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

The Colored Pencils

The colored pencils symbolize the dangers of greed. Lina loses her senses in their presence and wastes her family’s scarce budget on a luxury for herself. Once she gets them home, however, they symbolize the power of her imagination. When she colors a sky blue for the first time she has no idea that the sky outside of Ember is blue, but doing so allows her to imagine how wonderful a blue sky would be.

The Seed and The Worm

The seed that Lina sprouts and the worm that Doon keeps in a box symbolize the untapped potential within Lina and Doon themselves. When Clary gives Lina the seed and plants it for her, she also plants the idea that the seed knows what to do to make a bean plant because there is life inside it. No one needs to tell the seed how to grow just as no one needs to tell the worm how to become a moth. Doon has read about this transformation, but it doesn’t compare to seeing it with his own eyes, just as planning his journey does not compare to actually undertaking it.

The Singing

The Singing is Lina’s favorite day of the year, and it symbolizes the strength of the people of Ember and of the community they have formed. When Lina stands in silence before it commences she is alive with anticipation, and she listens to each song, searches for meaning in its lyrics, and thinks about how each song makes her feel. If the citizens are able to raise their voices as one, it is also possible that they will be able to leave Ember as one and create a new world together just as the original citizens did when they arrived in Ember.

The River

The river that powers Ember symbolizes the world left behind, and it is the most dramatic element of the city that echoes the natural world. Because it is out of sight of everyone except those who work at the Pipeworks, its citizens can only appreciate its majesty once a year when they sing “The Song of The River.” Lina and Doon are the only ones who know that it also provides a way back to the natural world.

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