43 pages • 1 hour read
Dan GutmanHonus and Me
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1997A 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 Honus Wagner Baseball Card
For Joe, his father, and Birdie, the card initially symbolizes financial opportunity and the chance to resolve personal struggles. Joe hopes the card can fix his family’s problems: “Without any money problems, Mom and Dad would probably fall back in love and we’d be a family again” (27). Birdie, similarly, sees the card as a means of reclaiming something he believes was stolen from him. At this stage, the card’s importance lies solely in its material value.
As the story progresses, the card transforms into a symbol of connection, a gateway to the past, and a catalyst for Joe’s growth. It embodies The Importance of Honesty and Integrity. Through the card, the novel portrays Joe’s struggle with morality: “If I gave the card back to Miss Young, I’d have the satisfaction of knowing I did the right thing, but no cash” (78). Ultimately, his decision to return the card to Miss Young demonstrates his growth.
The card also embodies The Value of History and Tradition. Through the card, Joe is transported to 1909, experiencing baseball’s golden age and the values of its early players, like Wagner. Beyond Joe’s personal journey, the card becomes a symbol of connection for others. Amanda Young’s storyline gives the card emotional resonance: when Joe sends her back in time, the card enables her to reunite with her lost love, completing the story’s emotional arc.
Ethical Dilemmas
Joe’s journey is marked by several ethical quandaries, which become a motif in the text. His moral conflict begins when he learns of the Honus Wagner card’s material value and its potential to change his life: selling the card could solve his family’s financial problems. Yet, as Joe considers his options, he also feels the weight of doing the right thing. He knows intuitively that keeping the card is “wrong.” His mother, acting as his moral guide, also reminds him: “It’s not yours to keep” (47).
Ultimately, Joe asks himself what Honus would do in his situation. In this way, the novel underscores how idols and authority figures can have a positive influence on youth. Joe chooses to do the moral thing and return the card to Miss Young. He realizes that doing the right thing, even at the cost of personal gain, is more important than any material reward, demonstrating significant growth and conveying a key message of the novel.
Another moral question arises when Joe discovers that the card has the power to transport him through time. The card tempts Joe with the possibility of meeting baseball legends like Ty Cobb and Jackie Robinson. This presents a new ethical question: is it right to use time travel for personal gain? In the end, Joe decides to use the card selflessly, allowing Miss Young to reunite with Wagner, rather than using it for his own benefit.
Honus Wagner and Amanda Young’s Photograph
Torn photographs, such as the one of Honus Wagner and Amanda Young, often symbolize loss and fractured relationships. Joe discovers Miss Young’s half of the photo while cleaning out her attic, a room that often functions in novels as an embodiment of secrets and mystery. Miss Young explains that she was supposed to keep her half of the photo until she and the man in it could reunite, but he never returned. She tells Joe to throw the photograph away along with the other junk in the attic. However, Joe decides to keep it: “I’m a collector. I never throw anything away” (17).
Later, Joe discovers that Wagner has the other half of the photograph. In Chapter 13, titled “The Other Half,” Joe notices a photo taped to Wagner’s locker door. It’s a picture of a young woman with long hair, standing in a garden, and it has a jagged rip on one side. Joe is stunned as he realizes it matches the photograph Miss Young had given him. The photograph therefore becomes a symbol of Amanda and Honus’s incomplete and fractured relationship. When Joe uses the baseball card to send Amanda back in time, he allows for a symbolic healing of this fracture.
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By Dan Gutman
