The Fine Print

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2016

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-9

Part 2, Chapters 10-19

Part 3, Chapters 20-30

Part 4, Chapters 31-40

Part 5, Chapter 41-Extended Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Dreamland

Dreamland Park functions as a symbol in the novel in two different ways. For Rowan and his family, Dreamland is a place of sorrow and pain, but for Zahra and her family, it is a place of lightness and joy. Since Dreamland is where Rowan’s mother died, Rowan associates it with the pain of her loss and of his father’s transformation into an emotionally abusive father who succumbed to an alcohol addiction. Zahra, however, has grown up in Dreamland, knowing it from childhood because of her parents’ jobs at the park; even though she was hurt by Lance’s decision to submit her Dreamland project as his own, she still sees the park as a place of joy and works hard to create that same joy for the children in the park salon. Her joy helps Rowan to see the park as it used to be, bringing light back to a place of darkness for him and transforming Dreamland back into a symbol of hope and of recovering one’s true self.

The Creator Team

The Creator team functions primarily as a symbol of both hope and fear for Zahra. She has longed to be a Creator since she was a child, but Lance’s betrayal lowered her self-esteem so much that she began to see the Creator position as an unattainable dream. When she is offered a job as a Creator, this image of the team as an unattainable, frightening thing nearly drives her to reject Rowan’s offer outright. She states:

Dreamland Creators are legendary. They’ve made history for their inventions and were even invited to the White House a few years back. I haven’t earned the right to serve as part of the team. Plus, I don’t fit the typical Creator formula. They’re people who graduated from expensive universities […] I’m a woman with a community college degree who works at a kid’s salon. I couldn’t work on a team filled with the best talent around the world (47).

As Zahra faces her fears, though, the Creator team returns to its status as a symbol of hope and joy. As Zahra finds her way back to assertive creativity, her success helps Rowan to rediscover his own enjoyment as he starts to draw again and actively engages with the team. The Creator team also relates to the theme of The Link Between Creativity and Mental Health; by joining the team, Zahra gains the opportunity to dive into her projects and give her creative instincts free rein. She has already spent years working to heal from past trauma, and her promotion gives her the boost she needs to push her recovery even further.

Disability and Accessibility

Issues of disability and accessibility recur throughout the novel. Zahra’s sister Ani, who has Down syndrome, is often the representative of such themes, for her friendship helps Rowan to become more aware of the ways in which Dreamland can work to become more inclusive. Additionally, Zahra promotes a plan to make Dreamland more accessible both physically and for those with intellectual disabilities. Rowan also learns about accessibility as it relates to benefits and lifestyle as he learns just how little his Dreamland employees can afford. Accessibility takes on a wide range of meanings in the novel, providing ways to challenge Rowan’s assumptions and push him to make real changes in the park.

Early in the novel, concerns of accessibility are a nuisance to Rowan. He tries to push aside Zahra’s comments about the park’s policies when they first meet, and he tries to justify his choices to himself. Ultimately, Rowan cannot escape the concerns; in his journey of Learning to Feel Empathy for Others, Rowan realizes that he can no longer pretend that it is acceptable to exploit the company’s employees for his own profit. He even learns about the data showing that building a team that has financial security and better work-life balance actually helps the bottom line for a business. These realizations convince him that he has made the wrong decisions for the business, and he takes positive steps to correct these issues.