Misinterpretation of Symbols Essay Example for Free

Misinterpretation of Symbols Essay Now days people tend to have a fashion use for certain symbols such as the heart, cross, peace sign, etc. without taking in consideration that it might offend others. Symbols are used worldwide to represent many things like religion and emotions, but we have to keep in mind that some symbols look or are the same in many cultures but they do not always have the same meaning. Many societies have forgotten the original meaning of a symbol, replacing it with a more modern one, to prove this I decided to quiz four of my friends. I showed them five different symbols and asked them to tell me the first thing that came to their minds. The symbols I used consisted of four that have been around for many years and one relatively new. The pentagram, the inverted cross, the trident, the swastika and the heartogram. I started with the easiest one, the heartogram, which happens to be a logo created by the band HIM, though recently it has taken the meaning of love and hate or live and death. All four recognized this symbol from the band and knew the meanings for it. When I showed them the trident, three responded to represent the Devil, and one said it’s the symbol for Poseidon, the sea God. I was actually surprised that this was his first response, when I asked him why was his this first response he said was,† I remember seeing it in the ‘the Da Vinci code’ movie†. I am glad that he could remember such a tiny detail of that movie. Another famous symbol is the inverted cross, all four responded that it represents evil, the Devil and metal bands. They found it shocking when I informed them that before it had all those meanings, it originally is a trademark of Saint Peter, the first Pope, at first they did not believe me so I showed them what I had found on my research. Before Saint Peter was crucified he requested that he be crucified upside down because he did not feel worth of dying in the same way as Jesus. We all found ironic that those who wear this symbol to show their admiration to the Devil are actually showing humility towards God. The fourth symbol I showed my friends was the pentagram, again another symbol the before the twentieth century did not have any association with evil. All four of my friends said it represents the man, but that is not its only meaning. The first drawings found of the pentagram are of unknown meaning, but as time passed it became the symbol for many things. It has represented from marking the direction in Sumerian texts, represented the five visible planets, symbol to the planet Venus and the goddess, to being the official seal of the city of Jerusalem. It can represent the five elements, air, fire, earth, water and spirit. A more religious association is to the five wounds of Christ. One more thing that I found interesting is the layout of Washington DC, where some streets form the pentagram, with the pentagon being in the middle, the white house at the apex and the other monuments at the other points. Last we have the swastika; we all know it is a symbol that had been used by Hitler to represent racism and the â€Å"white supremacy† of neo-Nazis. Before the use that Hitler gave this symbol, it has also been used in Egypt, China and India. The swastika also represents the sun and the four directions in some cultures. When I was researching the swastika symbol I came across an article about the marines posing in a picture with the U. S. flagged as well as a flag with the notorious Nazi SS symbol. The marines though that the SS represented their own sniper scouts team. I came to the conclusion that not everything is as it appears to be, one must always be sure of the symbols they use in a daily life, we might offend many people without even knowing about it. In most of the cases were we happened to offend someone we can apologized for our ignorance. In the end I think all of us should take some time to learn about other cultures just as we ask those who come from around the world here to learn ours.