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Symbolism Thesaurus Entry: Deception

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Every day we interact with objects, places and sensations that affect the way we think and feel. This can be used to the writer’s advantage by planting symbols in the reader’s path to reinforce a specific message, feeling or idea.

Look at the setting and the character’s state of mind, and then think about what you want the reader to see. Is there a descriptive symbol or two that works naturally within the scene to help foreshadow an event or theme, or create insight into the character’s emotional plight?

In Nature:

Mirages
Snakes
Weather changes
Cloud cover
Sunlight (warms, creates growth but harmful UV)
Colorful yet Poisonous berries…

In Society:

Lies
Con men
Criminals
Hoarders
Double lives/Aliases
Spies…

These are just a few examples of things one might associate with DECEPTION. Some are more powerful than others. Telling a lie is a strong symbol, and likely will not require reinforcement. However, the presence of a white-coated hare may not foreshadow Deception on its own. Let the story’s tone decide if one strong symbol or several smaller ones work the best.

Symbolism is a universal language that can add great depth and meaning to your story.

So you can reap the full benefit of this powerful tool, we’ve expanded the entire collection by 70% and integrated it into our online library at One Stop For Writers. Each entry comes with a long list of ideas for symbols and motifs, and we’ve included popular symbolism examples from literature and movies, as well. These entries have also been cross-referenced for easy searchability across all our other thesauri. To see a free sample of the updated Symbolism and Motif Thesaurus along with our other collections, pop on over and register at One Stop.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Karen Lange says

    Great stuff! As always. Appreciate your efforts, Becca and Angela, so we don’t have to think quite as hard. I owe you both some chocolate.
    Happy weekend,
    Karen

  2. Becca Puglisi says

    Nice job, Angela.

    As a former EverQuest addict, er, player, I can see the deception in roleplaying–men disguised as female characters, kids trying to pass themselves off as adult, a rare few players relating more to their online personas than with their real selves.

    Welcome, Sia! It’s always nice to welcome a new visitor :).

  3. ~Sia McKye~ says

    I used symbolisms quite frequently to set or reinforce a scene, character action/reaction.

    I hadn’t read your blog before. Very interesting and informative. As the big guy says, “I’ll be back.”

  6. Beth says

    Great list. I always find the ones in nature intriguing, as they’re a subtle way to reinforce the action in the story.

  7. Shopgirl says

    This is a great list, I especially enjoyed the nature’s list so I’m tempted to try a few myself. How about:

    Trap doors,
    Undercurrents,
    Fox?

  17. Charlie Pulsipher says

    Great one this time! As I write my novel, I realize more and more how deceptive writing can be. I wanted a few clues in there early on that things are not exactly as they seem, nothing too overt to spoil the surprise. This serves as a nice refresher on deceit. Thank you as always.
    Funny Stuff I Write

  18. Angela Ackerman says

    Matt, with role playing, the player pretends to be something they are not–a character that does not exist. So in this sense it is deception, but more of an internal one–we deceive ourselves, investing in a life that is not our own for the sake of entertainment. Some people can get quite involved in RPG (WOW, anyone?) and take it very seriously (too seriously, sometimes). In some ways, deceiving ourselves is the ultimate deception!

    Thanks everyone for the comments!