67 pages • 2 hours read
April HenryThe Girl Who Was Supposed To Die
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2013A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
“Don’t act. Be.”
This saying repeatedly comes to Cady as she struggles to understand why she’s lost her memory. Whenever things get tough, this saying pops into her head and allows her to get through the situation. It’s later revealed that Cady was an actress before her kidnapping and memory loss, and that this saying is from her theater mentor. It’s a motif that arises when she needs to bolster inner strength, and symbolic of her past life, as well as her ability to take control of the situation by being calm.
Fingernails
Cady’s fingernails are ripped off one of her hands when she is tortured in the cabin. Even though she doesn’t remember the torture itself, the lost fingernails are symbolic of her memory loss. Just as she needs to nurture the wounds where her fingernails once were and where they will grow back in time, she must nurture her sanity and her mind until the fugue amnesia she’s dealing with abates and her memories come back; in other words, until her memories “grow back.”
Hantavirus
The hantavirus that Cady’s parents discover and then find a vaccine for is symbolic of how humankind abuses nature. The virus arose naturally from mice droppings, and the Scotts made a vaccine. The company they work for, Z-Biotech, wants to weaponize the virus and make money off of it. As such, the hantavirus also symbolizes corporate and individual greed, and shows just how far people are willing to go to obtain money and power.
Cady’s Family Photo
The family photo is a motif throughout the narrative, and it keeps Cady guessing as to the truth behind her kidnapping and her family’s whereabouts. The photo also moves the plot along as both the protagonist and reader find themselves on a journey to discover not only who the people in the photo are but if they are still alive. The static nature of the photo is also symbolic of the past as well as a past that is unreachable to Cady in that she has amnesia. This photo, like other photos, causes Cady to yearn for a fixed point in time when she seemed to be happy, or at least a part of a world that felt safe and secure.
Snowflakes
The novel ends with Cady and Ty going skiing at her parents’ cabin, which has been rebuilt. The two are catching snowflakes, and as Ty catches one on his tongue, Cady comments on how different each snowflake is. Ty responds, “just like people” (209). At the end of the chapter, Cady returns Ty’s kiss as she thinks again about snowflakes and how fleeting they are. Snowflakes represent the transitory nature of life. As Cady sees, they are all different and they all melt. They shimmer for a brief time and then disappear. To her, life is much like this. By the end of the narrative, Cady understands that the past is the past and the future is coming, but the present moments are what matter. These moments can dazzle and then burn out, so it’s important to recognize each one and revel in the difference and uniqueness of living.
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By April Henry
