Before I write down anything else, I have to confess that I still don’t know the difference between metonymy and symbolism; they are so similar. Why on earth did people come up with all these terms? I think people normally apply figurative language naturally.
My definition of symbol is something that implies another thing and this connection should be commonly known in the audience group; it’s like a form of metaphor without all those helping phrases that lead the audience to the actual meaning that the symbol is conveying. For example, we see the cross as a symbol of Christianity (maybe?). It’s more of a cultural thing. This happens due to some kind of traditional norms or historic events and people connect the meanings of two words together afterwards. I think symbol can be created at will, and I think the Nazi’s logo thing was created intentionally. But most of the symbols should emerge naturally. If a writer tries to use symbolism that’s rather obscure, readers might be confused ( JUST LIKE ME ), or they might have their own interpretations, which is good sometimes. I don’t think I use symbol but it could very much be because I do it subconsciously, but I do remember a symbol that I can easily understand. When you see a bunch of mathematical equations, you’ll connect those to an idea of science, logic, intelligence…etc, and I think most of the people would recognize it in the same way as I do.
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