Entertainment / Literature / Symbol: A word, place, character, or object that means something beyond what it is on a literal level. For instance, consider the stop sign. It is literally a metal octagon painted red with white streaks. However, everyone on American roads will be safer if we understand that this object also represents the act of coming to a complete stop--an idea hard to encompass briefly without some sort of symbolic substitute. In literature, symbols can be cultural, contextual, or personal. (See cultural symbol, contextual symbol, and personal symbol.) An object, a setting, or even a character can represent another more general idea. Allegories are narratives read in such a way that nearly every element serves as an interrelated symbol, and the narrative's meaning can be read either literally or as a symbolic statement about a political, spiritual, or psychological truth. See also allegory, or click here to download a pdf handout contrasting allegory and symbolism in greater detail.
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Symbol Adjective Synonyms: representation, figure, metaphor, allegory, insigne (singular, plural is insignia), token, sign, emblem, badge, image, logotype, mark, trade mark, colophon, brand, code, abbreviation, phonogram, initialism, cryptogram, acronym, monogram, password, shibbol
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Entertainment / Literature / Symbolic Character: Symbolic characters are characters whose primary literary function is symbolic, even though the character may retain normal or realistic qualities. For instance, in Ellison's Invisible Man, the charac MORE
Science / Chemistry / Element Symbol: An international abbreviation for element names, usually consisting of the first one or two distinctive letters in element name. Some symbols are abbreviations for ancient names. MORE
Entertainment / Literature / Cultural Symbol: A symbol widely or generally accepted as meaning something specific within an entire culture or social group, as opposed to a contextual symbol created by a single author that has meaning only within MORE