Granted

In Granted, Kasarah’s coin is a small but powerful symbol for wishes and choices. Though it seems like an ordinary nickel at first, it becomes a crucial element of the story since Kasarah uses it to make her wish. At first, the coin represents her innocent and pure desire for a purple bike. This simple coin becomes a link between the human world and the fairy world, carrying the weight of a heartfelt wish.

Kasarah’s coin also plays a role in the Ophelia’s ethical dilemma when she has to choose between granting Kasarah’s simple wish for a bike, as her mission demands, and Gabe’s more important wish for his deployed father to come home. The coin has both wishes overlaid on in, represented by its two sides, and it becomes a symbol of Ophelia’s moral conflict. It highlights The Ethics of Granting Wishes since Ophelia must decide which wish is more “worthy” and then bear the potential consequences of this decision.

Likewise, the coin represents wishes themselves and the many ways they can be granted. Ophelia grants Gabe’s wish, which is embedded in the coin, with magic. However, Kasarah’s wish, which is also embedded in the coin, takes ingenuity, patience, and elbow grease. Earlier in the novel, the older man’s wish for a hot meal is also partially granted by Kasarah’s coin after he fishes the coin out of the fountain in hunger and desperation. Even the man who hit Ophelia with his windshield wipers used the coin to fulfill his wish for a beverage. The coin symbolizes that magic is not the only way to make wishes come true. 

Ultimately, the significance of Kasarah’s coin extends beyond its physical form. It becomes a narrative device that explores the deeper themes of wish fulfillment and ethical choices.