2419

ESL 21a

Essay 1.2

841 words

A Symbol, its original meaning is a sighSpl or object that represents something else. It is true but I think that "symbol" is used in so many ways that are even beyond the original meaning. Here are some examples from the texts we read in QRW how symbols are servedAwkward in various areas.

One of examples is about the symbolism of food. There are many different societies in this world, therefore, of course there are so many different cultures and symbols. In some societies, they might have the same symbol as you do, however they might not use it in the way you do. For instance, in some societies, the nuclear family is the unit that regularly eats together. As for the English, the kind of meal and the kind of food that is served relate to the kinds of social links between people who are eating together. However, in other societies in New Guinea, the nuclear family is not the unit that eats together, that is where men usually eats with other men and women with other women. I think that we could call each custom of "eating" a symbol because it represents their societies and cultures.Eating is sometimes used as a sign of marriage. In many societies in New Guinea, the couple's eating together for the first time symbolizes their new status as a married couple.

I think that those symbols are relate to cultures. Although there are also other symbols about food or eating. In Japan, which is my home, there are some food that can symbolize "Japan". For example, sushi. Sushi is one of the most famous and popular Japanese food and I think that a lot of people in other countries have tried it, too, as a Japanese food. They might like it or they might hate it, but it still symbolizes the country which the food is from. And I know that a lot of people in Japan eat sushi with their hands. They think it is natural. They think it is a finger food. For me personally, I do not like eating food with hands but still you could see a lot of people eating sushi with their hands if you go to some sushi restaurants in Japan.{1}

According to the book, an entire nation may be represented by an array of symbols. For example, I have seen the Californian Flag several times and always see the bear in it because it is a symbol of California. Or the eagle - it is a symbolic animal of the United States, too. It is funny how those symbols remind people of something relate to them.

Here is another example I picked from the book. In 1960s in the United States, all men in authority had short hair. Young men created a symbol of oppposition when they allowed their hair to grow long.

In Japan, again, schools, such as junior high schools and high schools, have their own symbols. They have their own song which all the students in the school have to be able to sing because it symbolizes the school. In addition, they have their own rules, for instance, in most junior high schools, students are required to wear school uniforms and are not allowed to dye their hair, get pierced earrings and so on. They might be just rules, but there are the same rules even in some high schools. As for the high school I graduated from, they did not have any rules like that. They did not even have school uniforms so we were allowed to wear whatever we wanted. The teachers taught us that it was our school's symbol - A symbol of freedom. Since it was pretty rare that we did not have school uniforms during most schools did, the principle use the symbol to get new students every year. I think it is a good symbol and a good way to get people's attention since there are so many students who are tired of those rules and want to go to school that gives them freedom.

Symbols can be used to show how people's feelingsGood!, too. For example, colors. Each color have its meaning and it is interesting how people use a particular color by their feelings. As for me, white is a color of innocence, red is passion, pink is love and etc. I guess people use a particular color to express their feelings and I think it is easir for other people to understand how they really feel.In conclusion, I think that a symbol is very useful in everyday life and I find it very interesting to know how symbols serve in different societies. After I read the texts again, now I am very curious about learning symbols that are in other societies because I am sure that they have many symbols that we do not have in Japan and if I learned about them, I might be able to understand what they really mean in the socierty so that I will not have to make misunderstanding problems.