Sample Student Research Project 2013
Journal
LITR
4232 American Renaissance
Sample Student Research Project 2013
Journal
Briana Perry
11/22/13
Animal Symbolism in Literature
During this course I enjoyed reading for the
meanings within the texts. Before this class I read books purely for enjoyment.
I gave little thought to the content of the scenes I was reading, or how the
author used descriptive language to paint these scenes. Looking back on it now,
I believe I took something away from the scene descriptions, considering in my
mind I always visualized the scenery as it was described. Still, my thoughts
were always that it was just a story, possessing little more than entertainment
value. Now I understand that is not the case. I have learned that all the books
I have read for classes and for leisure have had a purpose greater than fun. I
learned it was a simple tool to educate the masses. It is understandable that
many people do not want to spend their time learning about historical events, or
even current ones. So, it was amazing to discover that authors managed to sneak
in education despite this. Some of the author's teaching methods were blatant,
such as Uncle Tom's Cabin speaking
about slavery. Yet, my favorite revelation is that authors sneak in symbolism to
broaden characters or scenes without any words. I found common themes in the
weather, or the way a building was described, but another theme I noticed that
was left unanswered was the use of animals in famous books. Some of the books
mentioned them in passing, like the main character hearing the caw of a raven
off in the distance. Some had pets, like Rip Van Winkle's loyal dog. But my
question was what did they all mean to the stories they belonged in? What was
their purpose?
My intention during my research was to understand
the meaning behind the animals in classic works. Much of classic literature
mentions animals in one way or another, but literature classes rarely focus on
animal symbolism. I have learned that a lot of thinking goes into literature and
every sentence is trying to explain the little details by allusions and
symbolism. For example, sometimes the animals exist merely to set the mood, and
sometimes they show the reader an important feature about the characters. I
focused mainly on works where the main characters were animals to better
understand what their purpose was. Later, I used what I learned in those books
to understand some of the literature we've covered in class. My goal was to find
examples where the animal was either the center of the story, or where there
were so many animals it would be impossible to ignore their symbolism when
analyzing the book later. I was able to find popular examples of both.
The books I chose to focus on were
Moby Dick and
Animal Farm. Both of these works
possess animals as their main characters.
Moby Dick's whale is an animal character so prominent it is impossible to
ignore, and Animal Farm has so many
creatures in it I was able to find research on it easily.
The white whale and the pigs of
Animal Farm are drastically different in function and allow me to see the
wide range of roles that animals can fill in literature.
Secondary works were some from our class. Short stories by Edgar Allan
Poe and Emily Dickinson are referenced along with
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and
Rip Van Winkle. I felt these were
good picks because they showed how animals are used to reflect the feelings of
the human characters without mentioning it directly and because they also use
the basic meanings of the animals themselves. As can be seen in the analysis,
often times animals are used to expand a human character. Additionally these
were the stories from class I was most interested in understanding why such
animals were used.
Moby Dick
Moby Dick
itself is possibly one of the most recognizable books in the world. Many people
may have never read the entirety of the book, but surely if you referenced an
obsessed man hunting down a large white whale people would understand the
meaning behind the statement. This epic work is classified as an Adventure novel
and with good reason. It mainly takes place on a ship out at the sea, following
the mysterious story of Captain Ahab and the infamous white whale through a
character, Ishmael's, perspective. Oddly enough, though the book is named after
the animal of interest it is rarely seen in person during the story. Instead it
is mostly referenced and spoke of in fantastical manners. This of course hints
that the book about a great white whale isn't really about a white whale at all.
It is for this reason that
Moby Dick is an amazing use of animal
symbolism where the animal symbolizes only what it is perceived to be, like a
reflection. The first great appearance of the mysterious Captain Ahab is to
rouse his crew to abandon their original reason for shipping off, collecting
sperm whale oil, and instead hunt down the beast that is Moby Dick. To most this
idea would seem entirely insane, but in
Moby Dick, only one character finds it so but even he changes his mind after
some prodding. Despite all the crew's wild stories about this dangerous,
immortal animal the author really doesn't write Moby Dick as anything more than
an average whale. Anything could behave irrationally when trying to escape a
man-made object and perhaps what it has learned to associate with pain. The crew
and its captain give the whale all of its power. Moby Dick absorbs whatever
persona people give him; their treatment of him as a monster makes him
monstrous.
This whale serves as a reflective
symbol that takes the shape of whatever it is said to be, like a self-fulfilling
prophesy. Ahab is certain this animal
is the most evil thing in the world. A
prophesy was foretold that Moby Dick would bring his death, causing his
fixation on the animal. Of course, this did eventually happen, but only because
he was obsessed with killing that whale. Had he left it alone, perhaps he
would've escaped this demise. Moby Dick seems to symbolize the way people tend
to romanticize things. There was no evidence that this whale was any more
malevolent than other whales, but because someone believed it was it became so
in the eyes of others. After everyone had taken a sip of the proverbial Kool Aid
it was hard for them to see reason. Unlike the other animals on this list, the
whale itself has no organic meanings. The presence of a whale in literature
signifies nothing consistent to readers but it is important because it shows
that animals are sometimes used as blank canvases for the humans around them.
Consider the following: though Moby Dick is a
massive book filled with the obsession of a captain about killing the whale, you
rarely actually see the whale in the book. He is seen three times during the
entire work. Most of his mentions are based on the opinions of other characters.
This whale is represents Captain Ahab's obsession. He thinks this animal is the
most evil thing in the world, and its only existence is to taunt him. Some
characters use the whale as a coping mechanism for why they must go off course
due to their captain’s orders. Other characters instead see just a whale. A
prized whale, perhaps, but still nothing to lose ones head over. This animal is
seen as mysterious and elusive. He is described in great detail as a large white
whale. Oddly enough, white normally
means something good, but in this cause it is a symbol for what is malevolent.
Throughout the book the animal takes on a life of its own. It
is seen very little but mentioned frequently. The way it's essence travels
through the ship is amazing. People that had never seen it before suddenly start
to speculate that it is much more than a whale, something immortal, like a god.
Ishmael begins to think of what the animal could be by coming up with meaning
for the color white. This ordinary whale suddenly has power behind him just
because someone said it did, and others believed it. This could be interpreted
as a message on religion. You could go more spiritual and say its meaning is
that the power of thoughts can change things. The great white whale is a blank
canvas for ideas and beliefs.
Animal Farm
Animal Farm is another
recognizable classic, albeit a thinly veiled warning against communism. It
begins with an average farm being run into the ground by your not-so-average
drunken farmer. He drinks away his money while the animals that made it starve.
Obviously, the animals are not too keen with this tyranny, which leads them to
all listen to the idyllic ramblings of the wisest animal on the farm. An old
pig, aptly named Old Major, tells them his dream of a better world where animals
ruled the farm and all of them were equal. The animals, delighted by this idea,
removed their tyrannical farmer and immediately began to create their perfect
world. Unfortunately, their new idyllic lifestyle quickly fell to pieces.
Almost immediately the animals began to differentiate
themselves. Showing that even animals are unable to see each other as equals.
The pigs take control of the situation as the smartest animals on the farm, but
just like people they also start to fight against one another.
The pigs stand for one of the more blatant manners of
symbolisms. They are gluttonous and intelligent animals unable to stay happy
with what they have. If there is more to be had then more they will take. The
pigs take the role of politicians. Some of them have the common man's best
interest at heart, but they are usually overruled by their more cutthroat
opponents.
Predictably, this iron fist ruling style leads to the
downfall of the farm, and they seem to be in even worse shape than they were at
the hands of the farmer. These actions are defended by a character named
Squealer who uses his pig-given intelligence to twist the words of the
Animal Farm's original doctrine to
protect the pigs and their dastardly dealings.
Boxer, a loyal horse, is one of the few characters written in
a positive light. As a horse, he is seen as a hard working character, good
natured, and a bit too trusting. This animal was chosen to represent the
majority of working class people. When people read the book, having the
character be a horse made it easily understood what this character would
represent before it even spoken. Mollie, also a horse, is a slight change of the
representations. She still possesses the horse trait of loyalty, but it is to
their previous ruler, the Farmer.
Another animal symbol character is Benjamin. He is the only
one suspicious of the pigs, possibly because he is a donkey. Donkeys are seen as
symbols for stubborn yet hard working creatures. And true to the animal, this
character's only purpose seems to be questioning the leadership of the
supposedly more intelligent pigs.
Animal Farm
is an excellent example of animal symbolism in literature. Nearly every
character has basic meanings behind them, which enhances their personalities
wordlessly. This book was a wonderful background for understanding some of the
in-class texts.
Birds in Books
Birds are a prominent character in literature for a
few reasons. One is that birds are easy to add in short poems. Because of birds,
pardon the pun, flighty nature they can be added on a moments noticed without
giving much of a backstory as to why they are there. As birds they are able to
fly in and out at will.
Type of bird also has a meaning in literature. A nightingale,
for example, can show what time of day it is in the scene. However, the bird I
chose to focus on was the raven.
The
raven is a prominent symbol of death and general darkness. It is also seen as
one if the more intelligent animals. In
Animal Farm the raven is the one that educates the other animals about their
afterlife. In film the presence of a raven often means death. In Poe's The
Raven, he chose this animal because it fit the gloomy air of his work and
because it was an animal that was able to blindly repeat a word without much
idea of its significance. However, the raven is also seen as an intelligent
animal. This gives aid to the main character’s delusions about the bird giving
him relevant answers to his question. So in this instance the raven stands for
the darkness of the scene, but its intelligence helps move the plot along by
giving answers where there are none.
In Animal
Farm it was obvious that the horses were incredibly loyal and hardworking
animals. In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,
Gunpowder, the only horse given a personality is incredibly unruly. It may seem
like he is an anti-horse persona but the text says he was originally his
master's favorite horse. In addition to his proof of hard work and loyalty, he
also serves as a reflective character similar to Moby Dick. The personality he
is given, the text leads you to believe is a reflection of his master's
personality. This adds a bit more depth to his master while setting up the scene
for possible trouble later on in the story.
In Rip Van Winkle,
Rip's dog is sort of written like his best friend. He is well liked by his
fellow townspeople but Rip's dog understands him best, possibly because his dog
is also a mirror of himself and to the current happy-go-lucky time Rip lives in.
Dogs are man's best friend and have lived amongst us like family for many years.
So it's only natural that dogs are often used as a companion and as symbol for
humanity. When Rip comes down from his sleep he cannot find his dog. Instead he
finds a random snarling dog back at his old house. This dog acts as a reflection
for the new time. While Rip's old dog had little worries much like his master,
this new dog is much more aggressive, possibly signaling the change in humanity
since Rip's departure. Unlike the white whale, which is a canvas that Melville
uses to project Ishmael's obsession on to, the dog is instead used to explain
Rip and show the difference between the old and the new.
In conclusion, animals signify many things in
literature. Their presence alone hints at a mood during a setting. In Moby Dick
it was a reflection of the person doing the thinking. To Ahab, Moby Dick was the
devil himself. To other members of the crew, Moby Dick was a legendary animal.
Then there were some that just thought it was like any other whale. It all
depended on the person. Each man projected his own interpretation of the whale
on to it. The animal was used to show the flaws in the man who chased after it.
This also works with The Raven. The bird is unable to say much more than
"Nevermore", but the main character still perceives it as a relevant answer,
even growing angry with what he thinks is the bird’s insolence.
The bird is not intelligent, just repeating a word it learned over and
over, yet he applies his own judgment on it, blaming it just like Ishamel does
in Moby Dick, yet neither animal is
actually good or bad. Animal Farm,
though, deals with more direct interpretations of animals and their motives.
In Animal
Farm the animals stayed fairly true to their original meanings. The pigs
were gluttonous and intelligent, making them the perfect political leaders. The
horses were loyal and hard working, easily representing the common man. Even the
crow held true to some of its original meaning as an intelligent animal by
telling the others about the afterlife. This all summarized into their use in
some of the works in class. In The Legend
of Sleepy Hollow, the horse Gunpowder reflected his owner’s personality,
which added some dimension to the story. It also created some extra suspense
when Ichabod runs from the horseman. Ichabod depending on the efforts of an
unruly animal makes the chase that much more thrilling.
Admittedly, I had no idea where this journal would
go. I found a lot of interesting research regarding animals in literature. The
only issue being that most sources rarely delve too deeply into that subject. It
appears that, with a few notable exceptions, animals in literature are just a
very small part of the work. Their presence can add extra information to the
text, helping to set the scene or to provide character development. Regardless
of this general consensus I still feel that the presence of animals bring forth
an element to classic works that would be unattainable with humans alone.
Works Cited
Ferber, Michael. A
Dictionary of Literary Symbols.
Cambridge: 1999.
Irving, Washington. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."Project
Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg, n.d. Web. 22 Nov
2013.
Irving, Washington. Rip
Van Winkle.
1819. Print.
Lutwack, Leonard. Birds
in Literature.
1st ed. University Press of Florida, 1994. Print.
"Marginalia." The
Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore.
Web. 18 Nov 2013. <http://www.eapoe.org/pstudies/ps1970/p1972209.htm>.
Melville, Herman. Moby
Dick.
London: Richard Bentley, 1851. Print.
Orwell, George. Animal
Farm.
London: Secker and Warburg, 1945. Print.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The
Raven.
1845. Print.
"Great Star" flag of pre-Civil War USA