representation of nature in literature

Nature Symbolism in Literature: Overview & Examples

You can find depictions of nature in literary works of any culture. Nature usually serves as the backdrop for the plot. In addition, it helps us understand the story’s mood and hint at a deeper meaning. It also allows authors to demonstrate characters’ development and emotional state.

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• nature symbols and their meanings in literature;
• examples with plenty of quotes;
• answers to frequently asked questions.

🏞️ What Does Nature Symbolize?

• 🌻 Nature Symbols & Meanings
• Wuthering Heights
• A Good Man Is Hard To Find
• The Odyssey

🔍 References

Nature symbols may vary depending on the narrative. Nature can symbolize peace and calmness. Sometimes it also signifies power and strength. Some authors use it to represent the life cycle or show freedom and independence.

The symbolism of nature is deeply rooted in the past of humanity. Ancient people saw nature as a reflection of themselves, and they created myths to explain things they didn’t understand. The Earth, for example, could be a woman whose anger causes earthquakes.

Romanticism revived nature symbolism in art and literature, and it emphasized humans’ feelings, individuality, and its connection to nature. In the poetry of Byron, Coleridge, and Wordsworth, the romantic hero seeks to the heart of nature, trying to escape from a hostile society.

🌻 Nature Symbols and Their Meanings in Literature

When authors portray nature in the text, they usually depict its aspects, such as the sky, water, mountains, and plants. They all have different symbolic meanings depending on the context. Let’s take a closer look.

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Sky Symbolism in Literature

The sky as a symbol usually means infinity and calmness. As the residence of gods, it may represent divine forces. In literature, it symbolizes different phenomena depending on the attribution:

• The clear blue sky shows happiness, joy, and serenity.
• The night sky symbolizes death and evil forces.
• Heavy clouds represent sadness or depression. Some authors use this symbol as a harbinger of unfortunate events.

In A Good Man is Hard to Find , the sky after a car crash is described as cloudless, symbolizing emptiness and calmness.

Water Symbolism in Literature

Water is one of the most ancient symbols. It takes different forms, so authors use its imagery to symbolize a great variety of things:

• Waterfalls, river streams, and raging waters are equated with power and strength.
• Boundless and uncontrollable oceans and seas usually symbolize chaos and danger.
• Being submerged in water frequently symbolizes rebirth. This symbol is closely connected to the rite of baptism that wipes away one’s sins.

In the novella The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, the sea symbolizes life with the struggles and challenges one faces throughout their existence.

Sun Symbolism in Literature

The sun is another ancient symbol that appears in every mythology. It brings warmth and gives life to everything on Earth. It may symbolize life and peace. Sometimes it represents power, God, or divine forces. Depending on the sun’s position, we may distinguish different symbolical meanings:

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• The sunrise symbolizes hope, and the sunburst has the same symbolical meaning.
• The sunset means the end of the story or the life cycle.

In her novel The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton uses sunrises and sunsets as symbols. In the story, they represent the beauty and goodness of the world.

Forest Symbolism in Literature

A dark and misty forest is a typical setting for folklore stories and fairytales like Little Red Riding Hood , Snow White , Hansel and Gretel , and others.

• Going to the woods was always dangerous for humans, and people believed that dark forces and magic were hiding among the trees. That’s why it usually symbolizes mystery and danger.
• Sometimes a forest appears in literature as a symbol of freedom as the place one can hide in.

Trees also may have symbolic meaning:

• One of the most famous nature symbols is the tree of life , which connects all living creatures.
• Sometimes a tree symbolizes wisdom and knowledge, such as in the Garden of Eden story in the Bible.

In The Scarlet Letter , the forest becomes a symbol of freedom. It’s the place where the main characters, Hester and Dimmesdale, can hide from the strict puritan society.

Flowers Symbolism in Literature

Flowers in literature signify youth, beauty, and the brevity of life. In the Victorian era, people used the language of flowers to express their feelings secretly. Separately they may symbolize various human feelings, from love to hate. The meanings of different plants vary greatly depending on their type and color:

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• Red roses are flowers meaning love.
• Daisy signifies family, fidelity, sweet simplicity, and tenderness.
• Lilies represent purity and innocence.
• Snowdrops are flowers meaning hope.
• Blue iris is the flower that symbolizes faith.

In The Chrysanthemums , John Steinbeck tells the story of a mature, strong woman whose only passion in life is taking care of her flowers. Her chrysanthemums symbolize her hidden femininity she cannot realize with her coldhearted husband.

Seasons Symbolism in Literature

Seasons are usually associated with changes. They can be used to represent the cycle of life, with each season symbolizing a different life stage. Sometimes authors use seasons to reveal different moods:

• Spring means the start of something new, love and youth.
• Summer symbolizes optimism, freedom, and hope.
• Fall is a setting for sadness and depression.
• Winter is the season of hopelessness, grief, and tiredness.

In The Great Gatsby , Fitzgerald uses different seasons to reflect the main characters’ mood. Summer is a season of new beginnings and hopes, love. Gatsby hopes to reunite with Daisy during this season, but his hopes die when fall starts. Fitzgerald uses fall as the symbol of death and grief. All tragic events, including the death of Gatsby, take place during this gloomy season.

Snow Symbolism in Literature

Snow and ice are frequently employed symbols in poetry and prose. Both of them are symbols of winter and cold, and each has additional symbolical meaning:

• Snow symbolizes purity and innocence, and sometimes it represents the beauty of a woman.
• Ice means coldness, rigidity, and absence of love.

For example, in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening , Robert Frost describes snow to represent the purity, calmness, and tranquility of the place the speaker stopped by for a while on a cold winter day.

Rain Symbolism in Literature

A hero who walks under the rain is a popular image in literature. Let’s see what it can mean:

• Rain is commonly associated with feelings of loneliness and sadness. In this sense, it closely resembles tears.
• Rain also can signify cleansing. Symbolically rain washes away bad memories or the past of a character. A person passing through the rain undergoes a kind of inner transformation.

J. D. Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye uses rain to show the transformation of the main character. In the final scene with the carousel, the rain symbolizes Holden’s cleansing of his eternal discontent and grumbling.

📚 Symbolism of Nature in Literature: Examples

Since the use of symbolism of nature is varies depending on the context, we have prepared an analysis of several famous examples of world literature. This analysis will give you a complete comprehension of how authors use images of nature in their works.

Wuthering Heights: Moors Symbolism

In her only novel Wuthering Heights , English writer Emily Bronte tells the tragic love story of a foundling orphan and the daughter of his adoptive parents. One of the crucial elements of the novel’s composition is the landscape. The story’s central location is moors—wild and infertile land areas.

• The moors are presented as dangerous and empty. We can feel the danger in the hesitation of the narrator walking through them at night.
• Bronte also uses moors as a symbol of freedom and wildness. Catherine and Heathcliff run away from everyone to the heather fields, and there, in unity with nature, they find love and harmony:

But it was one of their chief amusements to run away to the moors in the morning and remain there all day, and after the punishment grew a mere thing to laugh at. Wuthering Heights , Chapter 6

For Heathcliff, the moors also become an endless reminder of Catherine’s death. The entire Wuthering Heights for him turn into Catherine’s ghost:

In every cloud, in every tree—filling the air at night, and caught by glimpses in every object by day—I am surrounded with her image. Wuthering Heights , Chapter 33

You can find more interesting info in our Wuthering Heights analysis .

A Good Man is Hard to Find: Sky Symbolism

In her famous story A Good Man is Hard to Find , Flannery O’Connor describes the sky after a car crash as empty with no clouds or sun. The sky’s emptiness parallels the state of desolation that the Bailey family members feel at the end of the story:

There was not a cloud in the sky nor any sun. A Good Man is Hard to Find

At the same time, the clear sky contrasts the events taking place. It is frightening that a terrible crime is committed on a fine and bright day. The author used this literary device to highlight the severity of Misfit’s crime.

When Misfit kills the last surviving family member, the grandmother, she smiles. At this very moment, the cloudless sky starts to represent the peace that the grandmother found at her last moment:

Hiram and Bobby Lee returned from the woods and stood over the ditch, looking down at the grandmother who half sat and half lay in a puddle of blood with her legs crossed under her like a child’s and her face smiling up at the cloudless sky. A Good Man is Hard to Find

If you’re interested in Flannery O’Connor’s use of symbols and other literary devices, check out our analysis of A Good Man is Hard to Find.

Unweeded Garden & Symbolism of Flowers in Hamlet

Shakespeare uses flower imagery numerous times throughout Hamlet . One example is the titular character describing Denmark’s state by comparing it with a poorly maintained garden:

Fie on ’t, ah fie! ‘Tis an unweeded garden That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely. Hamlet , Act 1, Scene 2

Another example is Ophelia giving flowers to the court to express her sorrow and grief. These are the meanings of flowers she brings:

• Rosemary is a symbol of memory and faith. She gives this flower to her brother Laertes to strengthen his spirit and the memory of his father.
• Pansies symbolize thoughts and memories. Ophelia gives them to her brother Laertes to show that she will never forget him.
• Fennel symbolizes flattery, and columbine means adultery and betrayal in the language of flowers. Ophelia gives fennel and columbine to the king, holding him responsible for the death of her father, Polonius.
• Rue’s symbolism is tied with adultery, and she gives it to the Queen, accusing her of her father’s betrayal.
• Daisy means purity and innocence, and that is why Ophelia doesn’t give it to anyone as “there is no innocence here.”
• Dead man’s finger, nettle, crow-flowers are traditionally used in funeral rituals.
• Daisies signify the unhappy love between Ophelia and Hamlet.

Later we learn from the Queen’s words that Ophelia died trying to hang her flower garlands on the trees:

There were fantastic garlands did she come of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples that liberal shepherds give a grosser name, but our cold maids do dead men’s fingers call them. Hamlet , Act 4, Scene 7

Another flower used prominently in Hamlet is a violet representing the brevity of life. We can see violets symbolism on several occasions, including Ophelia’s funeral and the dialog between her and Laertes. The latter compares Hamlet’s feeling for Ophelia to a violet, hinting that it will pass as quickly as this flower fades:

A violet in the youth of primy nature, forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, the perfume and suppliance of a minute. Hamlet , Act 1, Scene 3

Animals Symbolism in Othello

In one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, Othello , animal symbols can be found throughout the whole narrative:

• Iago tells Brabantio about Othello and Desdemona and describes them as animals to highlight the contrast between them: “an old black ram is tupping your white ewe .” Iago hints that Othello is an outsider who does not deserve such a pure creature as Desdemona.
• He refers to Othello as a “ Barbary horse .” With these words, Iago wants to disgust Desdemona’s father with the idea of such a couple:

Because we come to do you service and you think we are ruffians, you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse. You’ll have your nephews neigh to you. Othello, Act 1, Scene 1

• Before his death, Rodrigo calls Iago an “ inhuman dog ” to show awareness of his evil plans.
• Othello describes Iago as a snake and calls him a “viper.” In this word, we can easily find the poison imagery that emphasizes the damage Iago caused to Othello.
• Shakespeare also uses animal imagery to reveal Iago’s cruelty. This phrase shows him as a coldhearted and cynical man who ignores love:

Ere I would say I would drown myself for the love of a guinea hen, I would change my humanity with a baboon. Othello, Act 1, Scene 2

Animals in Othello mainly appear as insults or as an allusion to inferiority. It fits with the medieval concept of The Great Chain of Being— a social hierarchy with God on the top and minerals at the bottom. As humans in the chain hold a higher position than animals, describing a man as a beast may be considered humiliating. You can learn even more about these symbols from our article on imagery in Othello .

Symbolism of the Sea in The Odyssey

In The Odyssey , the poem by ancient Greek poet Homer, the sea is the central landscape of the narration. The story follows the adventures of a mythical hero named Odysseus during his return to his family after the Trojan War ended. Odysseus travels by sea and faces challenges that prevent him from returning home.

• The core meaning of the sea in The Odyssey is a life path with victories and defeats. At the end of this incredible journey, Odysseus gains wisdom and strength.
• Another meaning of the sea is danger and the weakness of humans before gods. As Odyssey unknowingly angers the sea god Poseidon by punishing his son, the Cyclopes, he creates a storm to send Odysseus off course:

As he said this, a massive wave charged at him with tremendous force, swirled round the raft, then from high above crashed down. The Odyssey, Book3

The sea also hides monsters Charybdis and Scylla in the narrow channel which Odysseus has to cross. He is caught between two evils and decides which one he should pass, and he chooses Scylla as it is less dangerous than Charybdis:

I did not mention Scylla—for she was a threat for which there was no remedy— in case my comrades, overcome with fear, stopped rowing and huddled up together inside the boat. The Odyssey, Book 12

Even though the sea has become the source of many dangers, Odysseus managed to return to Ithaca, which symbolizes home. You can learn more about the poem’s imagery from our article on symbolism in The Odyssey .

We hope that our explanation of different nature symbols will help you see your favorite literary works in a new light. If you liked our article, you’re welcome to share it or leave a comment. We are always happy to receive your feedback!

❓ Nature Symbolism FAQs

Dark trees in the forest are usually associated with mystery, bleakness, and hidden danger. The forest archetype usually symbolizes the challenges that the main character has to overcome throughout the narrative.

Early authors personified nature because they found their inspiration in myths and folklore. Nature as a symbol is represented in art starting from the Renaissance period. European authors used different nature symbols to contrast the romantic hero and society.

In  The Scarlet Letter , the author uses nature to reveal the theme of individual vs. society. The central nature symbol is the forest. For Esther, the alluring paths of the forest embody the way to freedom. Her daughter Pearl also feels free in this natural element.

Nature is presented as the absolute master of life and death, more powerful than Frankenstein and his discoveries. Nature affects Victor and the monster he created and leads both of them to death.

Lennie’s character symbolizes nature as his power and innocence bring him closer to the animals rather than to people. A friendship between George and Lennie can be interpreted as relations between humans and nature. In this context, the novel shows the development of the relationship between man and nature with the symbolical death of the latter.

• Water Symbolism: Wiley Online Library
• Flowers in Mythology: Encyclopedia.com
• What Does Snow Symbolize? Symbolic & Spiritual Meaning of Snow: Reference
• Conventional Symbols in Literature: Deer Valley Unified School District
• Examples of Seasonal Symbolism: Pen and the Pad
• Flower Meanings: The Language of Flowers: Almanac
• The Moors as a Reflection of Catherine and Heathcliff: Baylor University
• Shakespeare’s Favorite Flowers: The Violet: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
• Shakespeare’s Blush, or “the Animal” in Othello: CUNY
• The Sea Voyage Motif in Imaginative Literature: Southwestern Oklahoma State University
• Making the Weather in English Writing and Art: The Guardian
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Nature, Culture and Literature: An Ecocritical Contestation

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Literary theory, in general, examines the relations between writers, texts and the world. In most literary theory, "the world" is synonymous with society-the social sphere. The two most influential schools of thought that brought about great remarkable changes in people’s perspectives and life in the twentieth century—Marxism and psychoanalysis have the common assumption that what we call ‘nature’ exists primarily as a sign within the cultural discourse. Apart from it, nature has no being and meaning, they claim (Coupe 2). This vision of nature as a cultural construct permeates various schools of thoughts like formalists, new historicist, and deconstruction - all of which repudiate the existence of nature outside the cultural discourse, and take is just as a sign. However, nature affects us in several different ways, and always remains influential in human life; it cannot, therefore, be dismissed merely as a linguistic construct, and from ecological point of view it will b...

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No living being can deny their appreciation and profound fondness for nature which to some becomes the muse and flows down through ink on white canvas in the form of verse or prose. A major part of literature either praised the divinity and beauty of nature or impact of nature on human life. Whereas there ate literary works that depict the destructions and disturbances human activities have caused to nature through deforestation, heavy industrialization, immigration, and overuse of natural resources. The vigilant minds have criticized it and warned humanity. They are Ecocritics who try to bring awareness of the need to go back to nature for healthy living. If you protect nature, nature will protect you. Destroying nature is equal to suicide. Ecocritic tries to bridge this gap of ignorance, negligence and unawareness regarding the natural resources. We have to use them sparingly and protect the earth. Harmonious living is the only way out to environmental threat. Hence, Ecocritic builds the bridge of awareness, harmonious living, interconnected and interdependent relationship between man and nature. Ecocritic speaks for nature through literature. Thus, Ecocritic describes the inherent interwoven existence where a man without nature is incomplete and nature without a man is dull. Ecocritics don't just read the text but apply a critical mind to bring out ecological aspects and highlight the interconnectedness of nature and literature present in the text. Thus, they build a bridge between nature and li terature.

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WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Representation in Literature: Why It’s Important & How To Handle It

October 10, 2018 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

Happy to welcome Deborah Dixon , a passionate author, editor, and racial justice activist to talk a bit on Representation in Literature, a topic of importance and something I think many of us want to understand better so we can encourage the right sort of discussions and help bring about change. Please read on!

The issue of representation has become an important one in literature and throughout the entertainment industry. As an author and publisher of color, I am often asked to offer insight on how best to include characters of diverse backgrounds. Specifically, this means characters from minority or underrepresented groups, such as ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA+ persons, religious minorities, those with disabilities, and to some extent, socioeconomic minorities. In this article, I will use the term “minority” to refer to members of all of these groups.

First, my credentials: I am Jamaican, neurodivergent, and simultaneously a citizen of and immigrant to the United States, among other things. These credentials do matter, because the basis of a person’s regard for your opinion on these sensitive matters starts with your background. It isn’t the whole picture; not every minority person has the same breadth of experiences, and many majority members have been exposed to the problems that minority members face. Also, like anything else, background and privilege are nuanced. Even I have some sources of privilege: I am cisgender and not physically disabled.

Also valued is the nature of a writer’s privilege. I won’t discuss privilege and entitlement too much here, as there are plenty of resources on both, such as this exploration of the different elements of identity.

There are two primary reasons why representation is important: inclusivity and perception .

Seeing people who look, act, and experience life like them in media makes a person feel included in a society, and it reinforces positive views of themselves and what they can achieve in society. Also, members of other groups, especially majority groups, base their ideas of groups on what they see in the media . For example, a hiring manager who watches too many police procedurals might view candidates of minority races as having criminal tendencies.

For people who exist outside of these marginalized and underrepresented groups, it can be hard to imagine life with the experiences and hardships that minorities experience. Without those experiences, writing characters of diverse backgrounds can seem daunting.

A good start is to be cognizant of the problems that your character would face and when those problems would have to be addressed. People of minority groups are still people; we have similar needs and similar motivations. The main difference is in the ways that society and its structures are arrayed against any particular group.

Therefore, in some situations, it will be perfectly acceptable to write a minority character just as you would any other. If a character’s romantic relationships are never brought up, then their sexual orientation might be little more than a footnote. Likewise, a black student’s college career might be just like that of a white student if the college itself is diverse and tolerant.

However, if the character is placed in a situation where their identity would be a factor, then it would be irresponsible to overlook it. For example, a black character being pulled over by the police should be described as feeling exceptional anxiety over their possible treatment by the officers. Whether the writer feels that this is a legitimate fear is irrelevant; it is what black people experience, and it is a problem that we continue to battle . Any work that included a black character getting along famously with the police would be soundly ridiculed by the black community.

Also, it might be tempting to fall back on stereotypes, but these are harmful images that still negatively affect members of those minorities. Take, for example, the common use of Middle Eastern characters as villains , or the portrayal of Native Americans as oversexualized savages . If these are the characters that are being written, then we would rather not have them at all!

Remember that minority characters are not there to be “exotic” ornaments for your plot. One striking example I encountered as an editor was a white writer using an almost all-white cast who included an Asian woman as a manicurist. It was meant as a cheeky observation, but in practice, it supported yet another harmful stereotype, and it would have reinforced to readers that Asian woman are only fit to run nail salons.

Always Do the Research

There is plenty of first-hand material about the situations that minority groups face, and many companies, including mine , offer research specific to fiction writing. If you happen to know someone from the group that you are interested in writing about, then ask that person if they can offer any insight, and be prepared for them to possibly turn you down.

Finally, remember that this is a cultural exchange; you must offer something in return. Consider promoting minority authors. Don’t just tack on characters to be “diverse,” and don’t borrow elements from a group without context, such as European knights using scimitars because they’re “cool.”

For a well-known example of what not to do , observe J. K. Rowling’s approach to including Native Americans in the Potterverse. She combined the hundreds of Native American cultures into one homogenous “community,” reappropriated important cultural touchstones, and supported harmful narratives of Natives accepting white colonialism. Although she was called out on this , she has not publicly apologized or changed her approach.

The best recent example of representation being done right is a film: 2016’s The Accountant , in which the main character, played by Ben Affleck, is high-functioning autistic. While the character is written in a very predictable fashion—aural oversensitivity, emotional vacancy—Affleck’s performance provides nuance that elevates the entire story. It’s clear that he and his supporting cast did the research, and while the movie’s overall effect on the autistic community is debatable, many of us saw pieces of ourselves in its protagonist .

Although the entertainment industry at large is welcoming more content written by minority members, most stories that reach the mainstream are still ones written by the majority—white, straight people. The majority still has a much stronger voice. Use it to amplify positive portrayals of the people who need them the most.

As with anything else, when in doubt, ask.

Look for editors who specifically offer sensitivity reading as part of their processes. Many editors, like those at Shalamar, offer diversity feedback as a matter of course.  Here’s an additional resource to check out if you are incorporating diversity in your work:

Writing Diversity Checklist

We welcome respectful discussion–if you have questions or comments, debra is here to discuss.

Shalamar is a book publishing and author advocacy company based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Created in 2016 by a trio of writers, Shalamar aims to break down barriers to entry in publishing by offering accessible and affordable services to new and undiscovered writers.

The company also supports initiatives to amplify voices from underrepresented and marginalized groups. They can be found at @shalamarllp on Facebook and @ShalamarNOLA everywhere else.

Deborah Dixon is a cofounder, author, and editor at Shalamar . She has published two novels, seven novellas, and numerous short stories of her own.

She is a digital rights and racial justice activist, and her opinions on social issues, the publishing process, and Saints football can be found on Twitter at @Deboracracy .

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers , a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

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Reader Interactions

October 18, 2020 at 10:26 am

I believe that books are the essence of who we are and who we dream of being. Therefore, representation is a crucial component in building the identity of an individual and its sense of belonging. Reading about someone who looks like you makes you feel that you can achieve anything and that you truly belong in the society. Seeing someone just like me being reflected in a book makes me feel that I’m not the outsider that I always thought I was. However, there is indeed a lack of representation of minority groups in books. I totally agree that the lack of representation has become an important issue in literature and that minorities should be depicted more in books. In that being said however, any representation should not be accepted just because of the lack of it. Disrespectful and damaging representations of minorities should not be tolerated just for the sake of finally being represented in books.

August 13, 2019 at 11:26 pm

Great stuff, and the Shalamar tips before publishing are excellent and extensive! Thanks for this. Will help my Gr 12 English class think oppressive representation that occurs in some of these more subtle ways.

August 13, 2019 at 11:40 pm

August 22, 2019 at 3:51 pm

Thank you so much Wes, and best wishes for your English class! Glad you found this information and the resources helpful. Feel free to reach out if I can help further!

October 12, 2018 at 12:08 am

As a Native American author, I want to thank you for this post. Keep fighting the good fight!

It is hard to find books where people like me aren’t A) Sexy Shifters B) Poor C) Swindlers

Which is funny, since none of the Lenni-Lenape people that I know are any of those. Hang on… *runs outside, looks at the moon, tries real real extra super hard* Nope. Still not a shifter. Darn. 😉

My people also didn’t wear huge feather headdresses, live in teepees, say “howgh” for hello, or most of the other traits that perhaps were exhibited in the western tribes. We did, however, influence the creation of the original laws of this country, such as the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Obviously not well enough to be considered human until 1879, or be eligible to be citizen of the land we’d lived on for thousands of years until 1924, or get the Voting Rights Act fully nailed down (looking at two states right now…). But hey, we tried.

If anyone out there does have a book with well-written Lenni-Lenape characters, please track me down and drop a buy link. I’m always looking!

October 12, 2018 at 2:24 pm

Preach it! I would love to sit many, many non-Native writers (sadly, including some Black ones) down and have them write this sentence a few hundred times:

Native American communities are NOT monolithic.

As you can see above, I refuse to let Rowling live it down.

If anyone out there has a story will well-developed Lenni-Lenape characters, I just might publish it. 😉

October 11, 2018 at 10:02 pm

That’s definitely some great stuff, and I largely agree. I do take issue with simply saying there are some things you should “never do.” For example, making an autistic character have some unique strange ability can work if it’s done well or the usual cliches of the trope are subverted.

I’m not saying that just for the sake of debate. I have autism myself, and my current story in progress plays on that trope.

October 12, 2018 at 2:13 pm

Thank you Claire! And thanks for checking out our list!

The things that made it onto the Never-Do list aren’t there because they can’t be done well, but because when they are done (well or otherwise), they consistently cause harm to real, living people of that particular group.

Regarding autistic characters, I’ll go and change my wording on the list, but I did think specifically of powers that are related to a character’s autism, correcting the ‘imbalance’ of the disability. (An autistic character with, say, lightning powers, unrelated to her autism, would probably be okay.)

Objectively, a disability-superpower autistic character could possibly be done well, especially by an autistic writer, but I respectfully disagree that the character *should* be done even so. Even if the character was brilliant and an excellent role model, like a neurodivergent Wonder Woman, she would still be perpetrating objectifying stereotypes about how we need a ‘cure’ to balance out our deficiencies. It also isolates a model minority within the autistic community, as it elevates ‘superhuman’ autistics (ie savants) above others on the spectrum, valuing them more and devaluing the others as useless or helpless.

(Here’s an article that goes into model minorities more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-good-doctor-is-bad-medicine-autism-1098809 )

So while this kind of character could work from a character-development standpoint, her existence would cause strain on those of us (like you and me) who deal with autism stereotypes regularly. My opinion is that the character isn’t worth the harm done, but we likely have different experiences and observations that lead to different conclusions. 🙂

October 11, 2018 at 9:15 pm

Wonderful! Very revelant!

October 12, 2018 at 1:29 pm

Thanks for reading, Traci!!

October 11, 2018 at 2:03 pm

First of all, Who Dat!!!

Thank you so much for writing this article, Deborah. I loved that you explained that a writer needs to remember that diverse characters are still human beings. I also hate that you had to say that.

I had a small press from Mississippi, where I’m from, reach out to me about wanting to work with me. The minute they found out I was a lesbian they quickly let me know that they could not work with a story with LGBTQ+ characters, because they wouldn’t know how to market it. It was shocking and saddening. Needless to say, I did not work with them.

Thank you again, and I look forward to checking out your company and your work!

October 11, 2018 at 4:12 pm

Yeah you rite Keli!!!!

I’m sorry to hear about your experience with that press! And yet I’m not surprised. The inclusion of underrepresented writers ourselves is another topic that I’m passionate about, and fortunately I get to work toward that goal through Shalamar.

Being treated that way, particularly by a press that sought you out, had to have stung, and rightfully so; but, with the benefit of hindsight, people that closed-minded would have been rough to work with anyway, so maybe it was for the better, rudeness and prejudice aside.

(Marketing professionals are specifically taught to adapt to different audience, genres, and trends, so that excuse is always code for “we don’t want to work with you.”)

I hope you found a much better home for your writing, and would love to hear from you anytime!

October 11, 2018 at 10:23 am

Glad to have you here discussing something that I think confuses a lot of people because sometimes we can see part of the picture, but not the whole thing and so we don’t necessarily realize the ripples that come from stereotypes or the level of inequity out there.

In our fiction it is our job to make the reader feel part of another’s point of view. I think as a Caucasian and a Caucasian author, I need to work harder to do what I can to make sure all voices are represented. Change comes about through understanding, and this happens at all levels from governing entities to the drivers of industries to the producers of content and the consumers of that content.

Thanks for being here!

October 11, 2018 at 9:06 am

Hi everyone! Angela, thank you SO MUCH for your help and your kindness! You are an inspiration to me as an author advocate. <3

Readers: Thanks for checking out this article! I am happy to answer any further questions you might have here. You can also contact me directly if you'd prefer a one-on-one conversation.

Much love from New Orleans!

October 11, 2018 at 9:03 am

Thanks for being here today, Deborah!

October 11, 2018 at 3:59 pm

Hi Becca! Thanks for having me! 🙂

[…] Ackerman talks about the importance of inclusivity and perception.   Inclusivity prescribes that the characters in the texts that we use should be as […]

[…] Deborah Dixon examine representation in literature: why it’s important and how to handle it. […]

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Representations of Nature of Science in Science Textbooks

A Systematic Review

• Published: 13 October 2023

Cite this article

• Riping Su 1 ,
• Zhimeng Jiang 1 &
• Bing Wei   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5591-8025 1  

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This systematic review summarized 42 selected empirical studies on the representations of nature of science (NOS) in science textbooks guided by three theoretical frameworks, which are the four-theme scientific literacy (SL), the consensus view on nature of science (CV), and the family resemblance approach to the nature of science (FRA). This review aimed to identify research trends, research foci, and research results of the reviewed studies under each framework. Concerning research trends, the most prevalent and widely used framework was CV framework, followed by SL, and the least was FRA. Moreover, it took an increasing trend in the application of CV and FRA framework while there was a decreasing tendency for the application of SL framework. With regard to research foci, articles that utilized the SL framework exclusively concentrated on “the balance of four scientific literacy themes.” Articles that applied the CV framework identified four research foci: “the quality of and approach to addressing NOS aspects,” “the quantity and distribution of addressing NOS aspects,” “the factors that influenced NOS representations,” and “the content relation of NOS aspects.” Studies that applied the FRA framework included three foci: “the quantity and distribution of addressing NOS aspects,” “the quality of and approach to addressing NOS aspects,” and “the category differentiation of FRA.” In respect of research results, NOS was poorly represented in science textbooks, irrespective of the NOS framework utilized, country, discipline, and educational level. Some recommendations concerning future research and practice in this field are provided.

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Data Availability

The data and materials used and analyzed for the report were obtained through searching the electronic databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC), and related journal information is available directly from these journals’ websites.

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Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau, China

Riping Su, Zhimeng Jiang & Bing Wei

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SRP was the major contributor in writing the manuscript. JZM and WB contributed to analyze data, interpret data, and review the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Su, R., Jiang, Z. & Wei, B. Representations of Nature of Science in Science Textbooks. Sci & Educ (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-023-00475-y

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Accepted : 22 September 2023

Published : 13 October 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-023-00475-y

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