The seed that Clary gives Lina and the worm that Doon raises into a moth both represent Lina and Doon as they move from the darkness of Ember to the light aboveground. All of Ember’s residents are, in a sense, akin to the seed and the worm: they haven’t yet become what they’re supposed to be, given that the Instructions that detail how to leave the city and complete humanity’s foray underground have been lost. As Lina and Doon decipher the instructions—and, at the same time, as the seed sprouts and the worm emerges from its chrysalis as a moth—Lina and Doon solve the mystery and, just like the sprout and the moth, find themselves with the knowledge of how to leave Ember for the world aboveground, where they can grow and flourish in the light.
