Literature

Literature represents immortality. Kolya and Lev often remember the words of Lev's dad father through his poetry. Also, Kolya hurries to write his novel down throughout the novel, foreshadowing his imminent death. When he is about to die, he asks Lev what he thinks about his novel's title.

Eggs

Eggs symbolize life. In the starving city of Leningrad, Vadim and Ruslan strive to have a chicken coop with hens that lay eggs that could preserve life. People of Leningrad fight for the chickens and long to have them since chickens lay eggs and thus continually produce food. A hen laying eggs can save people from starvation.

Music

Music represents hope that overcomes the death situations. During the bombings, most people ran to underground shelters, but a persistent pianist played the music of wartime, a unique tune that Lev had never heard before and never heard again...