Symbolism in novels (continuation of the first blog)

This is the second half of the list and continuation of the previous post. 

   Some books are easy to read and the message is on the surface, but there are some books that are written about one thing that means something totally different.  Symbolism in literature is when you have to decipher the deeper meanings. Some argue that literature would all be puerile were it not for the symbolic idea that is conveyed; on the other hand, some assert that looking for symbols in non-symbolic works is just absurd and not worth spending time on. The following books demonstrate the fine line between enjoyable hidden meanings and gobbledygook.

 

          6.      The Castle by Franz Kafka

    Honestly, it is the strangest novel I have ever read. However, some people argue that Kafka criticized existing back then government structures in his novel as he was a talented satirist. That the castle symbolizes bureaucratic power and Mr Klamm symbolizes the person under that government who is helpless and not able to stand upon his rights, although he has those rights on paper.

         7.      The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

    Hemingway’s novel, for which he was awarded a Nobel Prize, is full of desperation and hope at the same time. The old man, Santiago, is said to symbolize the person who is in the pursuit of his dreams, who is very tired and torn but at the same time full of hope. “Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same colour as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.” The novel teaches not to give up, never ever. 

         8.      One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

    All I could feel while reading about Rebecca, who kills her husband or Amaranta Ursula, who marries her own nephew, was a strong feeling of repulsion. The only justification for recommending this book is that the youth can learn from the mistakes of the Buendia clan; unbridled passion is what destroys them. 

         9.      Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville

    Some people argue that you have to read the Bible first to understand Moby Dick. It is claimed that the whale symbolizes God; the captain Ahab to be a disbeliever and Ismail to be a believer. It all may look like it makes sense, if you pay attention to the names of the characters.

           10.   The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

The novel is about the generation Hemingway belonged to himself, the lost generation. It illustrates young people’s life styles in post-war time, when the youth was devoid of morality and ethics. 

      As shown above, I do not agree with every recommendation of Mr Amantay and yet I believe that every book categorized a classic can teach us some lessons. Having symbols in literature is a virtue, in a way, as it gives some food for thought. However it may not be worth spending time on, because most of the symbolism is just applesauce. What if all the inner and deeper meanings we find through symbols have never even occurred to the authors? What about you, do you tend to look for symbolic interpretations or think that symbol-hunting is grotesque?

10 Books Recommended For the Youth to Read

      Readings shape who we become and it is highly relevant to the youth, who are the driving force of a society. What we read as teenagers stays with us. Hence, the list of 10 books recommended for the youth to read by Didar Amantay, a well-known Kazakh writer, on AdebiPortal.kz (LiteraturePortal) is worth a discussion. Luckily, I read almost all of these books when I was young and I will take the liberty of writing my opinion on each book very shortly.

1.                1.  The Path of Abay  by Muhktar Auezov

 The book sheds light on the life of Abay Kunanbayev, a great Kazakh poet, writer and philosopher, and also the culture, traditions and wisdom of our ancestors. I remember being very surprised to read how any stranger-travellers could visit any auyl (village) and every house in that auyl would be honoured to host them. This hospitality and other interesting aspects of the Kazakhs’ lives in the 19^th century written in the book, endeavour to transmit the cherished values of the steppe people.

2.                 2.  War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

 The epic novel chronicles two Franco-Russian conflicts and tells us the stories of people while studying moral aspects of human beings. At the age of 19, I was very interested in the love story line in the book. As it was in my case, this book taught me how to set priorities; not to be fooled by men like Mr. Kuragin, but see the true personality behind the unpretentiousness in gentlemen like Mr. Bezuhov.

3.                  3.  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

         This is a love story of enamoured Gatsby and mercantile Daisy. He lived under the delusion that money would buy him love and make him happy. Fitzgerald expounded explicitly that the pursuit of illusion leads to tragedy: "The whole burden of Gatsby is the loss of those illusions that give such colour to the world that you don’t care whether things are true or false so long as they partake of the magical glory."

             4.   Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

   Some youngsters may perceive Dostoevsky’s work to be very depressing but it is so because “Demons” is a bleak prophecy of what the world will be like if we continue to sustain demons within us.

5.                 5.   The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

    Many teenagers will find this book insightful. It is about a 16 years old Holden who was born in an easy circumstances, but criticizes the values and visions of that elite world. Although very smart and discerning, he struggles to find his place in this life. One thing to mention is that this book should be read before one is over 20, otherwise the book may sound very childish.

    These are the first five book recommendations I can agree on. Not only these novels are historically, culturally informative and psychologically perspicacious, they also help to raise social consciousness in the youth. It is imperative that people read these books when still young, because as Nikolay Vsevolodovich (character from “Demons”) says: "It seems, in fact, as though the second half of a man's life is usually made up of nothing but the habits he has accumulated during the first half."

   To be continued...