The Mark on the Wall

by

Virginia Woolf

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Mark on the Wall makes teaching easy.

The Mark on the Wall Symbols

The Mark/Snail

The mysterious mark on the wall, which turns out to be a snail, shows that familiar spaces can become mysterious again, and symbolizes the uncertainty of rational knowledge. Throughout the story, the mark grounds the…

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The Tree

If humanity is associated with a fast-paced lifestyle and destructive materialism, trees symbolize the opposite of that—namely, slowing down, growth, and being present. Their long lives and slow yet constant growth provide an alternative to…

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