43 pages • 1 hour read
Joan BauerHope Was Here
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1998A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaSymbols & Motifs
Diners
The diner is a nostalgic piece of Americana that conjures images of long, stainless-steel counters, plastic booths, and blinking neon signs, welcoming all who enter. More than just establishments where people can grab a quick, inexpensive meal, diners symbolize a place where people from all walks of life can gather, share a meal, and engage in conversation. The open layout encourages communal interaction and becomes a place where lives intersect. In Hope Was Here, most of the action takes place inside the walls of a diner. The diner is not only Hope and Addie’s place of employment, but it also becomes a second home to them, and the staff becomes like an extended family. Hope remembers the name of each diner where they worked, and before they move on to the next place, she leaves her signature phrase under the counter, marking the place with her name and in her memory.
When Hope arrives at Welcome Stairways diner, she immediately knows it is not like other greasy spoons. From the unique double staircase outside to the chirpy, animated owner G.T. Stoop, Welcome Stairways exudes a different type of energy and becomes a transformative space for Hope as she develops her identity and finds her voice. From the comfort of Addie’s rich food to engaging with the customers, Hope finds her joy in working in the diner, and her happiest moments are when she is bustling about the kitchen and dining room in a flurry of plates. Hope describes her work as a comfort, saying, “There’s something about diner setup that soothes the soul” (61). Though Hope first thought that she would be unhappy in Mulhoney, through serving at the diner, she encounters the community and develops relationships with the people of the town. Serving food breaks down barriers, and by engaging with people and seeing the richness of their humanity, Hope learns to be more empathetic. She especially learns this with her fellow server, Lou Ellen. At first, there is tension between the two servers, but once Hope learns about Lou Ellen’s daughter’s illness, she feels compassion for her. G.T. allows Lou Ellen to bring Anastasia to work, and then the entire diner staff takes care of the little girl, demonstrating the power of community. The diner also becomes the hub of G.T.’s grassroots mayoral campaign and a place for the community to share their frustrations with political corruption in Mulhoney. Throughout the text, the author establishes the diner as not just a place to fill one’s belly with comfort food but also a place to fill the soul by sharing life and building connections with others.
Hope’s Scrapbooks
Scrapbooks are a way for people to preserve memories and tell the story of their personal journey through life. As Hope and Addie leave Brooklyn for Mulhoney, she describes her list of meaningful personal items: “I’ve got my eleven scrapbooks of most of the places I’ve lived, complete with photographs and all my significant comments about people, places, and food” (8). Throughout the story, Hope returns to her scrapbooks when she is feeling confused or alone, and the idea of the scrapbook is developed as a symbol of Hope’s journey and self-expression and as a way to keep her grounded when she feels like her life is out of control.
Hope’s scrapbooks are a powerful form of her self-expression. They serve as a creative outlet for her to tell her story and are a visual, tactile representation of her life. Since she and Addie move around a lot and she feels like she has no real home, the scrapbooks are a kind of home to her. Whenever she feels sad or depressed, she looks through her books and reminds herself of all the good parts of her life.
The scrapbooks also become a mode of coping with her trauma and healing from disappointment in her life. Hope’s scrapbooks not only contain photos of happy memories, but they also contain all her mother’s Christmas letters, which represent the physical and emotional distance between mother and daughter. Hope also has a special section where she processes her emotions around not having a father: “I turned to the back section of the scrapbook where I keep The Dads” (58). The “Dads” section is a place where Hope allows herself space to grieve her absent father and dream about what he might look like. She hopes that one day she will be reunited with him and the scrapbooks will be a way for her to update him on all that he has missed. Once G.T. becomes Hope’s father, her dreams come true and she can finally use her scrapbooks: “All along I was keeping these for G.T., I just didn’t know it” (172). G.T. is honored as Hope meticulously shares her life with him, and the scene brings the symbolism full circle as Hope’s scrapbooks transform from a one-sided conversation with a phantom dad to a living, breathing relationship with a father figure who longs to know his daughter.
Boats and the Sea
Ever since humans began harnessing the power of the wind and water to travel long distances, ships at sea have come to symbolize journeys, exploration, and hardships. Embarking on a journey for uncharted territories means leaving behind the familiarity and safety of home and embracing the uncertainty of deep waters and unpredictable weather. Though Hope arrives in Mulhoney, Wisconsin, in a Buick and not a ship, she understands the significance of sailing on the metaphorical winds of change and knows the feeling of being tossed about by the storms of life. As the narrative progresses, the symbol of boats and sea voyages are used as a symbol of embracing the turbulence of life and developing resilience, knowing that the storm will pass and another will come. Just as ships weather dangerous storms and threatening seas, the characters in the novel face adversity and suffering and discover hidden strength within themselves each time they survive a squall.
The motif first appears when Brenda Babcock uses the phrase “batten down the hatches” about preparing for the upcoming contentious election season. The maritime phrase refers to the process sailors use to secure a ship in the face of an oncoming gale. Tying down anything loose and securing all fastenings and portals prepares the ship for the unknown trial to come. In the same way, Hope learns that although a person cannot plan for upheaval in their life, they can prepare emotionally based on their prior experiences. G.T. further explains the idea, saying, “A good sailor knows how to steer into the wind, to use the power to his advantage. You don’t become a real sailor until you sail into a storm” (125). G.T.’s painting of a ship at sea intrigues Hope, and she feels a connection to the metaphor. G.T. continues the lesson by explaining that everyone experiences storms in life and has felt a loss of control as they are tossed about in the wind and waves of sadness and grief. Using a weather-beaten table from a ship as an example, G.T. explains that if a person can endure those storms, they will come out on the other side a better, stronger person. Through the love and wisdom of G.T., Hope can look back on her life and see that the trials she has faced almost wrecked her: “The thought of the high waves of my mom leaving me. The big winds of Gleason Beal that almost capsized me” (126). However, she survived the storms, and she is thankful for the tempest that delivered her to the shores of Mulhoney. She understands that sometimes storms are transformative, not disastrous.
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By Joan Bauer
