Mirror
The mirror has two symbolic faces in Beyond Good and Evil. The negative connotation is illustrated as a comparison of what a scholar learns being a mere representation of the thoughts and ideas and other lacking originality and complexity. Later on, the mirror will become a Dionysian metaphor for the clarity of a still mind to reflect the full expanse of accumulated knowledge.
Mask
The mask takes on a major thematic role in its symbolic significance in this Nietzsche work. The mask becomes the symbol by which a philosopher can offer protection of knowledge from the less intellectually sophisticated. This person keeps the philosopher at a comfortable distance from the ignorant while defending against the potential for ideas to become corrupted.
Newspapers
Newspapers take on a special significance in Beyond Good and Evil as an incarnation of the domestication of information too much focused on the present with no clear indication of an awareness or concern for the consequences of the future. This information is not just incapable of providing intellectual sustenance, but also commit another cardinal sin for Nietzsche: the very form and structure in which the anti-intellectual content is presented encourages and reinforces the development of uncritical habitual routine.
Desert
The wasteland of the desert is here used symbolically not to portray dearth or lack of resources for sustenance, but as a geographical metaphor relative to the inhabitant. The desert is historically the place for wandering and contemplation in stories of philosophy Thus, the symbolic meaning here is situated within the visitor rather than the land; the desert becomes metaphorical topography for the pursuit of an enquiry engendering suffering and placing temptations as obstruction on the path to self-awareness.
Frog
Consider the properties of a frog. He is the opposite of the eagle. The majestic bird soaring high overhead sees everything from a superior perspective in the crisp, clean environment of the air which it masters. The frog sees everything from wet, soggy swamp from a perspective in which everything seems higher and loftier and greater than not just the frog, but—due to the distortion of perspective—greater than it really is. The frog is a symbol of the pessimism about one’s own conditions that creates an inaccurate idealization of everything else.
