The cardinal (symbol)
Several times in the book, Finch mentions the story of the cardinal - a bird that continuously flew into the window when he was a child, until one day it died. Finch is also the name of a bird, evoking a connection between him and the actions of the cardinal. When the bird died, young Finch performed a funeral for it, describing that day as his "first black mood." Whenever he feels like he is falling into a depressive episode (or the Asleep, as he calls it), he reminds himself of the bird and its determination for death, which he was incapable of stopping. As time passed and Finch began to grow up, he began to feel guilty for his inability to save the bird, until he finally concludes that the bird would have died if the window was open or not, conveying that the bird was aware of his own suicidal actions and something that day caused him to fly into the window a little bit harder, resulting in his death. Overall, this links to the character and mentality of Theodore Finch. When describing the bird he says, "There was nothing to make him last a long time" (332), which he later quotes on the wall of his wardrobe before his own suicide. The determination and unruliness of the bird's actions is similar to Finch's—he has attempted and thought about different forms of suicide, toying with the idea like the bird's consistent flying, until finally he couldn't take it anymore.
The Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect (allegory)
Finch tells Violet the story of the Jovian-Plutonian effect which Jennifer Niven uses to convey Theodore's outlook on romance and love. In the story, Sir Patrick Moore, a British astronomer, decides to pull a hoax on April Fools Day, saying that on that day at a specific time the planets will align perfectly, resulting in a few minutes of a less gravitational pull—people will have the power to float above the earth if they jump. Because this was presented very professionally and no one thought to doubt it, some people reported back saying that they did float due to the placebo effect. Finch tells Violet about the Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect on Purina Tower after they have sex for the first time, because he feels in that moment like he is floating. From then on, the Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect takes on significance as a stand-in for how Violet makes Finch feel. At the suicide support group, he says that life is the Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect, and on his birthday, he recreates it in his closet for him and Violet.
Water (motif)
Water is a recurrent motif throughout the novel, as it is something Finch is consciously fascinated by. The Woolf novel The Waves is what he and Violet first connect through, and as they become friends, they have important moments at the river by school as well as at the Blue Hole. Finch has a fixation with drowning, often recounting Woolf's suicide by drowning, and in several scenes holds his breath until he can no longer take it. He also goes to Mudlavia, the spring, to drink the water with alleged healing powers. In the end, Finch dies by drowning after all.
Eleanor's glasses (symbol)
Eleanor's glasses are a physical representation of Violet's grief, and specifically her inability to let go of the past. They are a remnant of her sister that Violet can hold onto, but their symbolism goes deeper—they're not just any object, they're the object through which Violet is seeing the world. Importantly, Violet doesn't need to wear glasses: they blur her vision, so she can't see the world correctly. It's similar to the effect of her grief, and her fixation on the past, which are clouding her ability to see clearly in the present. In wearing her glasses (which Violet doesn't even like), it's like she's trying to resurrect her sister; but in doing so, Violet herself is being erased. When she finally stops wearing them, and puts them back in Eleanor's room, it is a significant moment in Violet's healing—she will never forget her sister, but she doesn't need to try to be her.
Germ Magazine (symbol)
Violet's website, Germ, is more than just her new project. Writing in general takes on a lot of symbolic weight in this book, as it is something Violet used to do, and used to really associate with herself, but she has given it up since Eleanor's death. When Finch makes it his mission to help her, part of his goal is to rehabilitate her love for writing, because he understands then writing is a deep and important part of her identity. Giving up the old website she worked on with Eleanor, and letting it exist in the past, is an important step forward for Violet. When she starts Germ, she is regaining some of that lost confidence, getting closer to the lost self. She is letting herself move forward—the name of the magazine, notably, references the definition of something at an initial stage, with potential to develop. For Violet, the magazine marks her own new beginning.
