The real meaning behind interpreting symbols is shown through Thomas Foster’s “Is That a Symbol” piece. He explains the common misconception with symbolism and how it affects the way symbols are perceived. Readers tend to want to pinpoint one specific answer to a symbol. The reality to understanding symbols, though, is how the reader understands them to the best of his/her knowledge. This theory is argued in the piece by Thomas Foster, “Is That a Symbol?” By looking at the writing style and the word choice in this piece, we see that Thomas Foster is pushing the idea of symbolism and how it should be approached. The first step a reader should think about is what the symbol means to him/herself to properly understand the overall message. This is significant because knowing more about symbols and how to perceive them can help a reader better understand what he/she is reading about and the symbols or themes that are presented in them, such as the examples given in Thomas Foster’s piece. 

Thomas Foster begins by explaining the reality of symbols. They are meant to be flexible in the way they are identified. By understanding symbols, Foster explains that this will ultimately help a reader in understanding the piece of writing as a whole. Symbols are not meant to have one general meaning because then it would be considered an allegory. Creative imagination is the process of developing unique concepts within a specific person. This idea is what each reader uses in their own way to understand a symbol. 

In Foster’s writing, “Is That a Symbol?”, it is important to note the general writing style which is used. In order to attain credibility, Thomas Foster uses an excerpt from, A Passage to India, by E.M. Forster to show certain symbols and prove his argument that a symbols meaning is what the reader perceives it as. He introduces the novel by discussing the mysteries of an assault that occurred in a cave. He begins by stating how “we want [the cave] to mean something, don’t we? More than that, we want it to mean some thing, one thing for all of us and for all time” (19). The first response of the reader is to try and search on the surface of the text for the one thing that the cave could represent. Thomas Foster, on the other hand, is arguing that instead, the reader should come up with the meaning on his own, using his preexisting knowledge and individual questions. Foster uses this excerpt from E.M. Forster’s novel because the use of the cave is very symbolic, but has no specific meaning. Foster includes this in his writing as an example that shows the infinite possibilities that a symbol can have.

Further in the discussion of this connection to A Passage to India, Foster suggests that one specific meaning for a symbol would “be easy, convenient, and manageable for us. But the handiness would result in a net loss: the novel would cease to be what it is, a network of meanings and significations that permits a nearly limitless range of possible interactions” (19). Going along with the idea that symbols are meant to be limitless, Foster continues to provide ideas that there is never one meaning to a symbol. Nowhere in A Passage to India is there an answer to what the cave symbolizes, but using his/her own knowledge and the information in the novel, the reader can come up with a meaning on his/her own. This can help the reader better understand pieces of writing because they will be using their own knowledge to determine the themes instead of trying to figure out what the writer was saying. By using these examples of writings in his text, Thomas is proving that every reader who interprets a specific text will find a different meaning to the same symbol. By using these individual meanings to these symbols, a reader will then be able to continue to figure out the meaning behind the text as a whole.

The word choice in this writing by Thomas Foster also helps the reader understand the themes he is portraying. Aside from using other text’s as evidence, his word choice clearly questions the way readers process ideas in pieces of writing. Foster states that “reading is [instinctual], too. The more you exercise the symbolic imagination, the better and quicker it works” (23). He is suggesting that the more the reader practices using his/her natural instincts to help them process and analyze a specific part of a reading, the easier it will get. By Foster using the word ‘instinctual’, he is trying to prove that the thought process behind what a reader is reading is what comes natural to them. Foster follows this with the term ‘symbolic imagination’, which is specifically pointing out the type of thinking a reader should have while reading. By Foster putting ‘symbolic imagination’ in his writing, the reader gets an understanding of the thought process they should be having. This term’s meaning is exactly what the words mean, so it is easy for the reader to understand. Without the author putting these 2 different pieces of word choice in, the quote would lose its main intention of showing, in a simplistic way, how to develop skills to further understand symbols. 

Foster also uses specific words to show the positive aspects of finding different meanings for symbols. He argues that if the reader knows about the author’s past, then he might have a different understanding than if the reader had no idea. Similar to this idea, “encountering different and even conflicting interpretations is one pleasure, since the great work allows for a considerable range of possible interpretations” (23). This is suggesting that going back and thinking differently can help the reader come up with multiple depictions, of which then he can narrow it down to gain his best understanding of the piece. Foster’s use of the word ‘pleasure’ shows how there is a positive aspect of finding new ways to think about one specific idea. He is explaining how this will help by including the words, ‘great work’. Empowering the idea of finding the key point through several different broad points is useful, especially for difficult writings, because the reader can gain more and more information each time he interprets it in a new way. 

Foster’s use of specific words while introducing new ideas helps the reader understand in a simplistic way. He says, “the other problem with symbols is that many readers expect them to be objects and images rather than events or actions” (23). This is a common mistake for readers who look ahead too fast and don’t stop and actually think about the message. Thomas is trying to get the readers to understand that symbols can be anything, so if a reader thinks it means something then it is a symbol to that reader. He includes the word ‘problem’ to show that it is a common misconception by several people that continues to happen. The word choice Foster is using is clearly designed to exemplify the importance of symbols and their individual meanings.

The different ways Thomas Foster argued his point about symbols shows how significant they are in helping to understand a reading. He argued multiple, different points of view from a few different pieces of writing that clearly proved his point about symbolism and how it is understood. By using the other texts in his writing style, and the different word choice, Thomas Foster clearly shows in, “Is That a Symbol?”, the different factors that can lead to a unique understanding of a specific symbol in a piece of writing. Readers use their own creative imagination process which helps them utilize their individual characteristics and experience to help come up with their unique interpretation. Symbols have infinite possibilities and the meanings come through the readers to distinguish instead of clearly being in the text from the writer. 