Select one symbolic element (your choice) from Cao Xueqin’s The Story of the Stone. And do the following: Identify its denotative meaning. Identify as many connotative meanings as you can come up with.
Select one symbolic element (your choice) from Cao Xueqin’s The Story of the Stone
Reflective Writing: Symbolism
Select one symbolic element (your choice) from Cao Xueqin’s The Story of the Stone. And do the following:
Firstly, Identify its denotative meaning.
Secondly, Identify as many connotative meanings as you can come up with.
Thirdly, Explain how usage has created the connotative meanings (give its context).
Fourthly, Discuss its symbolic significance to the story (i.e., what did it add to the possible meaning of the story)
Lastly, Include a statement that identifies whether the symbol is traditional, conventional, or literary.
The purpose of the assignment is to show that you thoroughly understand symbolism and the terminology we covered in this module.
Length/Formatting Requirements:
The assignment should be a minimum of 900 not including the Works Cited page. Use a 12-point font in Times New Roman or Arial. Margins should be 1″ on all sides. Do not use a title page, but use a proper MLA heading, and title your assignment.
Quoting and Documentation Requirements:
You are required to use quoted material in this assignment, and you must properly document all borrowed material (whether quoted, paraphrased, or summarized) both within the text and on a Works Cited page using the correct current MLA documentation style.
More details;
The Story of the Stone (c.1760) is one of the greatest novels of Chinese literature. The first part of the story, The Golden Days, begins the tale of Bao-yu, a gentle young boy who prefers girls to Confucian studies, and his two cousins: Bao-chai, his parents’ choice of a wife for him, and the ethereal beauty Dai-yu. Through the changing fortunes of the Jia family, this rich, magical work sets worldly events – love affairs, sibling rivalries, political intrigues, even murder – within the context of the Buddhist understanding that earthly existence is an illusion and karma determines the shape of our lives.
