What does the plum tree represent?

What does the plum tree represent, both as a pit when it’s first planted and later, as a blossoming sapling at the end of the book?

I think it represents a new future/life full of living. The pit represented the people who needed to survive the war and the tree the survivors that were being their lives all over again.

I think it represents the hope and the future of the family, and that out of the ashes the phoenix will rise.

The question ties into the symbolism of what the family's (pre-existing) plum tree meant as well as what the later planted pit/sapling represents. The family's plums were prized as gems because no one else's family grew them----they were special to their garden and were a symbol of this family's uniqueness. Then, the planted seed could recapitulate their family's strife and struggle to renew hope for the next generation.

Sustenance for the human being, therefore LIFE.

I agree with the other entries. The Plum Tree represented that through growth there was life and a hope for the future.... A future with Christine and Isaac.

The plum tree is a symbol of the family and regeneration - hope - the quality and unending cycle of life.

I agree with the others. The plum tree grows from a small hard pit. If the pit is hatred and cruelty, then the symbolism is that new life and beauty will come from the hatred through nuturing and love. the pit will be forgotten and only the fruit from the tree is what is important

Faith and renewal.

I think the plum tree represents life. Christine thought the plum tree and Isaac were dead, buttheyboth lived.