36 pages • 1 hour read
Lauren TarshisI Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaSymbols & Motifs
Gold Nugget (Symbol)
The gold nugget symbolizes Leo’s family. Leo doesn’t treasure it for its material value but for the connection it gave him to his Papa and his Grandpop. This is why he fights so hard to keep it and why the loss of it is almost unbearable. When Fletch and Wilkie steal it, the worst pain is not from being beaten up, but instead is “the searing pain from somewhere deep inside, like something had been ripped out of him. His gold was gone” (13). One of Leo’s primary goals is to get back the gold nugget that was hard-earned by his Grandpop in the California gold rush.
Leo’s connection to family through the gold nugget is not insular. He uses it to connect with Morris as well. When Morris describes his own uncle, who frequently abandons him to go gambling, Leo sees “[t]here [is] no cheering Morris up-until Leo reached into his pocket and took out his gold” (17). Leo shares the stories of his Grandpop with Morris, trying to instill a sense of bravery into him that Leo feels every time he touches the gold and thinks back to those stories.
By the end of the book, however, Leo realizes that he doesn’t have to keep the gold nugget to keep the story. Not long after he, Morris, and Wilkie arrive in Sacramento, “Leo [sells] his gold nugget. It’s what Grandpop would have done, he was sure. And it’s what Papa would have wanted Leo to do” (85). The growth of Leo is in recognizing the value of the stories themselves, as opposed to the gold as a keepsake.
Flour Sack (Symbol)
If the gold nugget represents the treasures of the heart, then the flour sack that Fletch hoards is a symbol of greed for material possessions. Fletch and Wilkie hide the sack away in an abandoned house, to protect it in case the two of them are arrested. When Leo, Morris, and Wilkie find Fletch, he is “clutching that white flour sack” (74). Not only did Fletch abandon his friend for dead in favor of the sack of money, but he also risked his own life to get it back. In the end, he winds up injured and alone because of his selfishness.
The flour sack is then given to an unexpected person: a woman crying on the street. Wilkie, after letting Leo get his nugget back, hands the money over to the woman without a word.
“[Wilkie] didn’t look back at the woman. But Leo did. He watched her open the bag and look in. Leo knew he’d never forget the look of amazement on her face” (79). This moment demonstrates the good that can come from not being selfish, and the peace that comes with helping others instead of only helping yourself.
Fire (Motif)
Of all of Grandpop’s stories, the story about wildfire scared Leo the most when he was younger. Leo frequently compares the fire to a monster, personifying it so that it seems to be personally attacking him and the other citizens of San Francisco. One example of this occurs toward the middle of the book: “Leo looked around and saw a house three doors down was on fire. Flames reached out of the windows, like bright orange arms trying to grab the houses all around it” (51). The fire seems to have a mind of its own, and it even possesses Wilkie at one point when his rage turns him into a monster only intent on hurting Fletch for abandoning him. Another personification is used to describe the sound of fire, as “[t]he wall of fire roared behind them” (69). In each of these instances, fire appears in the context of obstacles that Leo must face, so that it begins to symbolize obstacles in Leo’s life. It was the thing that almost killed his Grandpop, which strikes fear into Leo’s heart; however, with clear thinking and calm nerves, Leo is able to survive it.
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By Lauren Tarshis
