Symbols

In the next part of this guide, we will analyse the use of symbols in the text and provide you with some suggestions on how to interpret them.

A symbol is a literary device that contains several layers of meaning; a symbol is an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning.

The key symbol in the text is, as the title suggests, the rental heart.

In Logan’s story, the heart is no longer a necessary organ for supporting life but becomes a symbol of machinery. Hearts can be replaced just like car parts and rented like DVD’s. “On our first holiday, I beeped through the airport barriers. I showed my heart and was waved on.” (ll. 63-64)

Furthermore, the synthetic hearts are made of some sort of metal, symbolizing their endurance. Having a rental heart means being “bullet proofed” to the pain that sometimes comes with love. “I could hear its tick against the soft embrace of her lungs, and I bent close to her to smell its metallic sharpness. I wanted”. (ll. 44-45)

Another symb...