The Bridge to Terabithia Symbol Analysis

The titular bridge to Terabithia initially symbolizes the connection between real life and the imaginary, and eventually comes to represent a how grief can be utilized and redirected in a positive way. When Jess and Leslie find and create the realm of Terabithia—a place where they can be alone and free from the judgment of their parents, their school bullies, and their overbearing teachers—they select a remote spot in the woods just beyond a shallow but wide creek. The creek is empty, but Jess and Leslie always use a rope swing hanging from a nearby tree to cross the bed. Their swing over to Terabithia becomes a kind of ritual—a symbol of passing between the “real” world and the one they’ve created together. However, Leslie, upon visiting Terabithia alone, falls to her death from the rope during a storm. After this tragedy, Jess must come up with a new way of getting across the creek and so constructs a “bridge” out of a large fallen branch. His sister May Belle becomes stranded on the bridge when she tries to follow him across, but Jess skillfully helps her conquer her fears and clear the bridge. Soon after, Jess begins building a real, stable bridge to Terabithia using lumber form the Burke family’s porch. The bridge Jesse builds himself, board by board, represents the process of grieving. Grief often threatens to create an insulating force which cuts one off from the friends, family, places, and things that matter most—but Jess’s construction of a symbolic bridge between the private world of Terabithia and the “real” world shows that he wants Leslie’s death to bring him closer to those around him rather than isolate him from them further.