38 pages • 1 hour read
Tony DiTerlizzi, Holly BlackThe Field Guide
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2003A 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
Field Guide
“Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You” is a collection of notes and drawings about the world of faeries as discerned by its author, the Grace children’s great-great uncle (55). According to the guide, the strange activities inside the walls of Spiderwick mansion are due to a brownie, or its angry version, the boggart, tiny humanoid faeries who can help or hinder people. The children rely on the guide as they navigate the faerie world that surrounds them. As an instruction manual of sorts, the field guide acts as a plot device to explain otherwise inexplicable phenomena. It also reflects a trope in fantastical literature, where a hidden letter, book, or journal acts as a source of information.
Spiderwick Mansion
Old and crumbling, the Spiderwick mansion is a Queen Anne–style Victorian house likely built in the late 1800s. Its three stories feature lots of dormer windows and a large central tower: “There were several chimneys, and the whole thing was topped off by a strip of iron fence sitting on the roof like a particularly garish hat” (2). Unsettling noises issue from the building’s walls; these creepy sounds launch the plot and entangle the Grace children in the beginnings of a grand adventure.
Once charming and optimistic, the house’s faded appearance and dangerously rotted flooring echo the state of the Grace family when they move in. The house also contains a secret passageway to a concealed library, plus a hidden field guide; these treasures suggest that unpleasant situations sometimes offer unusual opportunities to those willing to accept the challenge.
Sword and Jar
Mallory’s fencing equipment and Simon’s jars and aquaria are tools for their favorite activities. Mallory wins awards in her sport, and Simon collects small animals—mice, tadpoles, bugs—in support of his interest in biology. These items symbolize the two children’s most important skills and interests, abilities that will serve them as the books of the Spiderwick Chronicles unfold. By contrast, Jared begins the novel with nothing specific to challenge and intrigue him. As the family moves into the Spiderwick mansion, Jared bemoans his aimless life and regards his productively occupied siblings with veiled resentment.
The strange noises within the mansion’s walls intrigue him, though, and he pursues the mystery with enthusiasm. He discovers the field guide, studies it carefully, and shares it with his siblings, who also become engaged in solving the mystery of the faeries. By story’s end, Jared has found his calling: He’s caught up in the mystery of the faerie world, and his activity tool and symbol becomes the field guide.
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