A response to 'symbol-hunting' as conducted by the literature teachers of academia. (Click on the picture for great responses by famous authors to a young man's questions on their work and symbolism.)
Bradbury finished his responses to the intrepid young scholar with "“Not much to say except to warn you not to get too serious about all this, if you want to become a writer of fiction in the future. If you intend to become a critic, that is a Whale of another color…Playing around with symbols, even as a critic, can be a kind of kiddish parlor game. A little of it goes a long way. There are other things of greater value in any novel or story…humanity, character analysis, truth on other levels…Good symbolism should be as natural as breathing…and as unobtrusive.”