The Meaning Hid Behind the Symbolism
Stop signs, company logos, mascots- all these things exemplify symbols in the real world. In a fictional literary work, symbolism can be used by the author to augment the writing with either a subtle or more obvious symbol. Rain as a symbol could represent cleansing or healing, specific flowers have different meanings, almost any fictional work could be analyzed to find symbolism in it. The three short stories “He Hid Behind the Stove,” “The Scarlet Ibis,” and
“Harrison Bergeron” all used the literary device of symbolism to augment the story with extra layers of depth, contributing to the overall theme.
Firstly, “He Hid Behind the Stove” by Walter Lewis Wilson has the most prominent symbol of the work in …show more content…
They had spent so long trying to avoid what they knew was coming, and eventually had to give in to fate.
Similarly, the last example of symbolism is in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” lies within the title yet again. In the world of “Harrison Bergeron,” all citizens considered to be above average in any aspect are handicapped, so that everyone is truly equal and is just as capable of one activity as any other. Harrison Bergeron is an extremely gifted young man, who is described by a news report as “a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous” (Vonnegut 3). Harrison’s own natural gifts are too great for him to be handicapped to match everyone else, so he is refused the chance to succeed by being killed. Harrison represents the wasted potential in everyone above the average. Their natural abilities to exceed others are shot down in an attempt to give everyone equal opportunities, when in reality all this system served to do was keep their society stagnate, never improving or changing at all.
Hermann 3
Finally, symbolism is utilized in “He Hid Behind the Stove,” “The Scarlet Ibis,” and
“Harrison Bergeron” to further enhance the depth of the story and give it greater