The Indian in the Cupboard

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1980

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-7

Chapters 8-10

Chapters 11-16

Themes

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Symbols & Motifs

Cupboard

Omri receives a metal cabinet, or cupboard, that resembles a bathroom medicine cabinet. He places a plastic toy “Indian” in the cupboard and locks it with a key provided by his mother. Locking and unlocking the cupboard door magically transforms any plastic toy into a live being; repeating this procedure reverses the effect. Thus, Omri can call forth people from other times and places by using the cupboard to transmute the corresponding toy figure. Using this method, he produces real people in miniature—Little Bear, Tommy Atkins, and Bright Stars, among others—and a horse. Patrick brings forth Cowboy Boone and his mount. The cupboard is the fulcrum on which the plot pivots: Anything can happen when a toy is placed in it, and it is how the story’s magical events take place.

Key

Omri’s mother finds him a key from her collection that fits the cupboard’s lock perfectly. Turning the key in the lock transforms any plastic object inside and back again. It is unclear whether the key or the cupboard is the source of the magic, but without the key the cupboard cannot work. The key descends to Omri from his grandmother, and its history hints vaguely that it is somehow influenced by magic. (A later book in the series resolves this mystery.) The key can also be considered a “MacGuffin”: an object on which the plot turns but which otherwise has no importance. The key must be available or the cupboard won’t work; beyond that, it has no other function.

Toy

Omri and Patrick own lots of little plastic toy figurines, including soldiers, horses, cowboys, and “Indians.” These toys turn into real, living beings when placed in Omri’s magical cupboard; they serve as the medium through which people from other times and places enter and leave the boy’s world. The toys are highly symbolic: They suggest childhood dreams and ambitions, and they represent people as stereotypes of the sort believed in by Omri and Patrick.