During the chapter Thomas Foster writes about that when we read, how do we know an object written is a symbol for something else in the meaning of the text? Furthermore, "what does it mean, and what does it stand for?".
Foster responds to this early on in the chapter writing a symbol is most often not created with a certain meaning in mind, but instead to provoke the reader to consider what it means to them. While most symbols in the outside world will stand for just one meaning (he uses the example of the white flag being a universal symbol for surrendering) but due to reading relying solely on the readers imagination for the scene to be set in their mind, symbols are used for the reader to view the scene in a different view.
To support this, Foster uses the example of the river in the novel 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' where the river represents both destruction but also freedom, changing as the story and the characters views change. By the end of the novel, the river is seen as a bigger symbol for change through a journey
A symbol is created by the author but it is what it symbolises that is created by the reader
Foster responds to this early on in the chapter writing a symbol is most often not created with a certain meaning in mind, but instead to provoke the reader to consider what it means to them. While most symbols in the outside world will stand for just one meaning (he uses the example of the white flag being a universal symbol for surrendering) but due to reading relying solely on the readers imagination for the scene to be set in their mind, symbols are used for the reader to view the scene in a different view.
To support this, Foster uses the example of the river in the novel 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' where the river represents both destruction but also freedom, changing as the story and the characters views change. By the end of the novel, the river is seen as a bigger symbol for change through a journey
A symbol is created by the author but it is what it symbolises that is created by the reader