By the Great Horn Spoon!

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1963

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-7

Chapters 8-11

Chapters 12-15

Chapters 16-18

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Hunting for Gold

In By the Great Horn Spoon!, Jack and Praiseworthy’s quest in California begins as a hunt for physical wealth, for the “color” that drew many thousands of would-be millionaires to the goldfields in the mid-1800s. However, it is not greed that motivates Jack and Praiseworthy, but an urgency to keep their family together. Chipping flecks of gold out of rocks and dirt becomes, for them, a symbol of their love for Arabella, and for each other; their shared dangers, triumphs, and sacrifices gradually chip away at the butler’s professional “distance,” until he and Jack are like father and son. At the same time, Praiseworthy gains the confidence to be his own man, worthy of proposing to Arabella. This is the “gold” the pair discover on their quest. When Praiseworthy asks Arabella to marry him, her eyes “sparkle” with tears: This echoes the sparkle of gold in the sluices and streams near Sutter’s Mill, revealing gold to be a symbol of love—which often requires confidence, patience, and hard work. Significantly, the actual gold that Jack and Praiseworthy find is lost in a shipwreck; the monetary wealth it embodies is no longer needed to keep them together. The fact that the heavy gold almost drags them down foreshadows Arabella’s revelation that her luxurious house, and the wealth and position it represented, was a “curse” that kept her from doing what she wanted.

Arabella’s House

A symbol for burdens of the past, specifically the rigid class system of mid-19th-century Boston, Arabella’s house has long felt like a “curse” to her. Most of her inheritance has been squandered on maintaining it, and the lifestyle and social strictures it imposes on her have long kept her from doing what she wants—notably, marrying Praiseworthy without fear of social censure. As a relic of colonial (British) legacy in the United States, the mansion represents a value system that is, to her, antiquated and morally bankrupt. A classic “white elephant,” the mansion’s dusty halls are mostly empty, half of the rooms have been closed off, and it mostly functions as a drain on resources, both financial and emotional. Jack and Praiseworthy are unaware of Arabella’s true feelings about the house until the end of the novel, when she meets them in San Francisco because she’s been just as reserved in her love for Praiseworthy. Following the pair’s lead, Arabella embraces the chance to start over in a new setting, selling the old house and the colonial baggage it symbolizes.

Praiseworthy’s Clothes and Umbrella

A frequent motif in By the Great Horn Spoon!, Praiseworthy’s butler paraphernalia (bowler hat, black coat, white gloves, and black umbrella) and their loss (or destruction) throughout the story illustrate his identity as a butler giving way to new possibilities in California. Early on, he clings to these English “badges” of his traditional calling, only to see them vanish one by one: First the bowler, blown away by a gust of wind at sea; then his coat, stolen by highwaymen; then his gloves, which become a mark of secret shame for him after he’s lauded for punching a bandit with gold dust in the fingers; and finally his umbrella, which he’s forced to pan with. This gradual loss of “armor” humanizes Praiseworthy, making him feel less and less like someone trapped in a set role. It also adds to the humor of the story, serving as a running joke.