a book they had read, re-created with tiny props, and presented in a shoe box. You could not possibly fit all the details of a famous novel, for instance, into a diorama, so you would have to pare down to the essentials that were most representative of the book. This is a good way to think about the objects that will show up in your scenes: Imagine that each scene is a diorama. You should strive to add only the props that will bring a scene to life—a mechanic will have his tools, a musician his instrument, perhaps—without imbuing these objects with unnecessary power.
If you make the effort to put an object in a scene, the reader will believe that object has significance. This is not to say that every comb, pack of cigarettes, and cup of tea needs to get up and dance the tango, or that you should keep your settings bare, but remember that the more attention you give to descriptions of objects, the more readers will assign import and meaning to those objects. From art on the walls to cigarettes left burning in an ashtray, objects carry emotional weight and may often appear as clues. This is important to consider if your intention is simply to describe a man's possessions to reveal his character; the reader may assume that a cigar is a lot more than just than a cigar, depending on how much description an object gets.
Mood Objects
Some objects are used to symbolize the narrator's feelings and do not play an important role in the plot; thus they can be considered mood objects. They add to the tone of a narrative and deepen our understanding of a character's feelings.
For example, in his novel So Long, See You Tomorrow, William Maxwell uses a multitude of mood objects in the narrative. The narrator in this novel, now an adult, is writing his memoirs in relation to a murder that took place in his small hometown, and he describes his childhood home just after his mother's death:
I have never been inside it since that day, when a great many objects that I remember and would like to be reunited with disappeared without a trace: Victorian walnut sofas and chairs that my fingers had absently traced every knob and scroll of, mahogany tables, worn Oriental rugs, gilt mirrors, pictures, big square books full of photographs that I knew by heart.
These objects in and of themselves do not bear any one particular meaning to the narrator; rather, they add up to a feeling of familiarity, of comfort which he lost when his mother died. The fact that they are very quickly sketched, and lumped together in a list, so that no single item stands out as more important than another, tells us that no specific object is important. Though the reader gets a quick picture of the knobs and scrolls of the mahogany table, these details are passed over just as quickly for the "worn Oriental rugs."
The closest this narrator can come to admitting that he missed his mother is to miss the objects he associated with her. While these details certainly add texture to the scene, they are merely representative, placed to call attention to the feelings and memories they elicit in the narrator.
When you describe objects clumped together like this, remember that you're setting mood more than imbuing an object with symbolic power. This is why it's important to notice how much description you give to any one object. If you want an object to be innocuous, just background dressing, then be brief about it. If you want an object to mean something inside your narrative, then it needs to stand alone, or be given more attention than other objects, as described next.
Significant Objects
Significant objects, on the other hand, should call a certain amount of attention to themselves. What makes an object significant? When it directly affects plot or character development. Let's take a careful look at each type to get a better feel for what makes each unique and meaningful.
Plot-Significant Objects
There are obvious significant objects, such as evidence sought by police in
If you make the effort to put an object in a scene, the reader will believe that object has significance. This is not to say that every comb, pack of cigarettes, and cup of tea needs to get up and dance the tango, or that you should keep your settings bare, but remember that the more attention you give to descriptions of objects, the more readers will assign import and meaning to those objects. From art on the walls to cigarettes left burning in an ashtray, objects carry emotional weight and may often appear as clues. This is important to consider if your intention is simply to describe a man's possessions to reveal his character; the reader may assume that a cigar is a lot more than just than a cigar, depending on how much description an object gets.
Mood Objects
Some objects are used to symbolize the narrator's feelings and do not play an important role in the plot; thus they can be considered mood objects. They add to the tone of a narrative and deepen our understanding of a character's feelings.
For example, in his novel So Long, See You Tomorrow, William Maxwell uses a multitude of mood objects in the narrative. The narrator in this novel, now an adult, is writing his memoirs in relation to a murder that took place in his small hometown, and he describes his childhood home just after his mother's death:
I have never been inside it since that day, when a great many objects that I remember and would like to be reunited with disappeared without a trace: Victorian walnut sofas and chairs that my fingers had absently traced every knob and scroll of, mahogany tables, worn Oriental rugs, gilt mirrors, pictures, big square books full of photographs that I knew by heart.
These objects in and of themselves do not bear any one particular meaning to the narrator; rather, they add up to a feeling of familiarity, of comfort which he lost when his mother died. The fact that they are very quickly sketched, and lumped together in a list, so that no single item stands out as more important than another, tells us that no specific object is important. Though the reader gets a quick picture of the knobs and scrolls of the mahogany table, these details are passed over just as quickly for the "worn Oriental rugs."
The closest this narrator can come to admitting that he missed his mother is to miss the objects he associated with her. While these details certainly add texture to the scene, they are merely representative, placed to call attention to the feelings and memories they elicit in the narrator.
When you describe objects clumped together like this, remember that you're setting mood more than imbuing an object with symbolic power. This is why it's important to notice how much description you give to any one object. If you want an object to be innocuous, just background dressing, then be brief about it. If you want an object to mean something inside your narrative, then it needs to stand alone, or be given more attention than other objects, as described next.
Significant Objects
Significant objects, on the other hand, should call a certain amount of attention to themselves. What makes an object significant? When it directly affects plot or character development. Let's take a careful look at each type to get a better feel for what makes each unique and meaningful.
Plot-Significant Objects
There are obvious significant objects, such as evidence sought by police in
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