The Symbol Black-Berry
The author has used Black-Berry to symbolically to represent the evolution of technology and how it has transformed the world today. During the class of 2011, the author is chosen to deliver an address. During the speech, the author decides to talk about his personal life to inspire others out of his experiences. He mentions the Black-Berry gadget and its capability to do the unthinkable. He says, “A couple of weeks ago, I replaced my three-year-old Black-Berry Pearl with a much more powerful Black-Berry Bold, with a five-megapixel camera and 3G capability.” Consequently, Black-Berry is a symbol of the ability of modern technology
The symbol of Donald Trump
The narrator argues that people who make themselves attractive and likable to people are desperate. Most people who struggle to be liked have denied accepting who they are. Making yourself appealing to people so that you can be liked is likely to backfire when they realize who you are. Dedicating your life to be appreciated by others is a sign of despair in life. The author symbolically uses Donald Trump as a representation of sorrow. Forcing yourself to be liked can lead you to depression, sadness, and being an alcoholic. The author writes, "Those people exist to make you feel good about yourself, but how good can your feeling be when it is provided by people you do not respect? You may find yourself becoming depressed, or alcoholic, or if you are Donald Trump, running for president (and then quitting).”
Helium Molecules
The author uses the helium molecules emblematically to represent a lack of commitment and stability. The narrator accepts that he married his wife when they were still very young. Their marriage faced various struggles, but the two stayed put and honored their commitment. The author says that they were not helium molecules, and that is why they succeeded. The molecules in this regard mean failure to keep the promise. The author writes, "For one thing, our struggle to honor our commitment actively came to constitute who we were as people; we weren't helium molecules, floating inertly through life; we bonded, and we changed.”
Red Gerry Backpack
The author uses the red Gerry backpack held by the narrator to represent his father's memories symbolically. The narrator argues that Tom took after their father in every aspect, including carrying the backpack. When the narrator gets an opportunity to join a summer school-course called Camping in the West, he carries Tom's red Gerry backpack. The narrator says, "I had Tom's obsolescent red Gerry backpack and (for taking notes on my somewhat randomly chosen area of study, lichens) a notebook identical to the one Tom had carried."
The motif of Lichens
The use of Lichens by the author is emblematic to represent hope. The narrator feels hopeless at some point in his life but finds solace whenever he writes about lichens. The narrator says, “But then I looked at some lichens and wrote a bit about them and calmed down and figured out that my sorrow was due not to a loss of purpose but to the fact that I did not know who I was or why I was and that I did not show my love to my parents.”
