This chapter explores the power of symbols and their impact on communication by showing how Burke posits that our relationships change because we communicate through symbols, and that we create symbols as we communicate. He explains how our relationship towards an object or a person changes according to the names we give them. Citing the example of the ‘war on poverty’ in the United States, Burke tries to show that the way we have described poverty directs our response. Actions are guided by the names and symbols that we associate with such names.
