NATIONAL 5 – SCOTTISH SET TEXT
Sailmaker by Alan Spence
Symbolism is when an object, an image, a word, a person, a colour or a setting represents ideas beyond what it is in reality.
Within Sailmaker there are some notable examples of symbolism.
Davie’s broken shaving mirror
The mirror that Davie uses to shave is broken. As Alec is entering into manhood, he starts to use Davie’s mirror, but there’s ‘a big crack doon the middle’ and this makes it hard for Alec to shave. The mirror represents Davie’s cracked identity or self-image as it is sometimes called. Davie is finding it hard to keep himself together as a person: the mirror represents this. Alec, who has not suffered the blows to his own self-image that Davie has, finds a cracked mirror ‘stupid’ and difficult.
Miss Tomelty: National 5 English 