This week we are going to talk about symbolism. Writers and movie directors sometimes use commonly recognized symbols and sometimes invent their own. Symbolism is the use words or images to represent something else. For example, the color white could be used to represent peace or purity. In some cultures it represents mourning (Port. luto). Why is it important to understand symbols in a poem, a novel or a movie? Sometimes we can fully understand the meaning of a masterpiece only if we know the importance of the ideas or images used.
I hope you enjoyed The Scarlet Letter movie. Can you identify any symbols used in the movie? What do you think they could represent?