The Alethiometer
I suggested to my grade 9s that material objects can be used to represent abstract ideas on Friday. I wish that I’d read this passage from The Golden Compass first.
Describing the alethiometer, Pullman writes:
“All three pictures round the rim, they’re symbols. And each of them stands for a whole series of things. Take that anchor, there. The first meaning of that is hope, because hope holds you fast like an anchor. The second meaning is steadfastness. The third meaning is snag, or prevention. The fourth meaning is the sea. And so on.”
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events also clearly explains complex ideas on a regular basis.
