Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Symbolism. I needed a little help...

Alright, so I'm a self-admitted over-thinker, right?

So why didn't I put this thought together (on the actual front page of my blog):

I favour survival-of-the-fittest worlds, and I won't lie, there is always a literary seasoning on top.

...with the fact that Project 1 & Project 2 both take place in desert settings...

...until I read the following selection from this blog article on drought:

Mood: Water is one of our most basic needs. When it stops appearing in the form of regular rainfall, and existing water slowly starts to disappear, desperation is spawned. People turn anxious as they wonder when it will rain again and if it will happen before the crops fail or grocery bills skyrocket or someone's future disintegrates. Because it is entirely out of our control, drought also can produce a sense of helplessness.

Symbolism: Need, desperation, survival of the fittest, barrenness, failure

Project 1 and Project 2 are both set in deserts. Both stories take place in extreme survival-of-the-fittest type worlds, although in both cases, access to clean drinking water is one of the few things the characters don't have to worry about. In Project 1 and Project 2, even though drought is not directly influencing the characters... the desert setting implies the same characteristics/symbolism of drought.

...and I didn't even put this together until reading that article...

So, now I'm thinking hard about the setting of Project 3, which is never specified directly, but takes place in a setting similar to where I live on the west coast of Canada. Rain is heavy and ever-present in the dull grey overcast skies. A sunny day can feel like a miracle, an unexpected chance, a new beginning.

Now read over my *blurb* or Project 3 and tell me if the implied meaning/symbolism of that setting fits with the story.

Sometimes it just takes another person's thoughts to click two things together for you.

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Type me out a line of Shakespeare or a line of nonsense. Dumb-blonde-jokes & Irish jokes will make me laugh myself silly :)