{"id":115367,"date":"2023-10-12T13:24:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T17:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=115367"},"modified":"2025-10-03T11:28:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T15:28:51","slug":"symbolism-in-a-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/symbolism-in-a-story\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Symbolism in a Story: Advice From Stephen King"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What difference can symbolism make in a story? When and how is it appropriate and functional?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each story should have a protagonist with a goal, obstacles to the protagonist&#8217;s goal, and a theme. But, above and beyond those basic elements, you should infuse complexity into a story to make it more compelling and interesting. Symbolism is one way to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep reading to get advice from Stephen King and Thomas C. Foster on how and when to use symbolism in a story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p><em>Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/hub\/society-culture\/arts\/storytelling-guide\/\">Shortform\u2019s guide to storytelling<\/a>. If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-symbolism-in-a-story\">Symbolism in a Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One way you can add complexity to your story is with <em>symbolism<\/em>: the use of an object or word to represent an idea other than its literal meaning. In his book <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/on-writing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>On Writing<\/em><\/a>, Stephen King states that <strong>you can <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/on-writing\/the-elements-of-a-story#symbols\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>use symbolism in a story as a focusing device<\/strong><\/a><strong>, reinforcing your story\u2019s central theme.<\/strong> Don\u2019t decide on your symbols before you write the story\u2014according to King; it\u2019ll feel artificial. Instead, unearth the symbol as you write your story. When you revise, look for symbols you can bring out and refine, as though you were excavating and polishing a gem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, in <em>Carrie<\/em>, King noticed only after writing that blood perfused the story. It appeared at the beginning (when Carrie has her period), at the climax (in a prank in which Carrie was doused with pig\u2019s blood), and at the end (where a survivor of Carrie\u2019s wrath has her own period). King wasn\u2019t conscious of this pattern while writing, but he found it meaningful when reading back over the story. Throughout the story, he tried to connect blood to its many connotations\u2014sacrifice, women\u2019s coming of age, and heredity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, don\u2019t assume that filling your story with symbols will automatically make it interesting to the audience. In his book <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/how-to-read-literature-like-a-professor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>How to Read Literature Like a Professor<\/em><\/a>, Thomas C. Foster warns that a symbol\u2019s literal meaning within the narrative <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/how-to-read-literature-like-a-professor\/symbols-part-i\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">will always be its primary purpose<\/a>, and its metaphorical meaning is secondary to that. If a novel is unsuccessful at telling the story, no amount of symbolism will change that. On the other hand, if a novel presents a great story <em>and <\/em>a variety of figurative symbols and imagery, that\u2019s a sign of a great piece of literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Exercise: Analyze a Story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Pick a story you&#8217;re familiar with. What symbols can you identify in the story, and what might they represent (in relation to the theme)? (For example, <em>Monsters, Inc.<\/em> is arguably about how members of an out-group are relatable and lovable once we get to know them. Through this lens, the corporation of \u201cMonsters, Incorporated\u201d could represent all human-created institutions that maintain a division between \u201cus\u201d and \u201cthem,\u201d like a two-party political system.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What difference can symbolism make in a story? When and how is it appropriate and functional? Each story should have a protagonist with a goal, obstacles to the protagonist&#8217;s goal, and a theme. But, above and beyond those basic elements, you should infuse complexity into a story to make it more compelling and interesting. Symbolism is one way to do this. Keep reading to get advice from Stephen King and Thomas C. Foster on how and when to use symbolism in a story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":17096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1295],"class_list":["post-115367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","tag-the-master-guides-storytelling-for-fiction-writers","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Use Symbolism in a Story: Advice From Stephen King - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Complexity in a story makes it more compelling and interesting. Symbolism is one way to do this. 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