Symbols As A Means Of Reinforcing The Initiation Themes In Bridge To Terabithia

As a Newbery Medal winning book, Bridge to Terabithia written by Katherine Paterson has enjoyed international fame since its first publication in 1977 and is loved by both young and old, who would like to show their love and longing for Terabithia, a paradise on earth, without reservation. However, despite its worldwide popularity, literary critics have shown only moderate interest to the novel. They mainly tend to observe the novel from the perspective of death theme, parent-child relationship and friendship. This thesis, however, focuses on the symbols which serve as a means of reinforcing the initiation themes in Katherine Paterson s Bridge to Terabithia. There are two main points that this thesis tries to answer: What the symbols used in this novel are, and how the symbols help to reinforce the initiation theme of the novel, by doing so hopefully a new appreciation towards Bridge to Terabithia can be developed.This thesis is divided into the following five parts:Introduction: This part gives a brief introduction to Katherine Paterson s life and works, and the main plot of Bridge to Terabithia and a review of current studies, as well as a brief introduction to the symbol and the initiation theme.Chapter One: Symbols reflected through the settings: the school bus and Terabithia. This chapter mainly explores the two important symbols in the separation phase of the protagonist s initiation which also serve as the important settings of the novel: the real world which children lived in represented by the school bus and an ideal world for children represented by Terabithia, their paradise. By comparing the two, we can see that the protagonist gets an initiation in the quest for Utopia from escaping the reality to constructing the spiritual home.Chapter Two: Symbols reflected through the objects: the rope over the creek and the bridge to Terabithia. This chapter mainly focuses on the two symbols in the transition phase of the protagonist s initiation which also serve as two ways to enter Terabithia: to swing there by the rope over the creek before Leslie s death; or to go there on the bridge built by Jess after the rope broke. The rope and the bridge represented different ways to Terabithia and different abilities Jess owned at different periods respectively. By comparing the two, we can see that the protagonist gets an initiation in the ritual from dependence to independence.Chapter Three: Symbols reflected through experiences: death and rebirth. This chapter mainly studies the two important symbols in the incorporation phase of the protagonist s initiation which also serve as his two critical experiences in the novel: Leslie s physical death and the spiritual rebirth represented by a regained Terabithia ---rebirth of innocence, rebirth of Leslie s spirit and rebirth of Jess self-awareness. By comparing the two, we can see that the protagonist gets an initiation in the epiphany from death to rebirth.Conclusion: This part summarizes this thesis from the aspect of its successful manipulation of symbols as a means of reinforcing the initiation theme and its significance.