Symbolism

[jar_e]

Just wondering, does anybody find any symbolism or feel anything about this picture? Not on its techinical aspects but on its subject? I find the sign such a strong and moving subject, but would like to know how others feel about it.

Thanks,

Jared

[DownByFive]

-Begin Rant

I think it depends...I mean, I think you can find "symbols" in just about anything..."That old barn represents the plight of the elderly...how deep..." But looking for symbols in a place there isn't any intended to be seems, IMHO rather...um...pointless (to put it nicely). I could point out that this photo of yours is meant to contrast the simple call to faith with the material pursuits of a fallen world...Or maybe one could assume that this guy was homeless and the photo is a contrast of rich and poor...But maybe you just thought the guy was funny looking or something...

Maybe the problem for me is that the image doesn't have enough context to really see any symbolism. I mean, there's no good reason to assume that this guy is poor/homeless (maybe if the sign said something like "down on my luck, need money" or something)...I suppose some might also assume that he is some sort of religious nut, but I don't find any reason to assume that. Heck, people on my campus do practically the same thing...

So the point behind my little rant is that in order to find symbolism in this picture without any real context, one has to make a lot of assumptions about the subject, and about you...I don't really like doing that.

Sorry for going off, but I get bombarded with this symbolism stuff in my German Lit. class, because these novels we're reading are suposedly filled with all this symbolism..."Heinrich represents fascism...Gertrude represents the Germans who didn't fight the Nazis..." Why can't a story just be a story?

Don't get me wrong, this is a great photo, but I hate to make assumptions in order to find symbolism in it. And if you took it with some sort of symbolism in mind, then I have some ideas what that might be...

I hope my tone isn't sounding critical of you or your question...My rant is in no way directed towards you Jared...I'm just bitter about post-war German authors...

-End Rant

[jar_e]

Don't get me wrong, this is a great photo, but I hate to make assumptions in order to find symbolism in it. And if you took it with some sort of symbolism in mind, then I have some ideas what that might be...

I hope my tone isn't sounding critical of you or your question...My rant is in no way directed towards you Jared...I'm just bitter about post-war German authors...

-End Rant

Maybe that's exactly what I needed to hear DownByFive. I somewhat agree with you, about pulling a huge imagery and symbolism factor out of some stories (seems to happen alot in my English class right now). Though I agree everything is put into a book for a reason, I sometimes wonder whether or not the way we percieve things is the way the author wanted them to be perceived. Of course, that's a whole other discussion. Thanks for the comments, and I appreciate you well drawn out explanation. No harm felt. Anyone else have any comments?!

Jared