Christianity (Symbol)
Christianity is both a major theme of the text as well as an important symbol. Within the context of the narrator's tale, Christianity symbolizes connection and understanding, as it is not until the islanders confirm that the sailors are Christians that they welcome them in Bensalem. Furthermore, the fact that both the crew members and the people of Bensalem practice Christianity helps them relate to one another despite coming from such vastly different societies. In this way, Christianity becomes a symbol of trust, rendering neither the islanders nor the sailors complete "strangers."
Light (Symbol)
Light plays a significant role throughout New Atlantis. When the islanders describe the experience of Saint Bartholomew's gift, they say he appeared to them as a pillar of light. When the Father of Solamon's House explains their operation to the narrator, he describes the explorers as "Merchants of Light." Light functions as as a symbol of both God and knowledge, two large concepts that the text argues are inextricable from one another.
Feast of the Family (Symbol)
The Feast of the Family is a symbol of the island's prosperity. The narrator explains that a Feast of the Family is only held for those families made up of at least 30 people, suggesting that the people of Bensalem celebrate increase, especially as it relates to the family unit. The Feast of the Family is also an opportunity for a patriarch to honor one of their children ("Son of the Vine"), emphasizing the inhabitants' focus on familial bonds.
China (Symbol)
Throughout the text, different interlocutors compare and contrast their utopian society to China. As the narrative unfolds, China becomes a symbol of a utopia gone wrong – often, interlocutors will explain how their society has followed many of the same models as China, but has done so in a way that continues to encourage exploration and knowledge. The interlocutors of Bensalem see themselves as a more successful version of what China has attempted to accomplish with its own people.
The Crosier and the Staff (Symbol)
When the Father of the House of Solamon arrives, his attendants carry his hooked staff known as a crosier, a medieval symbol of the shepherd tending after his flock. At the same time, the attendants also carry his staff. While the crosier was made from balm-wood, the staff is a much hardier instrument constructed from cedar. The two tools unite the symbolism of affectionate guidance with the more authoritarian symbolism of the staff, creating the sense that the Father is near divine in the eyes of the islanders.
