53 pages • 1 hour read
R. J. PalacioA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The white bird is an important symbol in the book. As the title of the book, it is derived from the poetry of Jewish American poet, Muriel Rukeyser. The specific excerpt appears in the epigraph of the book. The image of the white bird itself makes multiple appearances throughout the book and symbolizes different things in each context, with the common underlying idea being that of freedom.
The white bird first makes an appearance in the game Sara plays with her Papa; it makes a similar appearance at the scene of Julien’s death, as he appears to lift off from the ground just as Sara does in the game, as he dies. In this context, the white bird serves as a symbol for freedom: in Sara’s case, the freedom of childhood; in Julien’s case, the freedom from worldly and bodily constraints.
The bird also appears in instances where Sara daydreams or doodles in her sketchbook. Besides appearing as a character in her sketches, the white bird is depicted as flying out the window even as Sara is hiding in the barn. Here, the bird symbolizes Sara’s imagination, which is free to roam even when she is not.
By R. J. Palacio
5th-6th Grade Historical Fiction
View Collection
Appearance Versus Reality
View Collection
Books Made into Movies
View Collection
Books on Justice & Injustice
View Collection
Books that Teach Empathy
View Collection
Challenging Authority
View Collection
Childhood & Youth
View Collection
Coming-of-Age Journeys
View Collection
Family
View Collection
Fathers
View Collection
Fear
View Collection
Friendship
View Collection
Good & Evil
View Collection
Graphic Novels & Books
View Collection
Grief
View Collection
Hispanic & Latinx American Literature
View Collection
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
View Collection
Juvenile Literature
View Collection
Loyalty & Betrayal
View Collection
Memorial Day Reads
View Collection
Memory
View Collection
Military Reads
View Collection
Mortality & Death
View Collection
Nation & Nationalism
View Collection
Power
View Collection
Required Reading Lists
View Collection
Safety & Danger
View Collection
The Past
View Collection
Trust & Doubt
View Collection
War
View Collection
World War II
View Collection