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{\large How People Use Symbols} \\[0.2in]
Marc Horowitz \\
21.512 \\
May 11, 1992
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Human beings have traditionally used symbols of all kinds as a vehicle
for understanding and controlling the world around them.  Symbols can
apply to individuals, groups, or society.  A symbol can often make a
point to a large number of people in a society, where a factual
description might not be convincing enough.

One example of symbols in society is the tropes of everyday language.
Within a society, a trope can carry a great deal of direct and subtle
meaning.  I may leave a test and say to a friend, ``That test was a
piece of cake!''  This means more than merely saying ``That test was
easy!''  The test was so easy I enjoyed taking it, as I might enjoy
eating a piece of cake.  Tropes in language can also be used to
separate a group of people.  Almost any subculture has its own set of
metaphors which it uses to describe events within that subculture.
Someone who understands this language is an insider; anyone else is an
outsider.  Sporting enthusiasts, political organizations, scientists,
doctors, and lawyers are only a few examples of subcultures which have
their own symbols in language.

Symbols also play an active role in the day-to-day lives of people.
In classical Greek mythology, certain gods, places, or characters are
symbolic of certain traits: Zeus is symbolic of power, Aphrodite of
beauty, Athena of wisdom, etc.  An individual might invoke one of
these gods if he or she wanted intervention from that god on his or
her behalf.  A ruler might sacrifice something to Zeus in hope that he
would remain in power.  A scholar might keep around something symbolic
of Athena in hopes that he might grow wiser, and to indicate his
profession to others.  Metaphors serve a similar purpose in our
culture.  Flowers can be a sign of many things.  We send them to sick
people as a symbol of the health and vitality we wish them to regain.
We send them as tokens of friendship or affection.  Sometimes this
symbolism is extremely ritualized, such as a red rose for love, or a
white rose for friendship.  Symbols such as flowers or religious icons
represent a thought which would be difficult to express otherwise.

Another common symbol is physical appearance.  An individual's
appearance can be symbolic for societal rank, occupation, etc.  We can
see examples of this in Raymond Firth's essay ``Hair as Private Asset
and Public Symbol''.  In our society, we see hair as an indicator of
personality.  A male who views himself as a liberal or a
non-conformist will grow his hair long.  A woman with unshaven legs
will be usually be labelled as a radical feminist or something
similar.  In other societies, the exact form of the symbol may be
different, but it will be there.  ``What is particularly important is
that these styles are often not just aesthetic modulations or a matter
of individual preference; they are strongly conventionalized, given
moral approval and used as instruments of social expression and social
control.''\footnote{Firth, p.~271} A Native American woman will wear
her hair differently if she is married or unmarried.  All of these are
examples of how a person may alter his or her physical appearance
symbolically.  The body itself is not the only vehicle for symbolic
displays of appearance.  A monarch's bejewelled crown and sceptre are
symbolic of his power; nobody but a powerful ruler could afford to
waste gold or jewels on a headpiece or a stick.  Some symbols are more
arbitrary.  A bride wears white, metaphorical of an ideal of purity.
A mourner wears black, metaphorical of death.  In all of these
examples, the purpose of the symbol is to set aside or distinguish an
individual in a well-understood way.

Symbols do not always play such a passive role.  Rituals almost always
have a strong symbolic component.  Often, an everyday item or place
will play a special role in a ritual, symbolizing by its use or form
something much more profound.  Victor Turner gives several detailed
examples in ``Ritual Symbolism, Morality, and Social Structure among
the Ndembu''.  He gives as examples two kinds of trees which are,
presumably, common.  One kind of tree is the {\em mukala} tree, which
secretes a red gum.  This red gum is symbolic of blood in Ndembu
rituals, including, for example, the male circumcision ritual.  In
this case, the tree is used in the ritual after the circumcision has
taken place.  The intent is that the wounds should heal quickly, as
the gum hardens quickly as well.  The purpose of this sort of ritual
is to draw a connection between human society and natural order.

Another common use of symbols is to provide a parallel in nature of
something arbitrary in society.  We can see this in animal metaphors.
The phrase ``king of the jungle'' demonstrates the lion as a symbol of
dominance and power.  This well-known symbol might cause a monarch to
choose a name such as ``Richard the Lion-Hearted'', which would be
implicitly understood.  In ``fox hunting as ritual'', by James Howe,
we see examples of animal symbolism.  The hounds of the hunter
symbolize the hunter, the hunted animal symbolizes the enemy of the
hunter, and the hunt itself might symbolize a battle.  An English
gentleman would treat his hounds and horses with extreme care,
breeding them and keeping them as he might his own family or himself.
A well-kept hunting pack was an outward symbol of a rich and important
hunter.  The animal being hunted was a symbolic enemy.  Howe mentions
``the concept of {\em the noble adversary} whose sterling qualities
confirm one's own.''\footnote{Howe, p.~293}  The most noble animals,
which may have been the wild boor, deer, or fox, depending on the
time, symbolized the most honorable chase.

In a few weeks, MIT will be holding a graduation ritual in which many
symbols can be found.  The diploma is a symbol of the knowledge which
the student has acquired.  Clothing is symbolic of rank.  Graduates
wear a simple black gown.  Higher degrees come with more elaborate
colored hoods.  (Even the colors are symbolic of the kind of degree.)
Professors, deans, and the President will wear special regalia setting
them aside from all the other people present.  The symbols here are
intended to make concrete orderings and distinctions which may seem
arbitrary to someone unfamiliar with acedemia.  One can look at a B.S.
and a Ph.D., and it is clear who has the more significant ranking in
the academic heirarchy.  The entire ceremony itself is a symbol of
passage.  Before the ceremony, the person is a student, not yet fully
learned in his field.  After, he is a scholar, fully knowledgeable in
his field, certified to use his skills in the real world, or to go on
to more advanced fields of learning.

People create symbols to add structure to parts of their world which
are poorly understood, or to make difficult concepts easier to
understand.  The symbols of a society provide a common experience base
for people to draw from both in everyday life, and in ritual
situations.  The symbols which can provide a cohesiveness within a
society may also serve the function of differentiating outsiders,
forcing them to conform to local standards, or be shunned.  Symbols
add an extra dimension to human life which would be difficult to
achieve in any other way.  These symbols are intrinsic to, and in many
cases, defining of a culture.

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