Symbolism

Symbolism is the act of creating a concept, thing, object, or idea that represents an abstraction or an instance of that abstraction. It should be noted that symbolism is not the same thing as creating an icon in the religious sense, which is a physical representation of something that is worshipped such as an image of a god or deity.

An extreme example of symbolism was Hitler's use of the swastika to represent not only the Nazi party, but also in graphic depictions to demonstrate the idealistic domination that Hitler wanted to acheive.

The peace symbol, not only represents its namesake but brotherhood, unity, and equality. A clenched fist often is a symbol of the oppressed and the need to rise up and fight against those dominating forces.