Symbolism
In Logan Feys’s essay, this symbolizes a challenge to what is "normal" and what is not.
What is "extreme" body tattooing?
A chorus of “not one of us” in Peter Gabriel’s song mentions this theme about identity.
What is how identity defined by who we exclude, but of course that it didn't have to be that way -- we have just become more tribal. In sociology, the word is tribalism.
Logan Feys gets at this paradox in his essay Sociology of The Leopard Man.
What is when a society shuns an outwardly eccentric person while at the same time they can't stop talking about them? Which is it: if you ostracize them, why are you spending an inordinate amount of time and energy discussing them?
This literal location of Fight Club is a metaphor for how -- as with any of the really meaningful clubs we gravitate to, shine in, and truly feel like ourselves in -- being part of an underground scene is where the most innovation, passion, and creativity exists.
What is the literal basement of a pub/bar?
Adichie’s solution to The Danger of A Single Story and to stereotyping is this.
What is telling many stories and giving multiple perspectives so as to restore nuance and complexity back to each person's life?
Vessel of the band Sleep Token confronts his, well, his past self for this reason.
What is to figure out who his future self is really going to be?
This Stephen King creature is the very countenance of personal hatred and how it deflects and projects itself forth onto other people to make itself full of delight. It is indeed a metaphor for evil that is lurking in everyday society.
What is the boogeyman?
When the narrator who is a worker at a desk job merges with the part of him that is a fighter, this instance contains this deep theme.
What is the theme that in order to create, you have to destroy. This theme especially applies to destroying false versions of who you should be (spoon fed to you by images in corporate media advertisements, peer pressure, & mainstream societal pressure), so that you may find and become your true self?
In Pat Mora’s poem, doing this is great because being bi-lingual or going to a different dialect when among a different small group is an excellent soft skill, but oddly this makes the feeling of belonging to either group seem more tenuous (meaning not strong or secure) for the persona.
What is code-switching? Don't worry, this is still an excellent social skill, and all people code-switch to some degree.)