Blindness

In the novel, blindness symbolizes trauma and despair. After Afra witnesses the death of her son, the trauma causes her to go blind. She then falls into despair and desires to simply remain in Syria and wait for death. However, her husband Nuri persuades her to flee the country with him. Nuri helps to guide her through the difficult journey to England, and thus love helps to limit the destructive effects of despair.

Bees

In the novel, bees symbolize the profound value of morality and cooperation. Nuri and Mustafa greatly admire bees’ innate ability to work together for the good of their community. After witnessing much violence and experiencing much trauma, Nuri and Mustafa feel that humans might be incapable of working for the greater good. In this way, the novel encourages the reader to be more focused on behaving altruistically, for the sake of the...