"Is That a Symbol"

You read over something in a book and you wonder what could this mean? It is more than likely symbolizing something that will be referred to without the book. The smallest object could be the most powerful or important just as a big object. There were many symbols in "The Great Gatsby". One such as the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg, they gave a sense that they were looking of the city like the eyes of God. The green light on the edge of Daisy's dock represents Gatsby's hopes and dreams for the future. It seemed so close yet so far. It was also associated with the American dream. Readers can tell when an object in a book symbolizes something. The author will go back and refer to it throughout the book. They can bring back past experiences or foreshadow what is coming.
The title of To Kill a Mockingbird has very little literal connection to the plot, but it carries a great deal of symbolic weight in the book. In this story of innocents destroyed by evil, the “mockingbird” comes to represent the idea of innocence. To kill a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. Throughout the book, a number of characters can be identified as mockingbirds, innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with evil. This connection between the novel’s title and its main theme is made explicit several times in the novel: after Tom Robinson is shot, and at the end of the book Scout thinks that hurting Boo Radley would be like “shootin’ a mockingbird.” Miss Maudie explains that’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” As the novel progresses, the children’s changing attitude toward Boo Radley is an important measurement of their change from innocence toward a grown-up moral perspective. Despite the pain that Boo has suffered, the purity of his heart rules his interaction with the children. In saving Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell, Boo proves the ultimate symbol of good.
As for in Romeo and Juliet many symbols of their love are portrayed within the book. Friar Lawrence’s words prove true over the course of the play. The sleeping potion he gives Juliet is concocted to cause the appearance of death, not death itself. Romeo did not know that she wasn't dead and did not want to live without her he took the potion committing suicide. As this example shows, human beings tend to cause death even without intending to. Poison symbolizes human society’s tendency to poison good things and make them fatal. After all, unlike many of the other tragedies, this play does not have an evil villain, but rather people whose good qualities are turned to poison by the world in which they live. Another symbol, Samson begins a brawl between the Montagues and Capulets by flicking his thumbnail from behind his upper teeth. Meaning he wants to fight but doesn’t want to be accused of starting the fight. The thumb biting, as an essentially meaningless gesture, represents the foolishness of the entire Capulet/Montague feud and the stupidity of violence in general.
The more we read the more we'l be able to scout out those symbols within literature.