Ezra’s Reviews > How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines > Status Update

The chapter on symbols didnt differentiate between something being a symbol and being symbolic. In his example, when the person entered the cave, it was literally a confrontation with Nothingness - the atmosphere of the cave invokes that, so the cave is not being a symbol. BUT the cave was symbolic since entering it symbolized her larger struggles. The cave story is a symbol, but the cave is part of the symbolism.

any book that takes a jab at harold bloom is a friend of mine