Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

“I had never considered the meaning of life before. Why hadn’t I considered it? What is wrong with me? Has everyone else thought about this except for me? Maybe I was too busy trying to learn about time travel so I could keep Dad from taking the car out on that fateful day. My time travel research is important though, if not vital, to all of mankind. How was I supposed to put that aside to ponder the meaning of life?”

Here, Jeremy has just received the box in the mail and read the inscription on its top. Knowing this message came from his dad brings a new sense of urgency to the meaning of life, something Jeremy has never cared about before. Realizing that his dad cared about the meaning of life makes Jeremy care about it. Jeremy also compares himself to other people, showing that he has a lot to learn and that he doesn’t yet trust himself to make the decisions that are best for him—such as what to put his focus toward. His thoughts about time travel are a justification for not considering the meaning of life, especially as they relate to bringing back his dad. If his dad hadn’t died, this box would not be there now, and Jeremy would rather have his dad than the box.

“These fish and I are a lot alike. They swim around the same four walls, safe and secure in their familiar environment. That’s how I am, too. Honestly, I don’t see any reason to leave my neighborhood. Everything I could ever want or need is within a few blocks in any direction: Dad’s store (I still think of it as his), movies, school, the doctor, grocery store, dentist, clothes, shoes, the park, the library, the post office, everything. I don’t like change.”

While feeding his fish, Jeremy considers how their circumscribed lives are similar to his. Jeremy is ruled by fear, and he combats this by staying in his comfort zone, both physically and mentally. Physically, he thinks of his little neighborhood within the hugeness of New York as a safe space, and his desire not to go beyond his neighborhood foreshadows how he will test his boundaries to hunt for the box’s keys. His thought that everything he needs is in his neighborhood shows how little he knows about the wider world. His list of places and things that he needs is based on what he has needed in the past up until this moment. Jeremy still lives in the past here, and he cements this by telling himself things will not change.

“I do not like surprises. I won’t watch scary movies. I won’t answer the phone unless I can see who is calling on caller ID. I don’t even like it when someone says, ‘Guess what?’ and then waits for you to guess. Surprises make me nervous. Once you’ve had a real surprise, one that knocks the wind out of you and changes your life, all the little surprises remind you of that big one.”

In addition to change, Jeremy adds surprises to the list of things he doesn’t like and tries to avoid. This again shows how he lives in the past and fears what changes the future might bring. The final lines of this quotation refer to his dad’s death. For Jeremy, that was the worst kind of surprise, and it is the reason he likes things neat and predictable. He is still not over the upheaval his dad’s death caused, and he extends his lingering grief to the rest of his life, avoiding situations he can’t control. These lines foreshadow the many surprises Jeremy will encounter on his search for the keys, as well as how his dad gave him one last surprise in the form of the quest itself.

“‘And if that doesn’t work, Plan E is take the subway to the 26th Street Flea Market this afternoon. We might get lucky there. Some of those vendors have got to have old keys for sale.’

I squirm a little at that one. ‘I’ve never seen keys there.’

‘That’s because you’ve never had a reason to look.’”

This conversation between Jeremy and Lizzy incorporates part of the list of actions they will take to find the keys that open the box. Jeremy’s part of the list involved things he could do at home, and this part (Lizzy’s part) has them going outside Jeremy’s comfort zone and the neighborhood to increase their likelihood of finding the keys. Jeremy’s reaction to Plan E shows his fear of new things. Though the flea market almost certainly has keys, he claims he’s never seen keys there because he doesn’t want to go. Lizzy’s closing line speaks to how Jeremy and people in general don’t see past what they search for until they have a reason to do so.

“What if the keys to my dad’s box are already a part of some art project? Or hanging from some girl’s ears? Whatever happened to the good old days when all people wanted keys for was to open locks?”

Here, Jeremy and Lizzy have just met a girl at the flea market who’s also been going to all the booths that sell keys. When they ask, the girl explains that she uses keys in art projects, which makes Jeremy fearful that he won’t find the box’s keys because someone else has already found them. This speaks to Jeremy’s fear of change. As he says, he doesn’t understand why people don’t just use keys for their intended purpose, instead choosing to find new uses for them. More broadly, this passage speaks to how things in life don’t always work out. While Jeremy and Lizzy find all the keys for the box in the end, this moment reminds them and the reader that the keys could be anywhere and that there is no guarantee of them being found in time for Jeremy’s birthday, if at all.

“Every once in a while, Lizzy says something that really makes me think. I can see her point. Two parts of a whole, separated and lost from each other. ‘Like swans,’ I say.

‘Huh?’

‘You know, how swans mate for life, and then if one of them dies, the other just swims around alone for the rest of its life. Keys are like that. My dad’s box is like that. Only one key will fit. Well, in our case, four keys.’”

Prior to this exchange between Lizzy and Jeremy, Lizzy says that the number of locks and keys that are missing each other seems sad to her. This kind of observation is uncharacteristic for Lizzy, and this moment foreshadows the growth Lizzy will undergo throughout the rest of the novel while also showing where she is in her character arc now. Jeremy likening locks and keys to swans shows his propensity to do research, as well as the connections his mind makes between different subjects. This also symbolizes the relationship between Jeremy and Lizzy. Jeremy is typically the introspective one who’s prone to overthinking, as shown by how he links keys to swans—two things that are not usually compared. Following this, Lizzy is confused and taken aback by the swans, showing that she indulges Jeremy’s thought processes, even though she doesn’t always understand them.

“I’m getting a bit dizzy from circling, so I sit down on the couch that, unlike ours, has no holes and no name. I practice my deep breathing. Architecturally our two apartments are identical, just flipped around. But they couldn’t be more different inside. Practically everything in Lizzy’s house is beige. Her dad says that it makes it easier to decorate. I have to admit, it’s more calming than all the crazy colors of my place.”

Lizzy has just announced her idea to break into the lawyer’s office and search for the keys, and this paragraph encapsulates Jeremy’s reaction to both leaving his comfort zone and partaking in actions he doesn’t agree with. The observations he makes here are his way of coping with all the new ideas Lizzy has thrust at him. He notices the differences between the apartments, which he uses to remind himself that he is still safe and that not everything about his life changes just because one thing does. The comparison of the two apartments is also a metaphor for Jeremy and Lizzy’s friendship. Like the apartments, Jeremy and Lizzy are identical in that they are both human beings, but they are very different because of what is inside them. The decorations and furnishings of the apartments make the living areas unique, much like Jeremy’s and Lizzy’s approaches to the box and to life in general. It is ironic that Lizzy’s apartment is more calming than Jeremy’s because this is the exact opposite of the kids’ personalities.

“‘Lizzy’s dad is bringing us to work with him.’ It’s amazing how easily I can lie to my uncle. All I have to do is remember the time he was supposed to take me on the father-son campout in sixth grade and never showed up. It may not excuse the lying, but it makes me feel less guilty.”

Here, Jeremy’s uncle has asked where the kids are going when they are preparing to break into the lawyer’s office. Jeremy is not normally good at lying, and his ability to do so here shows how the pressure of the quest is forcing him to adapt. Jeremy can’t lie well to his mom or Lizzy because he respects and trusts them. By contrast, Jeremy holds animosity toward his uncle because the man let him down. Even more, the letdown was in relation to something Jeremy’s dad would have done without fail (come to the father-son picnic), which makes the hurt feel like a betrayal both to Jeremy and on behalf of Jeremy’s dad. Jeremy’s negative feelings cancel out his discomfort about lying, showing how he reacts differently to people depending on how he perceives them.

“‘It’s not a job,’ I remind her. ‘A job is where you get paid.’

She shakes her head. ‘A job is where you are assigned a task and you complete it to the best of your ability. Money or no money.’”

This conversation between Jeremy and his mom comes after Jeremy and Lizzy are assigned community service with Mr. Oswald. Jeremy’s mom tells Jeremy he needs to focus on his job, not on finding the keys. To Jeremy, community service isn’t a real job because he’s being forced to do it and not getting paid for his efforts. His mother’s contrary definition proposes an alternative system of value—one that aligns with the lessons Jeremy learns in his quest about Finding Value in Relationships. Money is not the only measure of what makes something worth doing.

“When Dad first died, I used to keep a list of all the things that happened to me that he wouldn’t get to see. Like when I hit a home run in gym class (only happened once, but it did happen), or when I won an award for a short story in sixth grade about a boy who burned an ant with a magnifying glass, and that night his house burned down, and he knew it was all his fault. But the list was all about me. I had never considered what my dad would or wouldn’t have done with his own life if he’d gotten the chance.”

This passage also speaks to Jeremy’s youthful mindset and how he has coped with his dad’s death. Up until now, Jeremy has thought about losing his dad in terms of what it means to him—specifically all the things his dad has missed in Jeremy’s life. The shift to thinking about what his dad missed out on doing for himself shows Jeremy starting to change. Instead of focusing so much on himself, he considers the feelings and thoughts of others, which foreshadows how the deliveries he makes for Mr. Oswald will change him.

“Sixty-five years is like an eternity. The longest Lizzy and I ever went without speaking was a week, and that was because she said the things on Star Trek couldn’t really happen.

‘Bitsy used to be my best friend,’ Mrs. Billingsly explains. ‘Until I sold this book for a fancy dress. She confronted me, but I told her I hadn’t taken it. I knew she knew I had. Best friends always know when the other’s lying.’”

These lines from the first delivery scene foreshadow the strife and resolution in Jeremy and Lizzy’s relationship. They also show how young Jeremy and Lizzy are. Jeremy can’t even contemplate 65 years because he hasn’t lived anywhere near that long. To him, a week seems like a long time, and this shows both how strong and still new his relationship with Lizzy is. They have been best friends for years, but all those years are still a short time when compared to the woman’s lost friendship. The woman’s dialogue is both true and ironic. Lizzy and Jeremy do have a knack for knowing when the other is lying, but they also sometimes completely miss the mark, such as Jeremy having no idea Lizzy has kept the fourth key from him until she presents it on his birthday.

“1. I could get used to riding in a limo. People think limos are only for movie stars and politicians and athletes, but they are wrong.

2. Lizzy does not always share. Case in point: Starburst.

3. Mr. Oswald didn’t exactly lie to us about what we’d be doing, but he didn’t exactly not lie, either. I am not sure why.”

While doing community service, Jeremy and Lizzy are assigned to write down their observations in notebooks, and this is from the first entry Jeremy writes. As the story progresses, Jeremy’s entries get longer and more ponderous, so this first one shows that he is at the beginning of his character arc and not thinking too deeply about things yet. Even so, his observations are important to his character, such as noting that Lizzy sometimes lies or withholds things from him—more foreshadowing for the fourth key. The first entry shows Jeremy willingly coming out of his comfort zone. He has never ridden in a limo before. In addition, the limo takes him out of his neighborhood, but he doesn’t mind this new experience because it is a positive one.

“‘Jeremy, your mnemonic device might have to change. I’ve been reading about Pluto perhaps losing its planethood. Astronomers think it’s too small to fit the definition of a planet.’

I nod. I had read about that, too.

‘Figures they’d get rid of the one named after Mickey Mouse’s dog,’ Lizzy grumbles.”

This conversation between Jeremy, Lizzy, and Mr. Oswald shows the similarities and differences between the characters. The removal of Pluto from the list of planets is a change in something that had seemed everlasting, threatening Jeremy’s sense of security in a predictable universe. Lizzy’s humorous response shows that her interests are different from those of Jeremy or Mr. Oswald—more rooted in popular culture than Greek mythology. Despite this, all three share a sense of injustice at Pluto’s demotion: They believe that small things can be just as important as big ones.

“I don’t have a million dollars anymore. I gave most of it away. Look, I grew up with money. Then I made more than I knew what to do with. And you know what? I’m much happier this way. All of life’s problems come from attachment. When you let go of being attached to things, or needing things, a sense of peace comes over you like I can’t describe.”

This passage is spoken by the man Jeremy and Lizzy deliver the lamp to. From the letter he wrote as a kid, Jeremy and Lizzy imagine him as a selfish, spoiled man who cares only about money. The reality is nothing like they predicted, and this passage offers a glimpse at his backstory while showing that people can change when they want to. This speech also speaks to how materialism can hold people down. When the man based his happiness on what he had or what he could afford to get, he was miserable because his entire life revolved around money and status. When he let go of the need for possessions and notoriety, he learned to live for joy, rather than for meeting goals. This links to the novel’s message about living in the moment, rather than living for what might happen in the future.

“Mine is perfectly fine. It sheds light. That’s what a lamp is made for. Everything is at its best when it is doing exactly what it was created for. A lamp gives light. An apple gives sustenance and refreshment. A chair is perfect in being exactly what it is—a chair.”

Here, the man has just told Lizzy to keep the lamp because he already has a lamp. When Lizzy argues the one they brought back is nicer, the man gives this response, which speaks to how humans have complicated the line between want and need. The man only needs the one lamp. He may want the nicer lamp, but he recognizes that wanting it is not the same as needing it, especially since the one he has works perfectly well. His observation that things are perfect simply for serving their intended function is another aspect of living in the moment. People, like objects, are meant to live, and as long as they do so, they are perfect in that they are doing what they are meant to do.

“Could it really be that simple? If everyone helped everyone, there would be world peace. Maybe it is that simple. Somehow though, I don’t think that’s quite right. I’m all for people helping each other, but that seems more like a good idea, rather than the reason we’re here in the first place.”

After Jeremy resolves to ask everyone he knows about the meaning of life, his neighbor answers that people exist to help others. From that, Jeremy has these thoughts, concluding that helping people doesn’t seem like a reason by itself. This shows Jeremy starting to think critically and not just accept what other people tell him. He is crossing out of his mental comfort zone to ask big questions and struggle with the answers, showing his change and potential for growth. Jeremy concludes that this meaning is too simple, which is both true and ironic. It is true because the overall meaning of life is not a simple thing to come across because it is different for everyone. It is ironic because when Jeremy finally does find his own meaning in life, it is as simple as the answer he gets from his neighbor.

“If everyone were interested in the same things, imagine how boring life would be. What if everyone wanted to be a chef? There’d be lots of people making meals, but no one growing the food, delivering it to the market, stocking it on the shelves. Right?”

These lines are spoken by the limo driver after Jeremy expresses his annoyance that Lizzy finds his interests boring. These lines speak to how all people are different and how Every Person’s Journey Is Unique. They also note the importance of differences and how the world would both be boring and cease to function if everyone were the same. Without people interested in performing all the steps the driver lays out here, the entire process of producing food could collapse. Having people participating in every step of the process brings people together because they are all working toward a common goal, even if they don’t realize it.

“What is life? Life is love. Do not make the mistake of thinking loving is easy; it is not. We must love ourselves, not just other people. We must be awake. Do not sleepwalk through your life. Enjoy it fully, because none of us gets out of here alive.”

These words are spoken by the priest at the church service Jeremy and Lizzy attend in Atlantic City. Like other answers Jeremy has gotten to the question of life’s meaning, the one the priest gives is simple but not easy, which speaks to the difference between the two. Simple means something is free of complications. By contrast, easy means that something is accomplished without much difficulty. Things may be simple without being easy, such as love. This is further seen by Jeremy and Lizzy’s relationship. The kids love one another in their own ways, and this is sometimes far more difficult to do, especially when one does something that hurts the other. Even more, the struggle to love themselves adds to the difficulty because both must go along their own journeys in addition to being witnesses to the others. The final line is meant as humor, but it is also true. No one gets out of life alive, so they all must do their best with the time they have.

“‘My dad’s death. It wasn’t his destiny to die young. It was just an accident.’

Lizzy doesn’t reply. I watch as she scoops up a handful of sand and lets it run through her fingers. ‘Does that make it easier, or harder?’

‘I don’t know. Different, I guess. It makes me want to know what’s in the box even more.’”

This conversation between Jeremy and Lizzy occurs after Jeremy learns that the fortune-teller who predicted Jeremy’s dad’s death was a fraud. Jeremy believed that the death was somehow meaningful because it was foreseen. Learning that his dad’s death was just an accident rips Jeremy away from the beliefs that have informed so many of his choices. In order to move forward, he must come to terms with this new information, a major step toward living in the present. Jeremy’s desire to open the box even more shows that he has not lost the most important part of his past—his bond with his dad. Jeremy still wants to know what his dad left for him and to understand what was so important to his dad’s life. Together, Jeremy’s reactions show that the core of who people are stays the same even if the things surrounding them change.

“I admire such dedication. Looking for one stamp his whole life. Regular people might think doing such a thing would be frustrating, but it’s not. There’s joy in the search itself. It’s exciting.”

During his life, Jeremy’s dad collected stamps, and he spent much of his time searching for a specific one that he never found. These lines spoken by Mr. Oswald show the similarities between him and Jeremy’s dad—how both men enjoyed the search just as much as the outcome. Jeremy’s dad sought out a specific stamp, but he did so with the understanding that he might never find it. In this way, he found as much satisfaction from the search as from the thing itself.

“‘C’mon, let’s just try to have fun at your grandmother’s. You know, go with the flow like Mr. Rudolph said.’

‘I’m not sure I can,’ I reply honestly.

‘There’ll be funnel cake,’ she says.

I smile, for real this time. ‘And food on sticks. Food always tastes better on sticks.’”

This exchange between Jeremy and Lizzy comes when Jeremy is resigned to not opening the box by his birthday. The opening paragraphs show his disappointment: The box has become a part of his identity this summer. Lizzy’s comment about sweets reveals that Jeremy is learning to live in the moment. Instead of staying sad at the mention of candy, he cheers up, realizing that there is more to life than the box and that he can enjoy things he’s always loved even without getting the box open by his birthday. This passage also reminds the reader that Jeremy and Lizzy are still kids, if kids who have had their eyes opened by many wise adults.

“While the judges add up their scores, people keep coming up to shake my hand, and to tell me how much guts that took. The whole thing was such a blur. If not for the lingering feel of the hoop around my waist, I could almost believe I’d dreamt it. Never in a million years did I think I could have hula-hooped in a grass skirt in a talent show. I wonder what else I could do that I never thought I could.”

These lines from Jeremy’s thoughts come shortly after he takes Lizzy’s place in the hula-hooping performance. Performing in her place is the ultimate moment of Jeremy stepping out of his comfort zone—doing something he’s never done and never thought he would or could do. Despite his fears and uncertainties, though, he survived the experience and even enjoyed it. This makes him realize that the only thing limiting him is himself, and his thoughts reveal that he is starting to open up to new experiences. Jeremy is also living in the moment here, accepting the congratulations and feeling good that he helped Lizzy and tried something new.

“I turn to Lizzy. ‘Thanks for everything. It’s great.’ There’s something really comforting about knowing exactly what to expect. It’s happened so infrequently this summer.”

Here, Jeremy has received all his birthday presents from Lizzy except the last key to the box. As always, Lizzy has gotten him candy, and Jeremy’s response shows that he has both grown and stayed the same. He is glad that Lizzy got him what he expected her to get, and like he did at the beginning of the book, he finds comfort in this predictability. However, he also appreciates all the new things that have happened. He does not cling to the familiar feelings or push away the memories of the new experiences, showing that he is no longer bound by the restraints of his old comfort zone.