ENVIRONMENTAL ELEMENTS AND THEIR SYMBOLIC MEANINGS IN SELECTED DRAMATIC AND FICTIONAL WORKS

Nahidh Falih Sulaiman
Assist. Prof., Department of English, Faculty of Education for Humanities, Diyala University, IRAQ, nahidhum@gmail.com

Abstract

Symbolism, closely related to imagery, served to indicate an object or an idea. It is possible for the author to refer to the meaning indirectly when he believes his themes expressed eloquently by using symbols rather than by referring to the aim directly. In any literary topic, an author enhances the themes of his writing through using certain symbols to add more richness and color. Objects often used as indications to create meaning in a work. Throughout various forms of literature, environmental elements such as a lonely streetlight, tree, scarecrow, etc., help readers to understand and follow meaningfully the event sequences.

To shed the light on the significant use of some of the environmental elements, the paper includes two main parts; the first is concerned with some environmental elements discussed separately in two plays through sub parts while the second part discusses some other, environmental elements in two novels through sub parts. Each sub part stresses on a symbolic literary reference that differs in meaning but all devoted to define, at least, one essential theme.

The first part is mainly concerned with dramatic elements that presented in certain plays. The function of the “Dry trees” or "leafless trees" as a theme naturalistically devoted to explain poor emotions and lifeless meaning that obviously seen in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. This part also deals with the element of the “scarecrow” in Marina Carr’s Women and Scarecrow. The second part is concerned with the use of “postbox” in waiting glimpses of hope in Alice Walker's The Color Purple. This part also sheds the light on the significance of the “windmill” in George Orwell’s Animal Farm as the writer gave an alternative meaning for industrialization.

Keywords: Environmental Element, Spiritual inspiration, Fictional symbols, Dramatic Symbols