Symbolism in ("Mums") Plants

Plants, roots, and seeds symbolize family resilience, strength, and growth. Jack’s Meemaw sells him the seeds, and they grow and form roots on his mother’s grave. The name of his mother, Bloom, foreshadows her heads that will grow from the mums’ roots. These roots not only have the possibility to foster life, but also the ability to take it away. The threat to Jack’s life is his father’s wrath, and the roots help Jake take his father’s life for his own future and safety. The roots Jack sees in his dreams symbolize the notion that he is a product of his environment. As a direct product of his parents and their environment, pulling roots out of his throat symbolizes the connected between himself and his mother in the ground.