Ray Bradbury may have cast Doug as the twelve-year-old protagonist in Dandelion Wine, but I remain convinced that Bradbury brought pencil and paper to my childhood. Part of the reason Doug's character resonates with me so much is because of Bradbury's use of symbolic language. Because symbolism leaves the audience to interpret the meaning of the text, each reader draws a different interpretation based on their own personal experiences. By imagining the experience associated with Bradbury's images, the reader gains a deeper understanding of the story. Bradbury uses symbolism effectively in Dandelion Wine to help the audience perceive the meaning of the text and to convey the messages that constitute the overall theme of the novel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Bradbury reveals Doug's youthful nature in the form of animals, allowing the reader to visually imagine Doug's mental and physical characteristics. After Doug becomes aware of his existence, Bradbury writes: "Douglas, with closed eyes, saw spotted leopards walking in the dark" (10). When Doug opens his eyes, Bradbury says, "The leopards trotted soundlessly through darker lands where eyeballs could not turn to follow them" (10). From the perspective of a twelve year old, leopards seem to be the fastest and scariest animals in the world. The reader imagines the leopards and understands that Doug's awareness of their existence hit him unexpectedly, causing him to be rightly frightened. When Doug opens his eyes, the leopards disappear because mortality now occupies his fears. Doug's revelation about his existence marks a slight change in his transition from boy to man. Another example in the text where Bradbury symbolically employs animals materializes when Doug buys shoes. After Doug laces the tennis shoes on his feet, the shoe salesman asks Doug if the shoes look like antelopes or gazelles. Bradbury then writes about what the tennis shoes feel like: “Beautiful creatures leaping under the sky, through the brush, under the trees, away, and only the soft echo of their running left behind them” (25). Most children tend to be wild, which causes them to exude energy and enthusiasm. The antelopes and gazelles perfectly capture the characteristic wildness of children like Doug, as both animals can often be seen hopping and bounding across the grasslands. By symbolically comparing Doug's attributes to animals, Bradbury helps the audience feel the youthful tone of the novel. In another complexity of his story, Bradbury symbolically exposes the limited nature of machines to communicate the message that human relationships are more important than technology. Even though Dandelion Wine is set in 1928, when technology was scarce, Bradbury includes different types of machines in his novel. In one example from the text, Leo Auffmann, Doug's neighbor, attempts to build a machine that captures happiness. Leo's "Happiness Machine" brings more sadness than happiness and eventually bursts into flames (Bradbury 61). Leo realizes that the real Happiness Machine was "patented a few thousand years ago", "still works" and has "been there forever", meaning that true happiness exists in family dynamics (Bradbury 62). Another example of Bradbury's message denying mechanical ability exists in ever-changing nature.