Charlie's Dentures

Charlie's dentures symbolize fraudulence. When he was 24 years old, he had all of his teeth removed, and was given the dentures. Despite how long he has had them, throughout the novel, Charlie is convinced that no one knows he wears the false teeth. The dentures resurface as a point of contention between many of the family members, and illustrate their attempts to define who Charlie really was.

Jake's Book

The book Jake is writing about his father symbolizes ownership. Though Jake promised Charlie that he would tell only the factual elements of his life story, after his father dies, Jake realizes that he cannot keep this promise. He decides to manipulate the account in order to represent Charlie the way he saw him. All of Jake's family members contest his version of events. However, Charlie finally embraces his manuscript as it gives him authority over...