43 pages • 1 hour read
Katherine RundellThe Explorer
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2017A 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
The Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon rainforest is the foremost and central motif in The Explorer. It is the setting of the entire novel and, through personification, at times becomes a character in its own right. The rainforest is a unique challenge filled with endless surprises and shocking twists, and the children’s Perseverance and the Drive to Survive are what allow them to get through it alive. At the same time, they develop a strong appreciation and respect for the jungle that could have killed them, but which also sustained them in a time of great need: “The honey worked on them like medicine. Lila sat up straighter Color came into Con’s cheeks. The taste of the honey was absolutely astonishing: sweet and earthy and wild” (114).
Imagery of the jungle is strong and consistent, emphasizing its beauty, power, and mystique: “[U]nderneath, the earth was soft and dusty; it smelled of a thousand warm days, layered one over the other” (26). Fred is immediately taken by the jungle and the prospect of exploring it, and he dives into new experiences like swimming in the Amazon River or building a raft. On their journey, the children encounter all sorts of exotic animals, including snakes, eels, piranhas, monkeys, and a baby sloth who becomes their companion. They eat pineapple and acai berries. Every day holds new experiences for the group, who are used to life in the city: “Jungles, Fred found, were full of corners and crannies; they held secrets” (94).
The Amazon River is also a powerful force, acting as a symbol of direction and the thought of home. It becomes personified when the children raft down it to their next destination: “the river carrying them at its own pace on its silver back” (135). Fred is particularly floored by the beauty of the canopy and how it covers the forest like a thick blanket. He observes colors he has never seen, and he feels inspired to recreate them. Like Fred, the explorer has a deep and serious appreciation for the Amazon, to the point where he plans never to leave it. His life mission has become about protecting the ruined city and the rainforest itself, and he acts now as more of a guardian of the rainforest than an explorer of it.
The X Tattoo
Shortly before leaving the jungle forever, the children decide that they will each tattoo an X on one of their palms. Initially conceived as a symbol of their loyalty to the explorer and their promise not to reveal the location of the hidden city, the X tattoo is a complex symbol that touches on nearly every theme in the novel. Modeled on the X that marks the hidden city’s location on the explorer’s map, the X also signifies the hazardous journey the children undertook to reach this location. It thus symbolizes Hardship as a Catalyst for Friendship. Because they will all carry this mark for the rest of their lives, it symbolizes the enduring nature of the bond they forged as they faced the jungle’s dangers together.
The act of exploration—as conceived in the novel—has both a literal and a metaphorical dimension. As the children explore the jungle, they are also exploring themselves—learning what they are capable of and what matters most to them. The X on their palms marks this interior treasure, celebrating Exploration as Self-Discovery. Even when they are adults, the tattoos will remind them of this period in which they discovered their truest selves.
The act of making the tattoos is painful. They have no sophisticated equipment to work with—only a pocketknife with which they must cut deeply into their skin before pouring ink into the wounds. Nonetheless, the symbolism is so important to them that even five-year-old Max chooses to endure the pain. In this way, the tattoo also symbolizes Perseverance and the Drive to Survive. Just like getting the tattoo, the trek through the jungle was difficult and at times painful, but valuable for what it taught them and for how it brought them together.
Fire
Fire is a dualistic symbol in The Explorer, representing both destruction and Perseverance and the Drive to Survive. Fire is a destructive force in a couple of ways. First, it is the reason the children are stranded in the Amazon; the plane engine explodes upon impact, and the plane bursts into flames with the children still inside. While they do manage to escape, they are all covered in burns and cuts from the accident. Fire also acts as a destructive force when the group recklessly leaves their campfire unattended and a fierce wind picks up the flames, starting a forest fire. The den that the children initially tried to use as a shelter is destroyed and they are left with no choice but to risk the river.
Fire is also a symbol of life and survival. When the children light their first fire on the first night, not only does it break the tension between them, but it unites them with a common goal. Con proves that she has persistence when she doesn’t give up in trying to light it, and sitting around the fire that night, the children even manage to smile and laugh. Like almost all things in nature, the children learn to use fire with caution and to treat it with respect.
