The Pinballs

Having now read The Pinballs, consider the title of the book itself. The first reference to pinballs comes in Chapter 6. When Mrs. Mason tells Carlie she can be a source of emotional support for Harvey, Carlie disagrees because the three children are “pinballs” thrust together by circumstance “and settled in the same groove” (29).

What, exactly, does the symbol of “pinballs” represent? Draw out the symbolism of Carlie’s assertion in Chapter 6. Are there other ways the children are like pinballs, in addition to the ways she suggests? Also compare how the pinball metaphor holds up by the end of the novel: In the concluding chapters, do you think Carlie would still say they’re like pinballs? Why or why not?

Teaching Suggestion: For Carlie, the image of a pinball represents her experience as a child in the foster system: Rather than an autonomous person, she feels like a mere object (a pinball) who is moved around and acted upon without her consent, in a seemingly random and chaotic fashion. Carlie further extends this metaphor in Chapter 6, telling Mrs. Mason that pinballs “hit this bumper, they go over there. They hit that light, they go over there” (31). This comment largely reflects how Carlie sees herself, Harvey, and Thomas J.