On Walter’s forty-seventh birthday, he lets each of his children select an item from a box he'd kept locked away. What do these totems represent?

On Walter’s forty-seventh birthday, he lets each of his children select an item from a box he'd kept locked away. Joey chooses the sprig of lavender, Lillian the oriole feather, and Henry the gold coin; Claire was given the handkerchief; and Rosanna saves the photograph of Walter during the Great War for Frank. What do these totems represent?

These tokens were dear to Walter's heart. He knows his health is failing but he has not shared this information with his family. He wants to share these momentos of his life with his children, before he is not there to tell them about them, so they are not found after he is gone, and all the meaning he has ascribed to them is lost.

But my question is why those particular tokens to each child..I can figure out Henry but am not sure about the others..

They represent different aspects of his life that have meaning to him, all of which he'd like to transfer over to this children.

They represent things in Walter's life that he thought were important at that time in his life.

They represent Walter's past and he's insuring that his past goes on to those that are the future of his line.

Walter wants to remain in his family's life no matter what happens to him. He wants them to see that he cares about them by telling his story to them.

Each relic represents something precious in his life, and by letting his children choose a memento, he is entrusting a part of himself to each of them. Some of the most precious reminders of loved ones in my possession are "homely" and have no material value.

Walter is giving a significant part of himself to his children. These things may have no material value (except for the gold piece), but they will always remind the children of their father. My most precious heirlooms wouldn't fetch a dime on the open market, but are precious to me.

I agree with emfremont, he is trying to share what's tangible and intangible in his life in a way that will carry his life forward within those he loves.

These are items that he has collected that have meant something in his life. He would like his children to know about them before he is gone and they have no meaning. He knows his health is not good and this is all he has to leave them that means something.

I was very emotional about this part. They meant so much to him and seemed such small tokens to all that was savored of a life. Did like the way the children picked out their small gifts and what they chose seemed very fitting for each one.l

I think that Walter knew his health was on the decline. He was a man of few words, not given to expressing feelings outwardly. The box of tokens represented what he thought important in his life, and by talking about their significance, he allowed his children to get to know him a bit better, and also made them aware that he did have deeper feelings than they may have known. The tokens, I believe, also were a sort of legacy of the past, and also their inheritance. A nice touch.