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by Anna Steffl
Grab a pencil and paper. We’re taking a test. It’ll be enlightening AND fun, I promise.
Instructions: Jot down answers. Don’t read the text following the picture, or any of the blog comments, until you’ve finished writing your answers. Ready?
1. Name a color. Write three adjectives that describe the color.
2. Name an animal. Write three adjectives that describe the animal.
3. Name a body of water. Write three adjectives that describe the body of water.
4. Imagine you’re in a white room without windows or doors. Write three adjectives describing how you feel about being in the room.
Be a nice blog-reader and enter your answers in the comment section.
Here’s what your answers “mean.”
1. How you view yourself.
2. How you think other people view you.
3. What sex is to you.
4. Your feelings about death.
Interesting, huh?
Now you writers who are reading this, can you answer these questions for your characters? If you can, you’re staring into the glossy black eyes of the mother-of-all literary devices — symbolism. Do you use it? Consciously? Unconsciously? Care to share an example?
P.S. Thanks for commenting and letting me and your blog-friends get to know the symbolic you.
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by Anna Steffl
White: cotton-ball white, white as fresh fallen snow, translucent
Kitten: furry, snuggling, helpless
Stream: gurgling, meandering, overflowing
White room: isolated, imprisoned, alone
I haven’t written anything…yet…where I’ve used strong symbolism. However, now that you’ve brought it up, it might be fun to work on one.
Thanks much for the great post.
Sandy
BTW, I had to LOL when I read my response to : How you think other people view you….and I put furry, snuggling and helpless.
I can’t imagine ANYONE seeing me like that except maybe hubby with the snuggling part. (g)
Great little test to get us thinking.
Sandy
Good morning, Sandy,
I have no idea where this “test” came from. Someone gave it at a party once. Then, when I looked it up on the internet to write this post, I couldn’t find any real source other than one person saying it was an old junior high thing and someone else saying it was Carl Jung.
Furry — LOL — you do have that amazing hair! As for snuggling and helpless, nah.
Green: refreshing, peaceful, invigorating
Dog: Loyal, fun-loving, constant
Gulf of Mexico: emerald, vast, relaxing
White room: panicked, determined, restful
Well that’s all kind of interesting and funny too. When I write, I use symbolism deliberately since it doesn’t flow out naturally. I am usually good with the story first and then reweaving the symbolism into it.
Fun, Anna.
Debbie — wow, those are you. The white room question is pretty interesting. You have panicked AND restful. Determined…hum. Seems contradictory on the surface, but does capture the fear and hope of what comes next and how we might achieve it.
I think I’m the opposite on the symbolism thing. It just shows up in my work and I later have an aha moment — Oh, that’s what that means.
This was great Anna. Not sure I like all my answers but here they are.
Blue-calming, pretty, deep
Squirrel-hate, needless, gray–I sure hope peole don’t see me this way-I may need to work on myself
Carribean-clear, beautiful, relaxing
White room- stress, boring, endless
LOL, Susan. I PROMISE that none of us see you that way at all! We do have a good idea of what you think of squirrels though
Green – natural, calming, abundant
Dog – loyal, loving, persistent
Ocean – peaceful, fun and relaxing
White Room – sterile, lonely and boring
Wow, Anna, very interesting! I would love to see Jo’s answers to this.
Susan, I love squirrels. They’re active, resourceful, determined. I see you more like that.
Green: calm-inviting-homey
Cat: soft, loving, independent
Ocean: determined, powerful, restful
White room: fearful, curious, accepting
Hmmm…
1. Red – Bright, Sassy, Sexy
2. Wolf – Huge, Alpha, Ferocious
3. Ocean – Vast, Cool, Refreshing
4. Calm, Serene, Floating
Wow. This was fun. I honestly don’t see me as that red type or even the wolf. Can you tell I was thinking about my WIP?????
Great post, Anna!
Tami
Hey Nancy, Johanna was the one who gave this “quiz” at a party a few years ago. Her answers were, of course, a hoot.
I’m a green, too. Dog — yeah, that’s you. Your answers seem spot-on, er, I can’t really speak for that one category, though.
Thanks for posting your comment
Carol, your answers just match how you look in your photo. I can really see that cat aspect — loving yet independant. The white room? How do you feel about that answer?
Tami, tres cool that you’re thinking about your work in progress. I see some red in you. Wolf…I don’t think people see you as ferocious, but I’d say I see you as having that drive. You always see wolves driving through the snow, working together to get something done.
1. Red: dark, warm, rusty
2. Sheep: dumb, woolly, dumb
3. Red Sea: historical, symbolic, distant
4. White Room: scared, confused, asleep
I think the interesting thing here is how the picture instantly affected my responses. I purposely kept from looking straight at it, but still, RED was the overpowering influence from it.
Oops! Sorry–I just matched the comments with the blog members’ names and realized this is a membership blog. Please just delete my comments and sorry for the intrusion. Enjoyable read, though.
Hi Lyn…I didn’t think about how the picture could influence people’s responses. Good point. Still, I love the Red Sea response, maybe because I can relate to it. I think when I first took this quiz, I chose Caspian sea and some similar descriptive words.
Hey Lyn! Definitely comment! We welcome all comments.
We just happened to be the ones on this morning…grin… so that’s why it might look that way.
Welcome to PF&HT!
Lyn,
Love, love, love that you read the blog today and posted! Send more people over!
Red – bold, exciting, warm
Cat – independent, mysterious, graceful
Pond – quiet, relaxing, calming
White room – cold, confining, blah
Does “blah” count as an adjective?
Monica, blah counts. You are so much a cat, but inside, yes, you’re a red gal.
Hum…after a couple glasses of wine the pond is relaxing.
Following through on my vow to stop lurking around friends’ blogs…..
1. purple — regal, playful, passionate
2. cat — independent, sly, circumspect
3. Caribbean sea near Vieques — pristine, relaxing, invigorating
4. trapped, constrained, overwhelmed
My question is, where are Anna’s answers??? Or am I just blog-challenged and missed them?
1. Cobalt. Fractured, glistening, reflection.
2. Cat. Rumbling, content, curious.
3. Fountain. Erratic, still, recycled.
4. Smothered, plotting, colorful
This is just mean. Now I know the symbolism I would like to change my answers. Sex = recycled? What’s-his-name is going wonder what the heck I meant by that! My new answers are happy, healthy, hot, and quiet. I had a poetry professor who made us read Jung. Darn the psychology of writing!
Oooh, this was glorious!! I have to share (ok spelling is optional for me…):
1. Red: Bright, invigirating, rich
2. Wolf: Fierce, strong, faithful
3. Oceon: Strong, ovwrwhelming, mysterious
4. White: Cold, empty, lost
I’m going to have reflect on those answers. And you know, putting them in reference to characters that I write is an excellent idea.
Nicki, I think recycled simply ties into four ways. Recycling is good.
First cobalt I’ve heard. I like cobalt. For some reason it reminds me of David Bowie
All right, guess I’m not the only “cat” in the room.
Here goes:
Purple: rich, royal and deep (must have delusions of grandeur)
Cat: Fluffy, cuddly & sweet (see above, I am a selfish, food hogging Grand Dame of the Kitty litter disguised as a cute affectionate cat).
Ocean: dangerous, wild, blue (right, I see sex as dangerous and wild, but I’m blue afterward? Is that the “little death” we hear about?).
White Room: trapped, afraid and anxious. (yup, that’s pretty much it in a nutshell when it comes to death. Scares the crap out of me and that’s why I “believe.”)
Anna S, you know I heart Bowie and I know you do, too.
MV and C, just love it!
Wow. I need help.
1. Red: fiery, sexy, hot
2. Cow: black, white, moo
3. Reelfoot Lake: blue, knobby, mysterious
4. amazed, afraid, claustrophobic
The funniest answer goes to hubby, though. I called out the quiz to him and for #3 he answered, “Seven Seas Lagoon: fun, wet, broad. Does that mean I’m a fun broad?
Ok, I have to add what my husband did, I thought it fascinating-and Nicki thought it would interesting. LOL
My husband said:
1. Red: Hot, Spicy, sexy (wow…! now I know why I married him)
2. Tiger: Strong, fast, powerful (than he added Pretty-I’m conflicted about that LOL)
3. Ocean: Pretty, vast, and powerful. (Made me blink a few times)
4. White: Cld, open, Lonely (what I found interesting is how close we were to the same answers).
Now that is a man’s view, what do you think?
Ok, that last one was “Cold” not cld….*sigh*
MV — you red people have it going. Did it surprise you that you and your husband have remarkably similar answers? This is a fun quiz to give to guys. I think my guys comments on water all had to do with water skiing. LOL.
Jane — after all these years, still pristine. Okay, I can say that. She’s my sister.
Hi Christine! I have four cats. Love cats. I have to admit I’m a little surprised, though, about how many more cats than dogs showed up today. Maybe writers are more cat-like for the most part.
Sally –
Embrace the inner Marilyn Monroe.
Sally, WET fun broad. That’s so funny. At least it had something to do with you. My husband was all about waterskiing (except it was Lake Hartwell, so maybe the name is symbolic).
Oh Fun!
Okay, Green is my color. It’s cool to the touch, but on a hot summer day can feel warm and alive.
My animal is a kitten. She’s delicately boned, but generously plush with whispy tuffts of grey and white fur.
My body of water is a backyard pool. It’s sparkling with slices of silver and white shimmering over liquid turquiose.
I’d feel caged in in the white room. Stifled and suffocating without windows and doors.
Anna, going back and finding out what my answers mean was inspiring!
I loved this post. So much fun and very educational.
Sorry to be late in commenting.
Have a fabulous day!
Tamara
Tamara,
You are just so creative! Grey and white? I’m wondering why you picked those colors for your kitten. Backyard pool. That’s really interesting to think about. It’s close to home…part of the home. You have to maintain it. It’s a possession. How wonderful.
Okay, I never posted my answers. I’m trying to reconstruct them from the first time I took this years ago.
Green: everywhere, growing, peaceful
Otter: graceful, quiet, playful
Caspian Sea: exotic, foreign, distant
White Room: complete, enclosed, mystery.
Cool answers, Anna. We can still be friends with you. I loved reading all the responses. Very thought provoking.
Good grief, Anna, this better be from high school and not Jung, or I’ve got serious problems, LOL.
1. red – vibrant, fire-engine, hot.
2. mongoose – silly, ugly, hapless.
3. Lake Michigan – still, cold, frozen.
4. lonely, floating, silent.
Hahahaha. Linsey you are so funny!
Loved all these, Ana! Thanks for a fun post.
Tami
Hey Lindsey, more like junior high. Mongoose. I go down to Puerto Rico periodically. On the island of Vieques mongoose are everywhere. You see them darting across the roads. They were brought in to kill the snakes when the island was used to raise sugarcane. Not hapless creatures at all. Lake Michigan? You know, during the best kiss I ever had, the world turned into this wonderful tingling, shimmering, cool, still and timeless place.
Hi Anna! Sorry I’m posting a day late, but this was too fun not to post my answers.
Blue – cool, decisive, welcoming
Dog – friend, cuddly, loving
Lake – peaceful, spiritual, refreshing
White room – meditative, singular, inspired.
Hmm. Lots to think about. Guess I’m not as freaked out by death as I thought I was.
Hi Darcy — I’m always a day late on commenting, so I’m the last person on earth you should apologize to.
I’m really struck by how unified your answers are. Can you lend me some of that trueness to self?
White – pure, clean, fluffy.
Guinea Pig – cute, smelly, furry
Ocean – loud, overwhelming, wavy
Room – crazy, annoying, scary