Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

We learn that both the narrator's and Santiago Nasar's mothers interpret symbols from dreams, but the overall importance or significance of symbols in the novel is never clearly linked to any other concept or idea that informs the work as a whole. This is especially true because the work is supposed to be journalistic and factual, so any such symbols work against the narrator's purported intent of clarifying the events surrounding Santiago Nasar's death, becoming purely anecdotal. Because they occur randomly, constantly, and without any easily discernible premeditated purpose, it is difficult to distinguish any recurring symbol that has a greater significance in the text as a whole.