52 pages • 1 hour read
Lisa ThompsonThe Goldfish Boy
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
Wallpaper Lion
Matthew’s Wallpaper Lion is introduced early in the novel, and functions as an important symbol of social isolation. In Matthew’s bedroom, “high in a corner” above his bed, “there was a piece of wallpaper that, if you considered it from a certain angle, looked like a lion” (18). Feeling ostracized from his family and with virtually no friends to speak to, Wallpaper Lion becomes a winning and faithful companion, fixed to the wall and therefore always available to listen to Matthew’s daily musings.
Things grow complicated when Matthew’s father, without warning, repaints his bedroom walls, essentially robbing Matthew of what he considered to be a true friend. Matthew manages to salvage a small piece of the wallpaper—the part that depicts the Lion’s eye—and resolves to keeping the paper in his pocket for comfort. This compromise proves to be much less effective than when the Lion remained reliably on Matthew’s wall, as is evidenced in Chapter 29, when, following a fight with his parents, Matthew “felt very, very alone” (248) despite having the Lion’s eye in his pocket.
As Matthew continues to make progress toward emotional healing and, specifically, OCD recovery, his reliance on Wallpaper Lion wanes. Toward the end of the novel, when Matthew finally explains his fear of germs to his parents and promises to make good on his decision to get better, he hands the remaining scrap of Wallpaper Lion to his mother and asks that she throw it away. Matthew’s discarding of the wallpaper that he had held onto “to keep himself safe” symbolizes that he is finally ready to face his fears on his own.
Latex Gloves
Matthew’s latex gloves symbolize his intense fear of germs and the trauma and shame he experiences over his brother’s death. Since the gloves represent his obsession with cleanliness, his reliance on them is a reminder of the trauma and guilt he is trying—unsuccessfully—to “scrub” out of his system. More generally, Matthew feels shame over his gloves. In Chapter 2, “My Secret Box,” Matthew informs the reader of a secret box kept hidden under his bed, and imagines a world in which it was a mysterious wooden box filled with treasure and interesting trinkets. He admits that he wishes his box were like that, suggesting that he is embarrassed by what the box actually contains.
Matthew’s latex gloves become a major point of contention as the story progresses. Matthew’s father is upset when he discovers Matthew’s use of the gloves, his mother feels guilty for giving into Matthew’s compulsion, and Matthew himself grows increasingly anxious as his supply of gloves quickly dwindles. His changing relationship to the gloves reflects his changing relationship toward his shame and trauma. When he asks Melody to buy a new box for him, the request leads to a vulnerable conversation in which Matthew admits—for the first time to someone in his social circle—that he is haunted by an intense fear of germs. In Dr. Rhodes’s office, he feels suddenly ashamed of wearing gloves when she speaks to him about his OCD, signaling his growing awareness that he can no longer continue with his habits. By the novel’s end, the latex gloves—like the Wallpaper Lion—have lost their power over Matthew, who is now less afraid of interacting with the world and having direct physical contact with others.
Little Black Beetle
The beetle motif functions to illustrate the intense and all-consuming guilt Matthew feels regarding the death of his baby brother, Callum. Matthew describes this guilt as never-ending, something that “lived inside [him] like a vicious black beetle, scuttling around in [his] stomach” (34). The guilt is so deep-seated that Matthew often feels the urge to “plunge [his] hand in [his] tummy and pull that beetle out,” at which point he’d “throw it on the floor, its little legs frantically kicking in the air, and all [his] fears would miraculously vanish” (34). Not only does Matthew feel the constant feelings of guilt given that “the beetle didn’t go away,” but his fantasy of physically pulling it out from deep inside him suggests a desire to have the emotionally maturity and stamina to do so (34).
By Chapter 30, following an argument with his parents—during which Matthew announces he does not intend to continue therapy—Matthew feels the undeniable presence of the beetle, “gnawing away at [his] insides” and “punishing [him] for what [he] did to Callum” (249). The experience of disappointing his parents—and effectively “pulling this family apart,” as his mother says (248)—is parallel to the guilt he feels about Callum’s death: both are instances in which Matthew feels personally responsible for harming his loved ones, resulting in feelings of deep shame and regret. The fact that Matthew makes no mention of the black beetle for the rest of the novel suggests that its presence grows more and more indistinct, particularly as Matthew begins to take steps toward emotional healing and OCD recovery.
