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Symbols & Motifs
Rabbit Holes
Charlotte’s dad refers to her tendency to get “swept up researching useless information online” as going down a “rabbit hole” (4). Each chapter that is narrated through Charlotte’s point of view begins with a “rabbit hole” detailing information on a random topic she has researched, illustrating how often she engages in this practice. This recurring motif develops Charlotte’s character, showing that she’s a logical, intelligent person with a wide range of interests and a talent for gathering information. Most of the information in the “rabbit holes” is not “useless,” but she uses them to distract herself from serious problems in her life, such as her father’s illness, her fading friendship with Bridget, and her experiences with bullying. Despite Charlotte’s efforts to ignore her problems and turn her attention to academic topics, the content in the “rabbit holes” is always related to her problems, symbolizing how Charlotte can’t ignore her problems forever and always circles back to them. In this way, the “rabbit holes” characterize Charlotte and shed more light on her situation, an alternative way of communicating when she has a hard time discussing her feelings or preoccupations outright. Ultimately, these distractions or “rabbit holes” lead Charlotte where she’s supposed to be: face-to-face with her problems and emotions.
Nicknames and Screen Names
Nicknames and screen names symbolize the search for individual identity as well as The Challenges of Negotiating Friendship and Bullying in Middle School. Charlotte wishes she had a nickname (such as Charlie or Lottie) because this would mean she had friends who knew her well and appreciated her. For Charlotte, nicknames symbolize intimacy and friendship. However, Charlotte has no nickname, in part because she has few friends.
To remedy this, Charlotte chooses “Lottie Lock” as her online Scrabble name. Unlike nicknames in real life, Charlotte has complete control over her screennames, so she makes her real-life fantasy an online “reality.” Charlotte creates a fictional persona for Lottie, which includes all her desired attributes: Lottie has hundreds of friends, is always happy, is perfectly organized, and understands all the unspoken social rules of middle school. Although Charlotte does not transform into her fictional online persona, creating Lottie helps her make a true friend online: Ben. Charlotte’s meaningful long-distance friendship with Ben, in turn, helps her make a true friend in real life: Magda. In this sense, screennames symbolize the power to reinvent oneself and take control of one’s identity or lifestyle.
Nicknames can also symbolize the challenges associated with bullying, as in Magda’s case. Instead of being given a positive nickname by her friends, Magda’s bullies give her the nickname “Mad Magda.” This nickname does not represent friendship, closeness, or camaraderie; it makes Magda feel even worse about her general lack of friendships. Moreover, the nickname “Mad Magda” does not capture Magda’s personality; it is reductive and derogatory. Once Charlotte realizes this, she refrains from using the nickname and instead calls Magda by her true name, demonstrating respect for her new friend.
Evolution
Evolution (and devolution) are motifs that Ben evokes throughout the text as he is preoccupied with evolving, or growing and coming of age. Ben feels that his parents’ divorce is “the opposite of evolution” (15) and that by getting divorced, they’re reducing the family to a simpler, less “evolved” state. Similarly, Ben worries that he is “devolving” into a person with no friends or family and that if he doesn’t do something about it, the process will get worse over time. To combat the damage Ben believes his parents’ divorce will cause, he focuses on how he can “evolve” as an individual, namely by running for student council in hopes of becoming more social and a better leader. He also protects his personal space by locking his bedroom and avoiding his parents to prevent their influence from causing him to “devolve” further. Ultimately, none of these strategies help Ben evolve; his avoidance of his parents creates problems that didn’t exist before, and he becomes preoccupied with the idea that he is causing their separation. Once Ben accepts his parents’ plan, opens up to them, and allows himself to get excited about his bedroom at his dad’s new apartment, his attitude about “evolution” changes to accommodate his family’s shifting dynamics. He considers that having two bedrooms in two different places might be a form of “evolution,” and his attitude shift shows that even though the divorce impacts him significantly, this impact does not have to be wholly negative.
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By Erin Entrada Kelly
