It was 1963, and 16-year-old Bruce McAllister was sick of symbol-hunting
in English class. Rather than quarrel with his teacher, he went
straight to the source: McAllister mailed a crude, four-question survey
to 150 novelists, asking if they intentionally planted symbolism in
their work. Seventy-five authors responded. Here’s what 12 of them had
to say.
From a
piece on Mental Floss...
“Do you consciously, intentionally plan and place symbolism in your writing?… If yes, please state your method for doing so. Do you feel you sub-consciously place symbolism in your writing?”
Isaac Asimov: “Consciously? Heavens, no! Unconsciously? How can one avoid it?”
Joseph Heller: “Yes, I
do intentionally rely on symbolism in my writing, but not to the extent
that many people have stated…No, I do not subconsciously place
symbolism in my writing, although there are inevitably many occasions
when events acquire a meaning additional to the one originally
intended.”
Ray Bradbury: “No, I never consciously place
symbolism in my writing. That would be a self-conscious exercise and
self-consciousness is defeating to any creative act. Better to let the
subconscious do the work for you, and get out of the way. The best
symbolism is always unsuspected and natural.”
John Updike: “Yes—I have no method; there is no method in writing fiction; you don’t seem to understand.”
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