Scribblers Retreat

I always hated symbolism analysis in school. I'd read too many disclaimers from authors saying the symbolism literary analysts were writing about their books was nonsense and they hadn't written any into their book. In fact, I once wrote a children's story (never published, fortunately) that was read to a writer's group--not my own. They were convinced the tree in the story represented the dead mother. I was confused. There was no mention of a mother in the whole story. It was a brief story about a father and daughter and while the mother is never mentioned, I didn't say she was dead. She might well have been in the kitchen baking cookies or at work. She just wasn't needed. And a tree as a substitute mother? I didn't get it. I still don't.

So I'm now working on a novel for practice, and my sister the lit major thinks it demands symbolism. Can a person who has always made fun of symbolism put symbolism into her story? Am I even capable of it?

Sister says there are several elements to my story that make ideal symbolism...stones and light. So we'll see if I can do it. It's only for practice anyway, right...unless it turns out to be any good, but I'm not holding out extreme hope for this possibility.

But then again, I never thought I could write a non-fiction book and get it publshed and I've written two, so who know.