Literary Symbolism -- and Mobbing in the Workplace

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How to Understand Symbolism in Literature

Whether you are taking a high school or college English literature course, symbolism will be important for you to recognize to fully understand a literature selection. If you've never had to evaluate a work critically, this may seem like a scary experience. Fear not, you can do it. Read on to learn how to understand symbolism in literature.

Step 1 -- Grasp the meaning of "symbol." Just as the American bald eagle is often thought of as the symbol of the United States, symbols used in literature are objects used to represent other things or ideas. For example, in Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter," the "A" that Hester Prynne was forced to wear represented not only that she was an adulteress, but also the first letter of the name of her illegitimate child's father, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.

Step 2 -- Recognize the signs. There are several ways to recognize symbolism in literature. One is the frequency an object or character is mentioned in a piece of literature--if it is mentioned often, it is probably important. Another way to find a symbol is to look at how much detail is used in describing an object. These two methods give clues that the writer wants you to infer something about a particular object.

Step 3 -- Familiarize yourself with the author's work and style. A symbol in a piece of literature often represents an important issue of the time in which the author lived, or has personal significance to the writer. Edgar Allan Poe, for example, is well-known for the tragedy he suffered during his lifetime. His stories and poetry often included dark imagery and death which were undoubtedly symbolic of the events in his life.

Step 4 -- Trust your feelings. If an image or object described by the author makes you react in a certain way, you are probably on to something, never discredit your own feelings just because you're a novice. It is very likely that the author planted the image in the work in a particular way to alert the reader that a symbol is important.

Step 5 -- Look to others. There's no shame in reading critical essays about a literary work to gain a better understanding of it, or in discussing a piece of literature.

Mobbing In The Workplace

It has been my experience of workplace mobbing that there is a relationship between this subtle form of job harassment -- which tends to rely on hidden messages in the communicators' speech -- and literary symbolism. See, for example, Keyton, J. and Menzie, K. "Sexually Harassing Messages: Decoding Workplace Conversation." Communication Studies, March 1, 2007; Gruber, J.E. "A Typology of Personal and Environmental Sexual Harassment: Research and Policy Implications for the 1990's" (1992).

Step 1 -- Grasp the meaning of "symbol." Just as the American bald eagle is often thought of as the symbol of the United States, symbols used in mobbing are ideas used to represent other things. For example, in anti-semitic harassment the view of Jews as "liars" may be prominent. If you Google the phrase "Jews are liars," you will get 567,000 hits; substituting any other ethnic or religious group for "Jews" will yield far fewer hits. Google the phrase "Italians are liars," for example, and you will get 6,020 hits. We can expect that plays on the word "liar" will be prominent in anti-semitic workplace mobbing. Thus, an employee may sit at her desk and say, "Liar, liar, pants on fire;" then later, use a Yiddish phrase ("Oy, veh," for example) -- then talk about her July telephone bill, symbolizing the phrase "Jew lie."

Step 2 -- Recognize the signs. There are several ways to recognize mobbing in the workplace. One is the frequency an idea or individual is mentioned in workplace conversations -- if an individual or idea is mentioned often, it is probably important. Another way to find a symbol in workplace mobbing is to look at how much detail is used in describing an idea. These two methods give clues that the harasser wants you to infer something about a particular idea.

Step 3 -- Familiarize yourself with the harassers' conversational style. A symbol in workplace mobbing often has personal significance to the victim of mobbing. Mobbers' constant references to ideas symbolically related to the victim's personal life -- consultations the victim may have had with his psychiatrist, for example -- may indicate that the company's management has been in communication with the victim's psychiatrist and has divulged confidential mental health information relating to the victim to other employees.

Step 4 -- Trust your feelings. If an image or idea described by coworkers makes you react in a certain way, you are probably on to something; never discredit your own feelings just because you're making inferences that could be dismissed as paranoid. In workplace mobbing situations, it is very likely that the mobbers planted the image in the conversation in a particular way to alert the victim that he is the symbolic referent of the communication.

Step 5 -- Look to the experiences of others in the same work environment. If an African-American coworker was terminated by the employer in suspicious circumstances, it is all the more likely that you are correct to suspect that you are a victim of job harassment in that same environment.

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