Symbolism in a story

[Deleted member 76176]

Symbolism is a tricky business. You wouldn't want it to be as obvious as the lies your classmate probably fed you and you stupidly believed it, until you realized how dumb it was when you became older—that is, unless this is what you are specifically aiming for—but more layered, like the gay guy in a straight male friend group. Often times, it is advised to refrain from intentionally setting up symbolism and to let it naturally flow instead. The idea is that if you do it well enough, there will be automatically symbolisms emerging. For example, an author shared his experience about how readers interpreted his recurring use of a wall clock as a representation of his father's death in the memoir.

I, however, tend to use it frequently. Using characters to represent a part of the protagonist's life that they themselves might not know, from foreshadowing problems and future conflicts to sharing 'what if' scenarios and representing internal flaws they need to conquer at the end. Of course, the characters exist independently of the symbolism I use them for, but I seem to take a more proactive role than most.

This leads me to the question: Do you use symbolism at all? Do you think about it when planning your story? And how would you approach it?

 

[Temple]

I use symbolism and it goes into the planning of the story. From my experience with webnovel audiences, most people just relax when reading and don't really delve deep. So, it's much better to make the symbolism, whatever it is, more on the obvious side. The reader picks it up and appreciates the meaning. They won't think that it's too on the nose (unless it really is) because they're just chill reading anyway rather than analyzing things.

 

[Deleted member 146224]

I was one of the kids that were absolutely obsessed with symbols and hidden meaning and I don't think much changed in that regard. There's a lot of reading between the lines and symbolism in my unpublished stories in my native language. I love leaving hints and little pointers here and there, so it's really hard not to.

For the current story, however, I decided to take a more in the face approach, since I don't think anybody would look too deep into a webnovel. There are mostly references to songs and other media, so it's more of an easter egg than a hidden meaning or symbolism. I do think about it when planning. Both in a scope of a full story and then down to standalone chapters.

It is my dream, though, to write something full of it, but not right now. It would be a big endeavor, requiring a ton of planning and plotting, so maybe when I have more time for writing.

 

[LilRora]

I use it a lot, though I very rarely say anything directly. Usually it's just that I make some vague connection to a symbol in my head, and build a character or a location based on that idea. I once made my character's while power revolve around amaranth, which is a flower that symbolizes immortality smong other things. So I did not try to state it explicitly that it's about that flower and what it symbolizes, but I made her hair amaranthine - specifically said that way in the story - and generally kept referencing that color in various ways.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

I do use it, but I'm sure readers often miss things. Most of the time, it is not apparent. Sometimes, I think about them when considering colors. In VP, Enala has canvases and paint that symbolize painting her new life and painting over the old one. At least, at first, it was something like that, but now it's become a core aspect.

 

[RepresentingDesire]

Well my writing, when I write, possess little symbolism.
I like to be blunt and that shows it quite good.
I focus on reactions of the characters for my writing.
But sometimes I use little symbolism but that more like using centipedes to show that the character is sick, so pretty obvious stuff.

 

[Tempokai]

I don't specifically write symbolism, but when it strikes me like "hey, I did this thing four chapters ago, I probably can use it here, lol", I use it.

 

[Rhaps]

From the first few chapters, I made it clear that my story is full of symbolism and need a fair bit of extensive knowledge. I don't hold back on how deep the references are.

For myself, I want to show off my sheer amount of knowledge. For my audience, I want to encourage people to search for information themselves.

 

[RepresentingDesire]

I don't specifically write symbolism, but when it strikes me like "hey, I did this thing four chapters ago, I probably can use it here, lol", I use it.

Wouldn't that be more of a leitmotiv? A recurring symbol or sign that implies something?

 

[QuercusMalus]

Yes, I like to use symbolism. I even try for the characters names to be symbolic to part of their character. Not at the level of having a Villain named 'Mr. Killemall' but something that has some relevance.

But your readers will also find symbolism you didn't intend. 'The blue drapes are a symbol of the characters depression' and you're reading the comments going 'No, I just like the color blue'.

 

[SsemouyOnan]

While others may like to use Chekov's gun, I do not. Instead, I prefer Chekov's intercontinental ballistic missile. Oh, this random bit of poetry that holds no apparent meaning in this story? Well it's actually the motivation of a character in this other story set in the same universe that's a tiny bit related to the current one. A huge thing in my shared universe is how a 'Spark' represents the infinite creativity and potential of humans, with how characters with it are basically reality warpers that view entire multiverses as nothing more than fictional ideas visualized as droplets. Which in turn references something that would be a spoiler
Not to mention how much I like to include an element of Kabbalah or Western Alchemy...

Maybe this is why I never get around to publishing my stories.

 

[BlackKnightX]

In the story I'm writing now, I mostly use it to hide clues and foreshadowing.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Do you use symbolism at all?

She asks the cloud of pure spite and eyes.

 

[RepresentingDesire]

She asks the cloud of pure spite and eyes.

Thanks for reminding me of the meaning of my name and title.

 

[J_Chemist]

I use it often through vague verbiage and also to sort of depict looming doom. Imagery with underlying meanings that besr fruit in future chapters. Not enough to make it impossible to spot, but enough to make a reader go "oh, that's what that meant". Just enough to sort of dangle the hook and see who catches it but never enough to make the story hiccup or lose people because of its importance.