2719

Essay 1.2

ESL 21A

820 words

There are many different of symbols in various areas of daily life. Symbols are objects, characters, concrete representation of ideas, abstractions or concepts. Symbols are used to represent some abstract things by some concrete things. Symbols' function is a connection some abstract things and concrete things. So, symbols may be relative things with something we want to represent. For example, there are many symbols about spaces, foods or associations. Symbols make us know easily what it is by some colors or designs. We don't have to write and read some words; we will be able to know what it is just look at symbols. When we make the symbol, we think about our image of some abstract things we want to represent such as colors. So symbols may relate some abstract things we want to represent. Between some cultures, sometimes symbols have different meaning at same objects. However some symbols are used by the entire world.

        We often use symbols to represent an association. For example, in Japan, a green cross is the symbol of the medical treatment. So the hospital has that mark to represent that there are medical center. On the map, a cross in a pentagon means the hospital. The top of the first-aid kid has a mark of a green cross. A medical treatment is an abstract thing, so we represent it with using concrete things as a green cross. However this symbol is not used the entire world. In the United States, they use the different symbol for representation the medical treatment. A red cross is the symbol of the medical treatment in the United States.

        Another example of the symbol is a company's symbols. Almost all company has a symbol of their company. Company is an abstract thing, so they represent their company's image by some colors or designs as symbols. We know some of these company's symbols. We don't know all company's symbols, but we know some big company's symbol. For example, yellow "M" on the red color is the symbol of the Mc Donald. It is the big company, so we know what this symbol represents.

In our daily life, there are many symbols. One of these symbols is traffic sighs. For example, in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, a red octagon is a symbol for the traffic sigh meaning "STOP". We know what we have to stop in there, just look at the traffic sigh. Other example of a traffic sigh is a signal. Colors are often used as symbols to represent something. All of the world, a signal has three colors, green, yellow and red. A Green signal means "GO", a yellow signal means "DANGER", a red signal means "STOP". Signals tell us it by different colors. There are symbols of traffic rules. Signals are not written some words, but we know what the meaning of these colors is.

        There are many symbols in our house. Arrangement of space has important symbols of statements about social groupings and social relationships. In some cultures, they divide spaces according to rank, and in other cultures, they divide spaces about marriage. For example, in Canada, their house was divided by rank. The left corner of the rear of the house is the occupation for the highest-ranking person in the house. The right corner of the rear of the house is the occupation for the second highest-ranking person, and so on. They divide spaces according to seniority. In other culture have rules about marriage. In Thailand, sleeping room is the most scared room in the house. Person who marriage with first cousin is not allowed sleep in the sleeping room. If a person may marry with more distant relatives, they can't enter the sleeping room and they have to remain in the guest room.

    There are symbols of foods in our daily life. In many New Guinea societies like that of the Lesu on the island of New Ireland in the Pacific and that of the Trobriand Islanders, couples eating together at first time is the symbol of marriage. However in the United States society, eating together at first time is not the symbol of marriage, it is just the contrary. Most couples may go out for dinner at a first date. Eating together at first time is the symbol for some culture, but it is not the symbol for other cultures.

        There are many different symbols in our daily life. We can make and use symbols to represent some abstract things by some concrete things with using some colors or designs. Symbols can connect some abstract things and concrete things. Symbols have relation between some abstract things and some concrete things. However symbols are not work in entire world. Sometimes symbols have opposite meaning by different areas. Symbols make us know easily what it is. We can know what it is just look at the symbols.