In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, he uses the moon as one of the symbols for the love shared between Gatsby and Daisy. In this way, the reader can learn something about their relationship, how crazy it truly is. One might say – lunacy. In this, it’s clear why he would choose such an emblem as a symbol. That having been said, anything can be a symbol of anything, as long as it is well written and the symbolism works. For example, oranges are symbolic of danger and death in the 1972 movie, The Godfather.
Examples
The two clearest examples involve the Godfather himself, Vito Corleone. The first is how he buys a sack of oranges from a street vendor just before he’s shot. The shooters even knock over a basket of oranges as they run up to fire on the Don. The second is how he plays with an orange with his grandson before he has a heart attack. He puts a slice in his mouth and pretends to be a monster and scares his grandchild. From the strength of these alone, it would be hard to establish how oranges are a symbol, but there is more.
The film director Jack Woltz has a bowl full of oranges on his dinner table when he eats with Tom Hagen. When the camera shoots down the table towards Woltz, the orange is prominently in the center of the table. He awakens the morning to find the head of his prize horse in his bed. Threat taken. At the bank meeting of the Dons, a bowl of fruit sets before Don Barzini. An orange is on top right under his head. This could be a portend of his own death at the hands of Al Neri, or symbolize how he is the real threat, and not Don Tattaglia. At the wedding feast, Sal Tessio reaches at his table for an orange. This is not just s symbol, but a portend of his death at the end of the movie. In fact, the get the fruit he crosses over the Don’s wife and two of her grandchildren. Sal literally crosses the Corleones, which he did at the end to set up his death.
You see the same in the second movie. In the flashback portion, Don Ciccio eats an orange as he walks down the street towards his apartment. Vito meets him at his door and shoots him. At the party for Anthony’s first Eucharist, Johnny Ola gives Michael Corleone an orange as a gift from Hyman Roth from Miami. That night, assassins fail to kill Michael and is family in his home. The orders were given by Roth. Near the end of the movie, Michael eats an orange with Hagen and Rocco Lampone while discussing the hit he has just ordered to be put on Roth.
Lessons
While creating symbolism is never easy, there are some that make more sense to both author and reader, such as the moon for lunacy to describe the love between Gatsby and Daisy. Any small space can symbolize a prison, or for that matter, any restrictive system, or the other way around. But when you as a writer work on your symbolism, don’t always go for the low hanging fruit (even if it’s the orange).
An orange is not an obvious representative of danger and threats of death. But here it works because Puzo and Copella use them consistently. It’s true that anything can represent anything, and that a symbol can work even if it’s used just once, but not oranges for danger. At any time, a single tree can stand for the cross, a snake for temptation, or a mirror for introspection (okay, I wrote this on Sunday). But when you use a symbol that in itself it not obvious, you need to use it more than once. Not just that, but whenever you can.
When creating symbolism, you almost have to over-do it. Don’t be afraid it coming across as too much. What seems as too many of a symbol to you will not be noticed to many readers. Let your beta-readers tell you if it’s too much, and maybe ask them to look for it. But if you want, a rake can symbolize hope, a skillet can stand for justice, or an owl can represent unrequited love. It’s all how you use them. Symbolism makes your storytelling richer, and we should not neglect them. As Creative Writers we make our words dance, we manipulate them like puppets on a string. Work symbolism into your tales, and your readers will cherish you or your skills and advanced craft.
A WORD FITLY SPOKEN 