【正文】 g an alphabet ical symbol. Another example is Herman Melvil e’ s MobyDi ck, i n whi ch t he huge whit e whale i n the ti le of t he book acquir es great er meaning than the lit er al dictionar ydef initi on of an aquati c mammal. It also suggest s mor e than t he devil , to whom some of t he characters li ken it . The huge whale, as the st or y unf ol ds, es t o imply an ampli tude of meanings: among them the forces of nature and t he whole uni verse. Lit er ar y symbol s ar e of two broad t ypes: one t ype includes those embodyi ng universal suggest ions of meaning. Flowing wat er suggests ti me and eternity, a jour ney into t he underworl d and r etur n from it is interpreted as a spi ri tual experience or a dark night of the soul, and a ki nd of redempti ve odyssey. Such symbols ar e used widel y (and someti mes unconsciously) in west er n lit er at ur e. The ot her type of symbol secures its suggesti veness not fr om qual it ies i nherent in i tsel f but from t he way in which it is used in a given wor k, in a special cont ext. Thus, i n MobyDi ck t he voyage, the l and, and the ocean are obj ects pregnant wi th meanings t hat seem al most independent of the aut hor’ s use of t hem i n the story。 he hi nt s that some sad, passionat e spir it is brooding as it wat ches t he passing pr ocesion of humanity. Such an object is a symbol: in li terature, a symbol is athing that r ef er s or suggests more than its l iteral meaning. There are quite a l ot of symbols t hat appear i n or dinar y lif e, for the use of symbol is by no means of l imi ted to li terature and art . For inst ance, a dove is a symbol of peace, t he f l ag i s the symbol of a countr y, and the cross i s t he symbol of the Christi an r el igion. These ar e symbols adopted by a whole society and are r ecognized by al members of such a society. There are other kinds of symbol s, such as f igur e 3, which may be abstrac t symbols. But symbol s i n lit er at ure works ar e dif ferent f rom eit her of the other types. Gener al ly speaki ng, a lit er ar y symbol does not have a mon soci al aceptance, as does the fl ag。, but an island of refuge f rom sleepless night, chaos, loneli nes, ol d age, the meaninglesnes of lif e, and i m pending death. In some novels and stori es, some char acters are symboli c. Such charact er s usual y appear br iefl y and remai n sl ight ly myst er ious. In Joseph Cornar d’ s Heart of Darknes, a steamship pany t hat hi res men t o wor k in Congo maintains i n it s wait ing room two women who kni t。 for inst ance, the ways sentences are connect ed. This is t he i nt er nal or ganizat ion of a text. Under cont ext , r oughl y the mat er ial, mental, per sonal , i nt er acti onal , soci al , i nsti tutional , cultural, and histori cal si tuat ion in which the di scourse is made, we consider t he external relati ons of t he l iterary t ext or a par t of the text, seei ng i t as a discour se presupposing a soci al r elati on between i ts par ticipant s ( author and reader, charact er and char acter, charact er and r eader , etc.) , and a shar ing of knowledge and assumptions by par ti ci pant s. Cohesi on: Does the text contain l ogical or ot her li nks between sent ences (eg coordinating conjunct ions, linking adver bi al s) , or does it tend t o repl y on i mpl icit connections of meaning? What sort of use is made of cr oss reference by pr onouns (she, it , t hey, etc), by substi tute forms ( do, so, et c) , or el lipsis? I s ther e any use made of el egant var iation—the avoidance of r epet it ion by substi ut ion of a descripti ve phrase ( as “the ol d lawyer” substi ut es f or t he r epet it ion of an earl ier “Mr Jones”) ? Are meaning connecti ons reinforced by r epet it ion of words and phr ases, or by repeatedl y using wor ds f rom t he same semanti c f ield? Cont ext: Does the writ er addr ess the reader dir ectl y, or t hr ough the wor ds or thought s of som e f icti onal char acter? What li nguisti c cl ues (eg fir st per son pronouns I , m e, m y, mi ne) ar e t her e of the addreser addr essee relati onshi p? What ati tude does t he aut hor im pl y t owar ds his/ her subject ? If a charact er ’s words or t houghts are r epresent ed, is t his done by di rect quot ati on, or by some other method (eg indi rect speech, f ree indi rect speech)? Ar e t her e si gnifi cant changes of st yl e wi th r espect t o di f er ent persons (nar at or or char acter) who i s supposedly speaki ng or thinki ng the wor ds on the page? What i s t he point of view of t he stor y? Are t he f requent shi fts of poi nt vi ew? I f so, i n whose voice is the nar rator speaki ng? Chapt er Seven Sym bol What is sym bol? Sym bol, i n t he sim pl est sense, anything that stands for or r epresents something el se beyond it—usual y an i dea conventi onal ly asociated wit h i t. Object s l ike fl ags and cr osses can f uncti on symbolical ly。 he hints that some sad, passi onate spi rit is broodi ng as it wat ches the pasing procesion of humanit y. Such an object i s a symbol: in l iteratur e, a symbol is a thi ng t hat refers or suggests more t han it s lit er al meaning. Ther e ar e quit e a lot of symbol s t hat appear in ordinar y li fe, f or t he use of symbol is by no means of li mited to l iterature and ar t. For inst ance, a dove is a symbol of peace, t he f lag is the symbol of a count ry, and t he cross is the symbol of t he Chri st ian religion. These are symbol s adopt ed by a whole soci et y and ar e recogni zed by al l member s of such a soci et y. There are other kinds of symbols, such as f igure 3, which may be abstr act symbol s. But symbols in l iterature works ar e dif er ent fr om ei ther of t he other t ypes. Gener al ly speaking, a l it er ar y symbol does not have a mon s oci al acceptance, as does the flag。 and words ar e also symbols. ( P. 218. Oxf or d Conci se Di ct ionar