45 pages • 1 hour read
Alan ArmstrongWhittington
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2005A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Stories and Reading
Reading is the most prominent motif in the novel and contributes to themes surrounding The Power of Storytelling. For Ben, reading represents the frustration and embarrassment of not being able to experience life the same way others do, while for the animals it acquires an almost mystic power. Their reaction to Ben’s first reading lesson in Chapter 16 illustrates this: “The animals gathered around like the devout witnessing a miracle. It was a miracle. Out of five black marks […] Ben conjured up sounds that made a word that in turn evoked the presence of a word that wasn’t there” (72). Reading represents a transcendent tool of knowledge, reinforcing the power of stories to open one’s mind to an array of experiences and ideas.
Reading is the primary source of conflict for Ben and represents the goal of his overall character arc. His words in Chapter 45 after achieving that goal illustrate the overall power of reading: “When I started, it was dark, there were shapes and things but nothing was clear. Then it was clear and I could see. It was like being born” (185). Through comparisons to illuminating experiences, the narrative uses reading as a motif to suggest that stories and language are gateways to navigating greater truths in our lives and creating stronger connections with others.
The Tolling Bells
The tolling bells recur as a motif in Dick’s story to mark pivotal moments on his journey. They first appear in Chapter 12, when he decides to leave his grandmother without saying goodbye; they remind him of her and mark his passage into the next stage of his life: “Long after they were out of sight of the village, Dick heard the single dry bell from his grandmother’s church. He pictured her looking for him. His heart gave a jump. He blinked back tears” (52). When Dick arrives in London in Chapter 15, he describes the variety of bells surrounding him and associates them with his grandmother: “Most of the London bells had more silver in them than the bell in his grandmother’s church at home […] The few times he heard one in London that sounded like it he’d see his grandmother’s face and his knees would go weak with homesickness” (70). The recurrence of the bells here serves to both link Dick to his past and to symbolize his entrance into a new part of his life.
The bells also play an important role in pushing Dick forward onto his final voyage to Persia. In Chapter 36, Dick nearly forfeits his place on the Unicorn to try and win Mary Green’s hand, but as he walks to her home, the tolling bells snap him out of his lovesick stupor: “‘In [the bells’] rhythms there was a message that seemed to come at him from every direction: Turn around, Dick Whittington, turn around’” (155). Obeying, Dick returns to move forward on his journey. The bells serve as imagery that signal Dick’s movement into new stages of his life and maturation.
Farm Life and Interspecies Friendship
Armstrong grounds his narrative in realistic depictions of farm life and animal behavior, using them as important motifs. Key moments in the plot are interspersed with vignettes of farm life. Armstrong spends ample time developing the dynamics between the diverse members of the barn and the humans who care for them. For example, the animals all introduce themselves to Whittington in Chapter 6 and give him information on their genealogy, while Chapter 3 details how Bernie built his animal community.
Within the barn community, the animals’ friendships transcend the differences of their species. The Lady’s relationship to the members of the barn illustrates this. In Chapter 29, after her attack, she says “You are my family. I rule with your loves” (129). Similarly, although the Old One is initially wary of Whittington because he walks “like a snake ready to strike” (25), eventually he learns to trust the cat, and the rats incorporate themselves into the community in the barn. The barn community is welcoming of strangers, reinforcing values of compassion and hospitality evinced by the novel’s epigraph. The realities of farm life and the interspecies friendships thus illustrate the theme of Finding Healing Through Community and Cooperation.
