. For example, in Hamlet, one can find a lot of them. If you read the play, you must remember two gravediggers. One of whom was a reflecting man with philosophical views. His appearance and philosophical attitude aren’t accidental. The gravedigger signified the idea of all people being equal before the face of death.
• In the same play, the ghost of Hamlet’s father serves a significant symbolic role. Metaphorically, his presence foreshadows the upcoming tragic events for Claudius, the Queen, and Denmark in general. The whole concept of a dead man’s image can give chills. That’s why this image is powerful enough to create an ominous atmosphere.

Events

Authors can use dramatic changes and twists to symbolize a new phase. One can identify symbolic meanings from how the plot unfolds and what events occur. This is an excellent way to deliver the idea of a character’s inner changes. Let’s look into examples closer.

• In Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, the weather changes play a significant role. Whenever a storm was about to come, some tragic events took place. Lousy weather symbolized growing tension and negativity that later broke into a scandal or drama. Such a literary device as foreshadowing is used here and expressed to readers through symbolism.
• John Fowls also used elements of symbolism in his books. His famous novel The Magnus has numerous symbols and metaphors. For instance, Alison staged her suicide and later showed up in front of Nicholas. Her fake suicide symbolized the death of her old self and further rebirth. She wanted to do everything for Nicholas but was weak. Once she appears again, we see a completely new person – solid and decisive.

Other Symbols

Basically, you can refer anything to this class of symbols. We’ll be talking about those that don’t fit into the previous groups. There are plenty of them: various details of other characters, objects, motifs—for example, colors, sounds, or composition.

• If you write color symbolism in The Great Gatsby essay, you won’t have any problems. The novel is drenched in color symbols. Here’s proof: Fitzgerald uses white to symbolize innocence and purity. Yellow color foreshadows a tragedy: Gatsby walked under yellowing trees right before being killed.
• Even the whole story can symbolize something. Take Animal Farm by George Orwell. The animal farm illustrates the savage ruling regimes, such as fascist and Soviet Russian. The author carried the allegory through the whole novel.

How to Write a Symbolism Essay – Analysis

Now,

We want to provide you with a guideline on symbolism essay writing:

📐 Symbolism Essay Outline

In this part, we will discuss a symbolism essay outline. It consists of an introduction, body, and conclusion, like any other academic paper. Read about the importance and different ways to outline an essay in our article about outline making.

Let’s go through a symbolism essay outline.

Symbolism Essay Introduction

You can choose anything for the symbolism analysis. Make sure your readers are perfectly aware of your choice too. Introduce them to the subject. Speak on it generally so that the audience can get the idea of a symbol. In the end, explain why you chose this particular topic for the symbolism essay.

Symbolism Essay Body

Now, it’s time to specify the symbol you chose. Elaborate on it: what is written in the book? What general sense this symbol has beyond literature? Tell about your associations – what does this symbol represent for you? Besides, discuss why it’s essential to analyze it in an essay on symbolism.

Remember to back up your opinion with the facts from an original text.

Symbolism Essay Conclusion

Wrap up your essay by writing a consistent concluding paragraph. You can do it by bringing up all the points mentioned in the body. Once again, show that the symbol is significant to talk about. Finally, sum up all the main ideas. Use our free summary generator to develop a good resume of your key thoughts.

Now you know how to write a symbolism essay but let’s look at some examples first.

📚 Symbolism Essay Topics

Looking for a good topic for your symbolism essay? In this section, you will find some awesome ideas for your paper.

1. Symbols in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker.
2. Symbolism in Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death.”
3. The Christmas tree as a symbol in Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House.”
4. The symbols of life and death in the poem by Dylan Thomas “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.”
5. Symbolism in “On Being Brought From Africa to America” by Wheatley.
6. “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty: Analysis of symbols.
7. Conflict and symbolism in Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants.”
8. The symbolic meaning of fire in the Fahrenheit 451 novel by Ray Bradbury.
9. Symbols in the book Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody.
10. The symbols of success and failure in the Death of a Salesman play by Arthur Miller.
11. Symbolism in the Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass by Fredrick Douglass.
12. The symbolic nature of Frost’s poetry.
13. “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin: Analysis of symbols.
14. How symbols help reveal characters in “Doll’s House” by Ibsen.
15. What is the symbolic meaning of a streetcar in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams?
16. “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin: The symbolism of darkness.
17. The scarlet letter as the most powerful symbol in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
18. Symbolism of quilts in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use.”
19. Franz Kafka and “The Metamorphosis”: The symbols of humanity.
20. Symbols in “Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros.
21. Religious symbolism in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor.
22. “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain: The symbolism of different settings.
23. Symbols of friendship in “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich.
24. The Epic of Gilgamesh: Religious symbols.
25. Nature as a symbol in “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost.
26. Symbolism in “The Deserted Village” by Oliver Goldsmith.
27. The symbolic meaning of money in “Brother, I’m Dying” by Edwidge Danticat.
28. Major symbols in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.
29. Symbols related to mental illness in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey.
30. The symbolism of bathing suits in “A&P” by John Updike.
31. Color symbolism in Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.
32. “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop: Analysis of symbols.
33. Symbols in Middlemarch by George Eliot.
34. The Question of Hu by Jonathan D. Spence: Symbolism.
35. Characters as symbols in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried.
36. White elephants as a symbol of an unwanted child in “Hills Like White Elephants” by Hemingway.
37. The symbolism of a handkerchief in “Othello” by William Shakespeare.
38. Symbolism in “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving.
39. The symbolic meaning of schools in The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger.
40. Aunt Martha as a symbol of womanhood in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Jacobs.
41. Themes and symbolism of Native Son by Richard Wright.
42. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: The symbolic meaning of the book’s title.
43. Symbolism in The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus by Marlowe.
44. The symbolic nature of food in Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel.
45. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño: Analysis of symbols.
46. Emily’s house as a symbol in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner.
47. What symbols are used in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Hurston?
48. The symbolic meaning of the veil in “The Souls of Black Folk” by Du Bois.
49. What symbols reflect good and evil in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe?
50. The symbolism of the bridge in A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller.
51. Symbols in The World is Flat — the Book by Thomas L. Friedman.
52. The symbolic meaning of the title of the story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
53. How is materialism symbolically reflected in Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer?
54. The symbolism of blindness in “Cathedral” — the story by Raymond Carver.
55. Yorick’s skull as a symbol of equality in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
56. Symbols in Claude McKay’s Crazy Mary.
57. The symbolism of the title in Fences by August Wilson.
58. Analysis of symbols in “On the Death of Dr. Robert Levet” by Levet.
59. The symbols of racial and gender discrimination in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
60. Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave Memoir: The symbols of slavery.