Is A Cigar Just A Cigar, Tuesday, Period 3

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On the chalkboard behind Cindy were several images: a flag, a dove, and a circle with several lines inside of it. Cindy leaned against her desk, sipping coffee and taking note of who looked at the images with comprehension and who did not.

After the last students had taken their seats, Cindy straightened and addressed the class. "I'm Professor Cindy Perrault and welcome to Is a Cigar Just a Cigar. This is a class about symbolism, not smoking, and if any of you were horribly misled, I suggest you suck it up and enjoy the class anyway." She gave them all a quick smile and continued. "At their most basic, symbols are things that stand in for something else. They are so heavily ingrained in our cultural consciousness that when we see a particularly well-known symbol, we immediately think of what that symbol represents, paying little to no attention to what the actual object or image that we are looking at, even though most symbols have little to nothing in common with the concept it is representing. For example, in our culture, what is the easiest way to signal the intent to surrender?" She tapped the drawing of the flag on the board. "Waving a white flag. In fact, this symbol is so well-known, people needn't worry about not having a flag handy to get their meaning across. Almost anything white will serve: a sock, a pillowcase, a piece of paper, a bra. Whatever. What we have here is a series of symbols: a white shirt symbolizing a white flag symbolizing surrender. Symbols aren't stagnant or static; they change with the times and constantly evolve."

"Now then, because of the way symbols work, they are very much linked to a specific time and place. Some symbols may endure for hundreds, even thousands of years--our white flag, for example, is mentioned in both Roman and Chinese writings dating back from the first century CE--but they only have meaning as long as everyone recognizes them. Because the symbol is divorced from the concept it is symbolizing, not everyone is going to recognize symbols and their meanings." She pointed to the other two images on the blackboard. "Both of these symbolize peace. The dove comes from the Book of Genesis, this other is the internationally-recognized peace sign, adopted by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. To someone unfamiliar with either, however, they would only see a bird or an odd-shape, because there is nothing inherent in either image to suggest 'peace.' In fact, depending on the cultural context they come from, these symbols could mean something very different. I have some handouts on my desk if anyone is interested in where the symbolism behind these images come from."

"These are symbols we see in everyday life. In literature, there are hundreds or even thousands more. But, like the ones we're used to, the literary symbols are all created the same way: repetition. Over the next fifteen weeks, I'm going to teach you some of the more common symbols you'll come across in literature, what they mean--roughly, anyway--and why. Unlike some of the more concrete symbols we use regularly, literary symbols often have more than one related meaning. For example, if we were reading about this dove, it could be symbolizing flight, freedom, joy, or, yes, peace. But don't stress it; it'll start to make sense as we go."

"Since this is our first week and there are several unfamiliar faces in the room, we're going to start with introductions. Give me your name, class, where you're from, and a symbol from your culture. For a bit of early extra credit, you can tell me a symbol you saw on your way to class today." Cindy pointed at a random student. "You can go first."

[Pause for OCD is up! Have at!]