Course 9—Lecture

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LitCourse 9
How to Read: Symbol

Symbols—literary

Because symbols carry so much power, writers use them to expand or intensify what they want to say—without having to come out and say it.

In "Powder" (LitCourse 3) the father likes jazz—Tobias Wolff's way of telling us that Doc likes to live spontaneously without strict rules.

Writers use symbols . . .
• to reinforce and enlarge meaning
• to help them write economically

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