Echo

Friedrich contemplates his desire to join the conservatory. He wants to be accepted, but at the same time is worried that he will face ostracism, even if he is accepted. This ambivalent feeling, a mixture of desire and fear, accompanies the shame he feels at his appearance, and ties into the theme of the effects of intolerance.

Here, Anselm taunts Friedrich in the harmonica factory. While Friedrich clearly is “different” than others because of his appearance, and faces ostracism in his daily life, Anselm calls him a “favorite,” turning his status in his safe haven of the harmonica factory against him. This quote also serves to demonstrate the kind of blind trust that allowed fascism to thrive in Friedrich’s town, and across Germany.

“The harmonica had a rich, ethereal quality—the same alluring sound he’d heard earlier in the graveyard room. The more he played, the more the air around him seemed to pulse with energy. He felt protected by the cloak of music, as if nothing could stand in his way.” 

Friedrich plays Otto’s harmonica for the first time. The harmonica is enchantedand has magical qualities. This quote demonstrates Friedrich’s first magical experience: the harmonica makes him feel almost invincible. This ties into the theme of the power of music.

“‘For instance, the harmonica, I am sorry to say, is not considered traditional and thought to be offensive.’” 

Elisabeth explains that the Nazi Party disapproves of harmonicas. This information is important, as Friedrich plans to play the harmonica for his conservatory audition. It also marks the growing divide between Elisabeth and her family of harmonica craftsmen.

“‘I don’t carry on just for the Jews. I carry on for you to, too. Any injustice the Nazis impose on the Jews, they will impose on you, or anyone else they deem undesirable.’” 

Friedrich’s father, Martin, makes a clear parallel between the Nazi treatment of Jews, on the one hand, and the Nazi treatment of anyone with a unique appearance, on the other. Although Friedrich is of German ancestry, and not Jewish, the Nazi Party can still mark him as “undesirable” because of his appearance.

“‘Rudolph, can’t we put such feelings aside for the sake of our art since we are performing for ourselves in my parlor? Josef is a musician, the best viola player I know.’” 

Martin entreats his friend, Rudolph, to play music with Josef. He stresses that music should be a force to unite people and tie people together. Nazism does not recognize this quality of music and places identity before acceptance. 

“‘Nephew…from where have you found your conviction?’ ‘From Father, and you. And even Elisabeth. If she can jeopardize everything important in her life to save Father, shouldn’t I?’”

Friedrich explains the source of his bravery to his Uncle Gunter. He stresses that he has been taught well, and, despite his disagreement with Elisabeth, her decision to support their father in spite of their differences emboldens Friedrich.

“At first, the boys in the kitchen threw bread scraps at them, until they heard Mike’s and Frankie’s talent. Now they made requests.” 

In the orphanage, music protects Mike and Frankie. Although they are made fun of at first, their clear talent wins the other boys over. In fact, the other boys can now also enjoy the solace of music by listening to the two play.

“[Mike] reached out toward the keyboard, placing his fingers as he’d seen others do, and pressed. But instead of a harmonious chord, it was a jarring and painful sound, as if his sadness had traveled from his fingers onto the keys, and the sounds repeated the awfulness he felt inside.” 

After his mother’s death, Mike gravitates to his grandmother’s piano. Although he does not know how to play, he instinctively knows that he can process his emotions through attempting to play. Mike will continue to use music to process his emotions, as will Eunice, when she returns to the piano.

“Granny said that just because someone was poor didn’t mean they were poor of heart.” 

This quote returns to the idea that music is democratic and for everyone. Opening her windows to share the sounds of the piano with the neighborhood, Mike’s grandmother was able the joys and solace of music with everyone.

“Ifs and maybes. If they were girls…if they didn’t resemble something dragged from the street…if they weren’t poor…maybe she’d like them?” 

Mike thinks about all the obstacles to Eunice’s affection as he tries to understand his position in her house. Based on the conversations he’s overheard, he knows that he and Frankie are not what she was expecting. He wonders what it would take to win her over.

“He glanced over his shoulder. Everything looked the same. Had Granny been right? Was the music escaping? […] With each step, the space around him felt more crowded and the air thicker.” 

This quote shares Mike’s magical experience after finding the enchanted harmonica. He hears all the instruments in the shop let out a note, as if the music were “escaping” them. Here, instruments have a power all their own, before anyone even plays them. This ties into the motif of magical experiences.

“‘No matter how much you don’t have, there’s always so much more of life to be had. So, no matter how much sadness is in a song, there’s equal ‘mount of maybe-things’ll-get-better-someday-soon.’” 

Mr. Potter explains the blues to Frankie and Mike. These two contradictory feelings—sadness and hope—are familiar to Mike. They reflect the power of music to console and lift up, as well as to process one’s emotions.

“‘I feel different when I play it.’ Mr. Potter nodded. ‘Sometimes an instrument does that to a person. Makes the world seem brighter, with more possibilities.’” 

Here, Mike describes his new harmonica to Mr. Potter. Mr. Potter confirms that instruments can have a transformative power: they impart joy and hope. This quote relates to the theme of the power of music.

“It wasn’t hard for Mike to drop into the music and testify to the journey he’d been on. His eyes closed and he travelled back: arriving on Amaryllis Drive, riding in the wagon with Mouse, lying on his cot in the dormitory and staring at the wrinkled paint on the ceiling, standing at Granny’s window, waiting, and listening to his mother sing to him and Frankie.” 

Mike plays “America the Beautiful” as he auditions for Hoxie’s Harmonica Wizards. The song becomes a recollection of his journey, and all the difficult and uplifting emotions he’s gone through. The description of music as “testimony” speaks to its power to help an individual tell their story and share their pain.

“‘When I play the harmonica, I feel like I’m traveling on the notes. To faraway places.’ […] Mama groaned. ‘Oh, Ivy, there’s no time for your silliness.’” 

Here, Ivy attempts to explain the transformative power of music to her mother. Mrs. Lopez and her husband, Victor, think music is “silly” at this point, and don’t realize what a consolation it is to Ivyand to those who hear her play.

“[…] she remembered the promise she’d made to Fernando to be a good little soldier and help Mama and Papa while he was away. Did that mean doing anything to make Mama and Papa happy, even if it made her unhappy?” 

When Ivy’s parents insist that they will move, she decides to have a good attitude, despite the pain this move will cause her. Her brother’s words, as well as her duty to her country in wartime, move her to do what’s difficult for the greater good.

“She closed her eyes and felt herself float in the blackest night among shimmering crystals […] One by one, each child stopped playing to listen, until Ivy was the only one making music.” 

This quote shares Ivy’s magical experience upon receiving the enchanted harmonica. The description here is different in style and tone than the other two experiences. While Friedrich and Mike heard music come directly from instruments, Ivy creates a magical music all her own.

“Why hadn’t someone—Susan, Mrs. Ward, Bertina, Guillermo—told Ivy or Mama or Papa about the two schools? Didn’t they know things were different in other parts of California? Didn’t they know this was humiliating?” 

“Why hadn’t someone—Susan, Mrs. Ward, Bertina, Guillermo—told Ivy or Mama or Papa about the two schools? Didn’t they know things were different in other parts of California? Didn’t they know this was humiliating?” 

“‘The men you saw going and coming from the house with the briefcases […] They were carrying instruments. They were musicians…’ He looked at Ivy and smiled. ‘Like my daughter.’” 

Here, Victor explains the purpose of the Yamamotos’ secret room. He realizes that the family hid instruments for their friends. At this moment, he sees the deep significance of music to this interred family. He also recognizes its significance to his own daughter, and no longer thinks it is “silliness.” 

“He was far more serious than Ivy had expected, seeming much older than Fernando even though there were only two years between them.” 

Ivy meets Kenneth Yamamoto. This quotation ties to the theme of growing up fast during wartime. Although Kenneth is only twenty, his time in the military and his experience as a Japanese American have made him an adult before his years. It is implied that Fernando will be changed by war as well. 

“There was something intense and purposeful about how she played, a feeling they couldn’t quite pinpoint but, at the same time, understood. Her eagerness to embrace the music and surrender to it reminded him, somehow,of himself.” 

This quotation reveals the deeper connection between Friedrich and Ivy. While he knows she is a talented musician, and that they share a bond, he does not know the depths of it. The two are connected by experiences of intolerance and war, by their love for music, and also by their ownership of the enchanted harmonica.

“Everyone said it was a miracle. Some called it an act of God. Others said the stars had aligned in his favor and it just wasn’t his time to die. Even those who thought it was nothing more than a lucky coincidence were impressed and wanted to shake Kenny’s hand so that some of his good fortune would rub off on them.” 

Here, we learn the circumstances under which the harmonica saves a life. It is Kenny’s: shot by a bullet, his harmonica protects him, and he survives. This list of potential reasons for Kenneth’s survival leaves out “protection by an enchanted harmonica.”

“Tonight, there was a brilliance in the hall, a communion of spirits, as if Ivy and the conductor and the pianist and the orchestra and everyone in the audience were one […] and connected by the same silken thread.” 

As Ivy plays with the Empire Philharmonic, she contemplates the feeling of togetherness present in Carnegie Hall. She imagines a silken thread connects everyone, but is unaware that that thread is the harmonica. This ties to the motif of magical experiences. This description maintains Ivy’s characteristic dreaminess.