The Brooklyn Nine

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2009

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1

Parts 2-3

Parts 4-5

Parts 6-7

Parts 8-9

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The “S” Baseball

The baseball that Felix makes—stitched with an “S” for Schneider—out of the remnants of the shoes his father made him demonstrates the way that baseball ties together generations throughout American history. The shoes were originally made in Germany by Felix’s cobbler father. This ties the shoes back in Schneider history to the time before they were Americans and when they had a lifestyle and a trade that was not valued once they moved to America. Felix, himself, crafts a baseball out of the shoes when he has his epiphany and decides that he will play baseball again. This is an important moment in his life, because even though he is never able to play professionally, it is at this moment that he changes the trajectory of his life. The ball later becomes a symbol of fatherly love when Felix gives it to Louis as Louis leaves for the war. Felix gives him the ball as a symbol of Louis himself, telling his son that he must bring the ball back. This act ties the ball in with further generations of the family.

Felix’s ball also represents the humanity that Louis shows Jeremiah as he rescues the opposing Confederate soldier. While he originally plans to turn Jeremiah in, he eventually decides to return Jeremiah to his own people. Out of gratitude, Jeremiah gives Louis his bat, and Louis attempts to give the man his ball in return. Louis cares about the ball so much that he is willing to risk his life retrieving it, but when he is gifted the bat, he is willing to part with it because of his shared humanity with Jeremiah. In these ways, the “S” baseball connects family members of different generations as well as reminding them of their bravery and sense of humanity in the face of challenges and fear.

Arnold’s Hat

Arnold’s hat represents a key aspect of King Kelly’s character and is used to foreshadow upcoming events. After Hiroshi and Arnold have gotten Kelly to his room despite his drunken state, Kelly smashes Arnold’s hat. Hiroshi throws his out a window to protect it from Kelly when Kelly reaches for his hat as well. This symbolizes the lack of respect Kelly has for others and their personal belongings. In addition to symbolizing these aspects of Kelly’s character, Arnold’s hat being smashed serves as foreshadowing for Kelly’s future actions. He later disrespects Arnold’s bat, his prized possession, when he pawns it.

Names

Names symbolize the degree to which immigrants are tied to their past and the degree to which they must change themselves and deny that past to thrive in America. Uncle Albert, the oldest member of the Schneider family to immigrate to America, considers changing his name to get a better job. He never does, but the fact that he considers it shows how the family’s tie back to Germany inhibits them in America. Later, Walter’s father changes the family name to Snider. The fact that this occurs around a 100 years after the family first came to America shows that this discrimination does not stop just because people or a family has been in America for a long time. Ties to the past still hold immigrants and their descendants back at times. To advance in America and be treated fairly, Walter’s father breaks one of the remaining ties the family has to their ancestry.

Even though the family must change their name to fit into America, the name persists. The youngest Flint offspring depicted is Snider Flint. He gets his Flint last name from the Flint side of his family, and the Snider name from the other side. This shows that even though the family had to deny part of who they are, they were ultimately able to retain what is most important, and the ties they have to the past remain strong.

Another character who must change his name is Cyclone Joe Williams. He does this to deny his Black ancestry so he can try out for a National League team. He does not deny all of himself in the name change, however, because he takes on a Comanche name, and he is part of the Comanche tribe. Still, this demonstrates that he must deny his Black heritage to play just as he must deny them when he plays in his own league. He simply cannot advance if he is to claim all parts of his identity, and his name demonstrates that.