The Symbol of Connection

       I am reading the book The Corps of the Bare-Boned Plane by Polly Horvath. I am up to the part where Meline just gets to her uncle's island with her cousin Jocelyn, after both their parents were killed in an accident in Africa. Even though I am just at the beginning of this book, I've been noticing a lot of symbols. One symbol is Meline and Jocelyn's parents death, and I think it represents connection between all the main characters.
        First of all, I think that the death of Meline and Jocelyn's parents is a symbol for connection because it seems like the first time the cousins ever really had anything that was the same for both of them. Meline talked about how Jocelyn and her came from different backgrounds and families, and that they were different in many ways, including the way they were brought up. For the first time in a long time, the cousins have something in common: they both have lost their parents, who were killed in the same horrible accident, and they both are stuck at their Uncle Marten's mansion on his own deserted island. Meline said that she hasn't seen her cousin in six years, and they are definitely not close. Meline and Jocelyn share the same tragic event that happened to them both, and it gives them a reason to meet again, and to become closer. It gives them a connection that no one else can have with either of them.
        Also, I think that the death of Meline and Jocelyn's parents represent connection because it gives their Uncle Marten a reason to communicate with them, and other people in general. Meline said that after her uncle got rich from investing in the stock market, he packed up his things and built a mansion on a deserted island off British Columbia. For years it was just him, his house, his books, and the sea. When Meline and Jocelyn are dropped off at his doorstep, Uncle Marten is forced to devote some of his time to his family. Uncle Marten has to talk to other people, instead of just ignoring the outside world and closing himself into his own comfort zone. Since Meline and Jocelyn were forced to live with Uncle Marten, he starts to connect with other people, not just his books and himself.  
          In conclusion, I believe that in the book The Corps of the Bare-Boned Plane, the death of Meline and Jocelyn's parents is a symbol for connection. It brought them two together, and it also brings Uncle Marten to connect with other people. Even though Meline and Jocelyn both lost their mother and father and had their immediate families torn apart, it brought together a new family unit, consisting of both of them and their uncle.