Secret
Garden
Chapter 6
Symbolism
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We have discussed that the ivory elephants Mary
found in the cabinet are a symbol for her and her life
in India.
They are lifeless, cold, hard – like she is.
They are shut away in a cabinet – she was shut away
while she was in India.
What are the mice a symbol of?
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Write a t paragraph describing your thoughts.
Include a topic sentence, supporting detail and a
concluding sentence.
Make sure to include the author and title.
Use specific phrases and words from the text to make
your comparison.
Please do this on paper.
The ivory elephants Mary finds in chapter six in The
Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, are a symbol
for herself. Mary finds hundreds of ivory elephants in a
cabinet. She knew what they were right away because
she was familiar with elephants and their ivory while she
was in India. These elephants are a clear symbol for Mary
and her life in India. The carved elephants are made of
ivory, so one can conclude their texture is hard and cold.
Mary’s temperament is hard and cold, like the elephants.
Mary was neglected by her parents and shown no love, so
she does not know how to show warmth and love to others.
After she was done playing with the elephants she “set
them in order and shut the door of the cabinet” (57). She
locked the elephants away, out of sight. This is much how
Mary herself was treated in India; out of the sight of her
parents. When analyzing the elephants Mary finds at
Misselthwaite, readers can conclude they are a symbol of
her and her life in India.