Free Essay Sample - Symbolism of Stone

Stone is one of the symbolic words that is found in Cao Xueqin's story titled The Story of the Stone. It is a magical story about Jia BaoYu, who was born with a Jade in his mouth at the moment of his birth. The jade stone was beautiful, bright, and colored, and Jia BaoYu exemplifies the stone as a symbol of growth (Ye 58). Jia BaoYu is extraordinary, remarkable, and very rare since he doesn't like to be seen in the society where he lives, which also makes him unique in the display of stone symbolism. Denotative Meaning

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The denotative meaning of the word stone in this story is that Jia BaoYu is a particular person. He is unique, meaning that people of his kind are not ordinary. From his birth, he has extraordinary symbolic features that make him stand out as a person. The jade stone is associated with feelings of harmony and balance, protection, and good luck, as well as characteristics of attracting friends (Ye 61). Society felt that the birth of Jia BaoYu had changed how others perceived them. Being born with a unique stone in his mouth brings a significant difference in society. People around him felt special being associated with a unique member of the society. The feeling of this association increased confidence in them.

Connotative Meaning

The connotative meaning of stone in this story is that there is hope for better things. In Chinese culture, the stone is regarded as holy and is watched by the priest. The holy nature of the stone separates it from others. The separation represents the need to maintain the holy nature of the stone. As seen in the story, Jia BaoYu was rarely seen in the crowd. However, when he came out, he made a difference in people's lives. For instance, he made women feel special because they were not regarded as a special place in society. Jia BaoYu thought that women were made of water, and boys were made of mud (Wu 142). Therefore when he was among girls, he said that he felt fresh and clean. Being associated with the jade stone, he was able to attract friends due to his particular character.

Usage of Connotative Meaning

The association of jade stone with holiness helps people to find the meaning of life through their lifestyle. Jia BaoYu shows the meaning of life through relating with people and valuing them. The connotation is seen when he chooses to interact with girls and saying that women should be respected equally as men. Naturally, everyone wants to be associated with holiness because it opens up opportunities and takes a person to life levels that they have not been before. Jia BaoYu is doing precisely that by changing women's lives in society and as well as the perception that there are inferior in society.

Symbolic Significance to the Story

The symbolic significance of the story is that there are people or objects in life whose purpose is to change people's lives. They give a sense of belonging and anyone who gets an opportunity to use those benefits. They could be rare opportunities that can change individuals or the whole society. Such rare opportunities are valued and utilized maximally because the next opportunity is not known and cannot be predicted. The Symbol also shows that some people are rare, and when they join the society, they change the lifestyle and their perception about life. The change will add or reduce the value of some people, and there can be equality or inequality in the community. Also, unique characters provoke gossip such that people in the society will always look for something to talk about. The society where Jia BaoYu lived was interested in his family affairs because it was a royal family that had future pans, which everyone wanted to see whether they will get fulfilled. The jade stone is an element of interest which anyone would want to possess or get associated with. Therefore the story shows how the society can attain interest in Jia BaoYu and his family or to royal families just to see what they have or intend to and the impact.

The Symbol is Conventional

The Symbol of stone is conventional because it is addressing the issues that take place in society. There are people whose place in society is high, and they are expected o have unique and impactful responsibilities. For instance, the story states that Jia BaoYu was born with a jade stone in his mouth. He was the heir of the Jia kingdom, so he was expected to be an extraordinary emperor once he got to the throne. The belief is that if you are born in a royal family and also happen to have a unique feature, a lot is expected from you. Society looks forward to positive changes, as seen in the story where Jia BaoYu says that women should be respected equally with men (Fan 62). When various roles in life are analyzed, it rules out that men have more or complex responsibilities than women. A ruler is expected to value every person under them. It is expected that such a person should be able to mix with people of all gender and caliber to enable development in various sections of people's needs. Jia BaoYu mingles with all people, males, and females, and this way, he will be able to develop his territory because of promoted teamwork. He will give the meaning of life, considering that his name means jade, a stone that is known to attract wealth and friendship.

Works Cited

Fan, Hongying, et al. "Narrations of Personality Disorders in A Dream of Red Mansions." Chinese Perspectives on Cultural Psychiatry, 2019, pp. 57-74.

Wu, I-Hsien. "Lust as Prerequisite: Eroticism in The Story of the Stone." Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture, vol. 4, no. 1, 2017, pp. 129-159.

Ye, Ting. "Discussion on the Influence of "A Dream of Red Mansions" on Zhang Ling's "The Affair of Flowers. " Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Art Studies: Science, Experience, Education (ICASSEE 2019), 2019. P58-64