48 pages • 1 hour read
Caterpillar Summer
A 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
The “Caterpillar and Chicken” books
The children’s pictures books that Mom authors and illustrates feature a cartoon-like Chicken and Caterpillar. The characters’ names are modeled after the nicknames of Cat and Henry (“Chicken”), and the plots of the books are drawn from real events that have happened to them. While Cat admires the books as well, Chicken especially delights in them, finding them to be a familiar source of comfort. He especially enjoys the way in which the books’ conflicts tend to resolve themselves in Chicken’s favor. Chicken is given Cat’s cookie after his breaks; Cat gives up her new hat when Chicken becomes cold; Chicken is comforted after a misunderstanding about his wish to see trains.
The way in which Mom, Cat, and Chicken regard the characters in the book is reflective of the ways each views the dynamics and roles in their family. Chicken relies on Cat to sacrifice her wishes and defer to him. Cat feels accountable for Chicken’s wellbeing and emotional state. Mom trusts Cat to care for Chicken and to keep him safe. However, as Cat grows increasingly stifled by Chicken’s reliance on her, she grows to resent the picture books to a degree. At the end of the novel, she expresses her desire to no longer be addressed by the nickname “Caterpillar.” This is symbolic of Cat’s desire to assert her autonomy and to establish an identity apart from Chicken and his reliance on her as a caretaker.
The Big Blue Photo Album
The photo album, which contains photos of the Gladwell family, acts as a security blanket for Chicken. Cat has learned that she can distract Chicken from an emotional outburst or from becoming upset by showing him the photos in the album. The album provides an important connection to the past, as it contains photos of Cat and Chicken’s late father. Looking at the photos sparks memories of her father for Cat, which she shares with Chicken, who, quite young when their father passed away, has few memories of his own. This photo album is then paralleled to the one owned by Lily and Macon, which depicts Mom at various stages in her childhood through teenage years. Through these photos, Cat learns of aspects of Mom’s life that she previously had no knowledge of, especially of her interest in fishing. In this way, Cat’s interest in Lily’s photo album parallels that of Chicken’s regarding the Big Blue Photo album: Both serve as a window to the past and a link to an aspect of important family members.
Further, Cat comes to regard photos and albums as a metaphor for her connection to family members and their place in her life. She speaks of individual people as appearing “in the book” (291) as evidence of the importance of their relationship. Though Lily and Macon did not appear in the Big Blue Photo Album, going forward, Cat and Chicken will treasure photos of them. Indeed, that his relationship to Cat is important to him is indicated by the photo Macon gifts Cat, depicting the two of them at the fishing contest. In short, the photo albums are not only a way to record happy moments but signify the importance of the bonds between the people in the photos.
Promises
This motif takes many forms throughout the novel. Cat, for example, repeatedly asks Mom to teach her to fish on Gingerbread Island. Mom is reluctant to do so, but gradually promises to help Cat. Over time, Cat becomes increasingly vocal as to the importance of Mom participating in fishing with her. When Mom repeatedly suggests that she will spend time fishing with Cat, but then fails to follow through, Cat views this as a broken promise. Cat repeatedly feels, in nearly all aspects of her relationship with Mom, that Mom fails to deliver on her promise to devote some of her time and energy to Cat. These broken promises leave Cat feeling insignificant, as if she does not matter to Mom. The conflict between Mom and Cat is resolved at the novel’s conclusion as Mom recognizes the ways in which she has disappointed Cat and understands the importance of honoring her commitments to her.
Macon, too, speaks of promises in regard to the parent-child relationship. He views parenting as a commitment to honor one’s child, regardless of who the child grows to become. It seems that, though he believed this in theory while he was raising Mom, it was difficult for him to put into practice. As Macon comes to know Cat and Chicken, he comes to see the wisdom in Mom’s choices, thus recognizing the importance of apologizing to Mom—Macon is making a promise to support and honor Mom’s choices in the future, no matter what.
Finally, Chicken often asks Cat to promise that they will always be a family. What Chicken is asking for is for Cat to continue to love and support him. Cat assures Chicken that she will indeed be there for him, promising to always care for him. The novel’s conclusion suggests that though Mom and Cat are taking steps to help Chicken become more independent and autonomous, this will not mean Cat is breaking her promise. Instead, her relationship to Chicken will continue to be a strong one, and an even healthier one, as boundaries are set.
Unlock all 48 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
