Symbolism
Speak Unit, 9A
Definition
A symbol is a person, place, object, action, or
idea that represents something other than itself,
often of a more abstract nature.
• An example of a literary symbol could be a child,
in a story, dressed in white used to represent
innocence or hope.
How to determine it
Ask yourself these three questions:
• Does anything appear repeatedly?
• Often symbols are repeated several times over the course
of the story.
• Are they described with language of emphasis?
• Could the word have more significance than its
literal meaning would suggest?
Example in Speak
One example of symbolism is the janitor's closet that Melinda
hides in during school. It is a place for contemplation and safety,
but also of isolation and terror. The empty supply closet at
school provides Melinda with a place to reflect on her artwork
and her life, take naps, vent her emotions, and escape from
mean people at school. This space symbolizes her feeling of
alienation and being an outcast — she hides away in this closet
to escape from the troubles of her life, and it is the only place
she feels free to express herself and escape from the issues
around her. It also shows that although she is unable to do it
verbally, she actually is able to express herself, and she
decorates the space with things that make her happy. An event
that takes place in the closet at the end of the story will change
the feeling of sanctuary that the closet provides early in the
story…
Let’s pretend…
…that my English teacher wanted me to prove the following:
Claim
Melinda’s struggles are paralleled by a number
of symbols used throughout the novel.
I’d like to use the janitor’s closet as my evidence; however, I
need to find a quote that proves the janitor’s closet is a symbol.
Claim and Evidence
At this point, we have our claim and our evidence (properly
punctuated in MLA format):
Claim
Melinda’s struggles are paralleled by a number of
symbols used throughout the novel.
Evidence
Reasoning
Symbols in “Speak”
• Janitor’s closet
• Changing seasons
• Changing mascots
• Art project
• Melinda’s lips
• Mr. Freeman
• Mr. Neck
• Melinda’s parents
• Others?....
• Claim: (the symbol you are discussing)
• Setup: (introducing the quote)
• Evidence: (quote in MLA format)
• Reasoning: (at least three full sentences explaining the
evidence and the claim)
• Claim: (the symbol you are discussing and what it represents)
• The janitor’s closet represents Melinda’s feelings of isolation and
abandonment throughout the novel.
• Setup: (introducing the quote)
• When Melinda is trying to hide from Mr. Neck, she discovers the
empty maintenance closet and decides to make it her own.
When she finds it she thinks,
• Evidence: (quote in MLA format)
• “This closet is abandoned – it has no purpose, no name. It is the
perfect place for me” (26).
• Reasoning: (at least three full sentences explaining the
evidence and the claim)
• After losing her friends and becoming an outcast among her
peers, she feels abandoned by the people around her. The closet
is a place she can be alone, and she makes it a home throughout
the story. As she starts to feel less alone through the year, she
becomes less dependent on the closet.
Now you have a paragraph!
The janitor’s closet represents Melinda’s feelings of
isolation and abandonment throughout the novel. When
Melinda is trying to hide from Mr. Neck, she discovers
the empty maintenance closet and decides to make it
her own. When she finds it she thinks, “This closet is
abandoned – it has no purpose, no name. It is the perfect
place for me” (26). After losing her friends and becoming
an outcast among her peers, she feels abandoned by the
people around her. The closet is a place she can be
alone, and she makes it a home throughout the story. As
she starts to feel less alone through the year, she
becomes less dependent on the closet.
Classwork
• Find your third symbol
• Create a claim and find a piece of evidence from the
text to support your claim
• Complete a “Claim Sheet” for the third symbol
• While you do this, I will call up students individually to
conference about the other two claim sheets.
• If I approve your claim sheets, fill out a new, printed claim
sheet for each and turn in your old, handwritten versions.
Homework
• Create a “working” thesis for your essay
• Thesis =
Claim that states how your three symbols represent Melinda’s
struggles throughout the novel. (full sentence including each symbol)
• Example:
• Essay Prompt: How do Melinda’s relationships with other
characters in the novel encourage her personal growth throughout
the story? Choose at least three characters to discuss.
• Thesis:
Despite Melinda’s feelings of isolation and despair, she is able to grow
emotionally and find her way back to herself through her
relationships with David Petrakis, Mr. Freeman, and ironically,
Heather from Ohio.