personifythevanishingaristocracyoftheSouth,stillmaintainingablackservantandbeingruthlessbetrayedbyamoneymakingYanee.Sometimesapartofacharactersbodyoranattributemayconveysymbolicmeaning,forexample,abalefuleyeinEdgarAllanPoeTheTell-TaleHeart4.SymbolusedinworksoffictionisthesymbolicactAnotherindofsymbolcommonlyemployedinworksoffictionisthesymbolicact:anactoragesturewithlargersignificancethanitsliteralmeaning.CaptainAhabinMelvillesMoby-Dickdeliberatelysnapshistobaccopipeandthrowsitawaybeforesettingoutinpursuitofthehugewhale,agesturesuggestingthatheisdeterminedtotaehisrevengeandwillletnothingtodistracthimfromit.AnothertypicalsymbolicactistheburningofthebarnbytheboysfatherinFaulknerBarnBurningitisanactofnomeredestroyingabarn,butanexpressionofhisprofoundspiteandhatredtowardsthatclassofpeoplewhohavedrivenhisfamilyoutofhisland.Hishatredextendstoanythinghedoesnotpossesshimselfand,beyondthat,burningabarnreflectsthefathersmemoriesofthewasteandextravaganceofwarandtheelementoffirespoketosomedeepmainspringinhisbeing.5.AsymbolisatropeInabroadliterarysense,asymbolisatropethatcombinesaliteralandsensuousqualitywithannecessaryorsuggestiveaspect.However,inliterarycriticismitisnecessarytodistinguishsymbolfromimage,metaphor,and,especially,allegory.AnimageAnimageisaliteralandconcreterepresentationofasensoryexperienceorofanobjectthatcanbeknownoneormoreofthesenses.Itisthemeansbywhichexperienceinitsrichnessandemotionalcomplexityiscommunicated.(HolmanandHarmon,AHandbooktoLiterature,1986)Imagesmaybeliteralorfigurative,aliteralimagebeingonethatinvolvesnonecessarychangeorextensionintheobviousmeaningofthewords.Proseworsareusuallyfullofthisindofimage.Forexample,novelsandstoriesbyConardandHemingwayarenotedfortheevocativepoweroftheirliteralimages.Afigurativeimageisonethatinvolvesaturnontheliterarymeaningofthewords.Forexample,inthelinesItisabeauteousevening,calmandfree;/Theholytimeisquietasanun,thesecondlineishighlyfigurativewhilethefirstlineevoesaliteralimage.Weconsideranimage,whetherliteralorfigurative,tohaveaconcretereferentintheobjectiveworldandtofunctionasimagewhenitpowerfullyevoesthatreferent;whereasasymbolfunctionslikeanimagebutdiffersfromitingoingbeyondtheevocationoftheobjectivereferentbymakingthatreferentsuggesttothereaderameaningbeyonditself.Inotherwords,asysmbolisanimagethatevoesanobjective,concretereality,butthenthatrealitysuggestsanotherlevelofmeaningdirectly;itevoesanobjectthatsuggeststhemeaning,withtheemphasisbeinglaidonthelatterpart.AsColeridgesaid,Itpartaesoftherealitywhichitrendersintelligible.MetaphorAmetaphorisanimpliedanalogyimaginativelyidentifyingoneobjectwithanotherandascribingtothefirstobjectoneormoreofthequalitiesofthesecond,orinvestingthefirstwithemotionalorimaginativequalitiesassociatedwiththesecond.Itisnotanuncommonliteracydeviceinfiction,thoughitismorecommonlyusedinpoetrywhilesimileismorecommonlyusedinprose.Ametaphoremphasizesrichsuggestivenessinthedifferencesbetweenthethingscomparedandtherecognitionofsurprisingbutunsuspectedsimilarities.CleanthBroosusesthetermfunctionalmetaphortodescribethewayinwhichthemetaphorisabletohavereferentialandemotivecharacteristics,andtogobeyondthosecharacteristicstobecomeadirectmeansinitselfofrepresentingatruthincommunicablebyothermeans.Whenametaphorperformsthisfunction,itisbehavingasasymbol.Butasymboldiffersfromametaphorinthatametaphorevokesanobj...
