The Notebook

The notebook symbolizes the time that the narrator and Jonás are apart. The narrator beings writing in the notebook when Jonás leaves and concludes it as Jonás is expected to return. It is the way that the narrator gives context for the time that Jonás is away. It is a way for her fill her days without him by filling the notebook.

Electric Pencil Sharpener

The electric pencil sharpener is a symbol of the narrator’s maturity. The narrator reveals that when she was a teenager that she thought that an electric pencil sharpener marked someone entering adulthood. By the end of the novella, the narrator still does not have an electric pencil sharpener, but she seems to be finding herself and her place in adulthood. It demonstrates how expectations differ from reality.

Swallow

The swallow symbolizes the narrator’s loyalty...