The Seventh Most Important Thing

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2015

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Themes

One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure

Throughout The Seventh Most Important Thing, trash transforms into “treasure,” valuable or usable things. Most prominently, Mr. Hampton’s sculpture of heaven turns the seven important items from trash to a treasure that Arthur will eventually share with the world. Arthur also comes across other items in the neighborhood trash that become useful for his friends and family. “Trash” is also used to refer to people at different points in the story.

Mr. Hampton’s sculpture shows the ultimate transformation of trash to treasure. His sculpture is literally trash that he’s made beautiful. During World War II, Mr. Hampton made a box out of debris from the war, which he keeps as a reminder of the darkness in the world that he strives to light up. The sculpture represents the box on a larger scale. Mr. Hampton takes items people don’t want and uses them to create something the world needs. The sculpture is many years in the making and may never be truly finished. It takes even more time for the art to be displayed where people can see and appreciate it, which represents the journey from darkness to light. Like the sculpture, people are a work in progress, and their light may be many years in the making. The process mirrors Arthur’s journey as he overcomes grief and realizes, at the end of the novel, that he’s still progressing.

Arthur also collects other items from the trash that he turns into treasure. In Chapter 19, he gives his mother a flowerpot from the trash as a Christmas present. In Chapter 40, Roger fixes items Arthur finds in the trash, which allows Arthur, Squeak, and Barbara to get nearly new items. Things other people threw away become treasures for Arthur’s family and friends.

An item doesn’t need to be put in the literal trash can to be a treasure. Arthur’s mother gives Arthur his dad’s coin collection for Christmas. The coins mean little to Arthur. He’d much rather have his dad’s motorcycle cap. To Arthur, the coins are like trash, and the cap is treasure. In an earlier chapter, Arthur describes how his mother threw out many of his dad’s belongings after he died. To Arthur’s mother, the items served as painful reminders, so she deemed them trash. Arthur wanted his dad’s things as a reminder of someone he loved and is furious that his mother threw them away. This fury leads Arthur to throw the brick at Mr. Hampton. Seeing Mr. Hampton wearing the cap associates the cap with trash, and the idea of his dad being considered trash fuels Arthur’s grief and anger. Things that weren’t important to Arthur’s mother mean a great deal to Arthur. Conversely, things Arthur’s mother thinks are important mean little to Arthur.

The novel also refers to people in terms of trash or treasure. Squeak, for instance, first appears in a trashcan and later becomes an essential part of Arthur’s growth. Mr. Hampton is nicknamed the “junk man” because he collects trash. Initially, Arthur associates the man only with junk and doesn’t think highly of Mr. Hampton. As the story progresses and Arthur discovers Mr. Hampton’s noble intentions, Arthur’s view shifts. Arthur grows to care about Mr. Hampton, turning Mr. Hampton from trash to a treasure. When Arthur’s mother starts seeing Roger, Arthur feels like she’s throwing the memory of his dad away. As Arthur sees how much of a treasure Roger is to his mother, Arthur’s view of Roger changes. Roger turns out to be good for Arthur’s mother and, later, Arthur’s whole family. Roger becomes treasure to Arthur, and Arthur realizes he can still honor his dad’s memory, even if his mother found someone new.

People Aren’t Always Who They Seem

The characters of The Seventh Most Important Thing continuously find themselves surprised by actions, both their own and those of other characters. Arthur struggles with his identity, as well as reconciling his expectations of others with reality. Even at the end of the story, Arthur still makes snap judgements about people, only to have those determinations disproven. By the second-to-last chapter, Arthur learns who he is for now but that he will forever change. In the epilogue, Arthur is a different person who feels like the events of seven years ago were another lifetime. Like Mr. Hampton’s sculpture, Arthur is a work in progress and may never be truly finished.

Throughout the story, people think they know who Arthur is and why he does what he does. Judge Warner believes Arthur is a troublemaker because Arthur’s dad rode a motorcycle and had run-ins with the law. Arthur’s mom also fears Arthur is becoming like his dad and implements new house rules to halt further transformation. Arthur’s vice principal at school gives Arthur a new locker away from the other seventh graders and makes it clear he believes Arthur is beyond hope. Officer Billie is the first person to give Arthur a chance. She doesn’t compare Arthur’s criminal activity to his dad’s, and she tells Arthur not to mess up, implying that he isn’t currently a troublemaker and should strive not to become one.

Arthur uses how he seems to others as motivation to do better. On his first day of probation, Arthur doesn’t understand the task Mr. Hampton left, the weather is terrible, and Arthur struggles with Mr. Hampton’s cart. Arthur wants to give up but thinking about all the people he’d let down or prove right motivates him to continue. When Arthur learns Mr. Hampton is dying, Arthur almost quits on his probation assignment. Not wanting to disappoint Mr. Hampton and Officer Billie, coupled with the idea of Judge Warner’s smugness, makes Arthur change his mind. As the story progresses, Arthur’s reasons for persevering become more personal and less about influencing the thoughts of others; proving people wrong started him in the right direction.

Arthur dislikes when others assume they know who he is, but he does the same to many other characters. At first, Arthur dislikes Mr. Hampton. Arthur calls him the “junk man” and thinks he’s crazy for collecting trash. When Arthur learns what the trash is for, and what Mr. Hampton’s purpose is, Arthur changes his mind. He sees that Mr. Hampton isn’t just a “junk man.” Arthur’s initial impression of Squeak is that Squeak is a loser and wimp. Squeak turns out to be one of the bravest people Arthur’s ever met. Arthur continues to judge others through to the end of the book. When he meets the people from the art museum, Arthur dislikes them on sight because they look and act stuck-up. Once Arthur explains Mr. Hampton’s sculpture, the people from the museum see the merit in Mr. Hampton’s work, and Arthur finds they aren’t so snobbish. Chapter 18 first introduces the idea that people aren’t always who they seem when Officer Billie gives him a Christmas present, but Arthur doesn’t use the idea to change his perceptions during the story. Arthur is a work in progress.

The Seven Important Things as Catalysts for Growth

Arthur doesn’t realize it until the end of the book, but each item on Mr. Hampton’s list of important things has a hidden meaning. Each thing’s meaning helps Arthur down his path of healing and redemption. In Chapter 16, Arthur reflects how he missed the hidden meanings in Romeo and Juliet at school, which foreshadows how he doesn’t understand the hidden meanings of the list or Mr. Hampton’s sculpture until much later.

Each item on the list of important things represents something Arthur doesn’t realize is missing from his life. The first important thing, light bulbs, manifests in the lighting of the Christmas tree. This act of togetherness between Arthur and his family returns light and hope to Arthur’s life when there’s been only darkness since his dad’s death.

Arthur has never been good at making friends. Squeak wraps his lunch in foil, which allows Arthur to make the friend he desperately needs in “The Second Important Thing.” In “The Third Important Thing,” breaking mirrors allows Arthur to break free of his perception of himself and others’ perceptions of him. Wood represents Roger entering Arthur’s family and making it whole again. When Arthur places soda bottles mouth-down on a tree in “The Fifth Important Thing,” he lets go of his guilt. Coffee cans (the sixth important thing) allow Arthur to keep his promise to Mr. Hampton and for Arthur to find his own purpose. In “The Seventh Important Thing,” Mr. Hampton’s message of “fear not” (on cardboard) lets Arthur release fear and find peace. In “Seven Years Later,” Arthur has grown from the hidden meanings of the seven things and put the trouble of his earlier years behind him.

Toward the end of the book, one of the people from the art museum reflects that the meaning of Mr. Hampton’s sculpture could be how heaven is reflected in everyone. Arthur never understood this until someone pointed it out, but once he hears it, it makes perfect sense. Arthur remarks that Mr. Hampton loved the number seven, to which one of the people from the museum says seven is the number of perfection in the Bible. Arthur finds his own hidden meaning in the sculpture, completing the part of his character arc started in Chapter 16. The sculpture and heaven represent his strive toward perfection. Arthur finally understands that each of the seven things wasn’t just an item. Each represented something in his life that needed fixing to help him move forward. With this realization, Arthur completes his character arc and understands that he is a work in progress. The completion of Arthur’s character arc is for him to start a new character arc that we get a glimpse into in the epilogue.