Writing Tricks: Symbolism
One of the most powerful tools in the Christian storytellers’ toolbox is symbolism. It allows deep, meaningful messages to be conveyed efficiently and — often times — subtly. It is useful in stories with both overt and covert messaging, although it tends to carry more weight in the latter. What, however, defines “symbolism”? And how can storytellers use it to their best advantage when it comes to the messages in their storytelling?
Symbolism is described as something taking the place of or representing a different concept. It is an absolutely inescapable part of human life, from traffic lights, to buttons and alerts on digital devices, to animals and flowers that evoke different meanings and emotions. Even the most basic forms of communication — letters and numbers — are symbols, each representing a different pieces of speech or mathematical concept. Humans live and breathe symbology and it is one of the primary tools of communication.
Narrowing the scope of “symbolism” to storytelling, a symbol is any tool that the storyteller uses to represent some concept in their story. For example, the color red can symbolize love, rage, heat, power, or luck depending on the context and culture. Having a character in a red outfit can convey a sense of command, energy, or represent their fiery personality to the audience. The color symbolizes an aspect of their role and purpose in the story, adding depth to the character without requiring lengthy dialogue.
Symbolism comes in two general “flavors”, common symbols and custom symbols. These can be mixed and matched to the storyteller’s heart is content and neither is inherently better than the other. The primary difference between the two is how the audience reacts to each one, described in more detail below.
Common Symbols.
These are wide-spread and widely-accepted symbols. For example, this would be like the Cross, which symbolizes Christ’s sacrifice for us. Additional Christian symbols include the ichthys (small fish shape), shepherd’s crook, and the dove. All of these, in the right context, allow the reader to understand and infer far more spiritually than what the story is presenting at first glance. A story about a criminal, struggling against criminal behavior is meaningful, but if that same criminal wearing a cross is suddenly a symbol of the Christian struggle against one’s own, innate temptations and sins. It does not take much in the way of symbolism for a story to convey more depth than how it first appears.
Using well-known symbols has quite a few advantages as well as disadvantages. The advantages are that the audience is likely to pick up on the symbolism soon after its been introduced. It also works well in stories with overt messages, as it allows for “show, not tell”, where the audience can understand the deeper meaning of a story or moment without the storyteller coming out and saying it directly. The major disadvantage to using common symbolism is the fact that they can become tropey or cliched if not used with skill. Darkness vs. light, for example, is used extensively throughout media to convey the struggle between evil and good. This is not to say it can’t be used again, but for it to not become run-of-the-mill, it will need to be done with care.
Custom Symbols.
Storytellers do not, of course, have to be confined to just well-known symbols, although there are benefits to it. Storytellers can also create custom-made symbolism for their story using objects, plots, emotions, or even tropes to express what a character is going through in more detail. A characters’ favorite, expensive latte, for example, might represent their wealth. Or a character’s favorite car, sitting broken in the shop, might represent the loss of their freedom or dreams for the future. These tend to be highly effective in stories with covert messages, where the storyteller wants to convey depth without being too obvious about it.
The downside to customizing a story’s symbology is that the audience may not pick up on it as readily. There is no familiarity or cultural commonality, so the audience has to discover the hidden meanings. This does not necessarily have to be a bad thing, especially in an era where audiences are being treated somewhat like idiots by the secular realm. Sometimes the audience wants a story they have a chew on to get the meaning. Custom symbology does also carry a greater potential for the audience misunderstand the storyteller’s original intent. A symbol may appear to have two or more meanings, leading to confusion and debate within the fanbase.
Symbolism is one of the most useful literary devices for the Christian creative. It can be woven into any story, customized and perfectly able to add layers of depth and breadth to the tale’s message. Both covert and overt storytelling types benefit from symbolism, and it can be adapted to fit any genre, any storytelling format, and any story message with ease.
