What is symbolism? Symbolism is a story element used by authors to give the reader a deeper understanding of the text. How do you identify symbolism? There are 3 steps. Step 1: summarize the text/chapter. Step 2: identify (repeated themes). Step 3: think what could this object stand for. Why is symbolism used? There are variety of reasons. Convey complex messages, connect story and theme, and show instead of tell. The symbols I’ll be using are from the short story, “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh”. This short story is about a drummer boy who is symbolized as the heart of the army because he let them know what pace should they be in. The drummer boy is a young man that is the General’s right hand man. There will be 4 total symbols I’ll be explaining
