Alfred Hitchcock's Use Of Symbolism In Psycho

PsychoWouldn’t you expect it to be really hard to change the audiences’ perception of a character within moments of the character’s introduction? Alfred Hitchcock made it seem almost easy in the movie, Psycho. The sinister nature of Norman Bates was revealed and enhanced through the use of symbolism to set the mood, foreshadowing in regards to Norman’s mindset and lighting to establish Norman’s darker aspects.
In scenes where Norman Bates was present, symbolism was an important aspect used to establish the eerie mood that he set. From the beginning, Norman Bates was perceived as a ‘shy and nervous, but still friendly’ sort of character. He seemed to have a crush on Marion but she already had a man. This lead to audience sympathy which soon changes to an uncomfortable feeling when his hobby of taxidermy is revealed. The
In the case of Norman, the birds used to symbolize are mainly shown in the parlour scene where he is eating dinner with Marion. There is a large owl with its wings spread out on one side and an equally large crow on the other side of the room. There are also smaller birds like sparrows on the table next to where Marion is sitting. Owls and crows are mainly predator birds and as they are shown looming dauntingly over the sparrows, this could symbolize Norman’s predator status over Marion. This is the first thing that symbolizes his sinister nature as it shows him having a superior power over her. The use of birds could also symbolize his conflict with his mother when he states, “…but she’s harmless. She’s as harmless as one of these stuffed birds.” This statement could be restated as he thinks of her as harmless because she is dead and unresponsive like