49 pages • 1 hour read
Matt de la PeñaI Will Save You
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2010A 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
Ski Cap
To hide the mark on her face, Olivia wears a ski cap, which symbolizes hidden truths. Kidd describes her in one of his dreams: “She’s looking at me with sadness in her eyes, her hair and ski cap hiding the left side of her face like always” (56). In hiding the mark, Olivia is also hiding her real self and vulnerability. Kidd associates her sadness with the cap’s presence.
When Olivia tells Kidd about her rare skin condition, she removes the hat. She unveils herself both physically and emotionally: “She opened her eyes and looked at me, more tears going down her cheeks. She moved her hair to the side and turned her cheek toward me” (232). The ski cap provides safety and comfort; when she removes it for Kidd, she is exposed and terrified. As she later says: “‘We only reveal what we want other people to know, right? It’s like we create these fictional characters for the public. And inside we’re somebody totally different’” (267). Although she is accusing Kidd of hiding things, Olivia’s observations about public personas also explain why she wears her ski cap. She does not want others to think she is flawed, either in her appearance or internally. She dons the winter hat as armor.
Peanut
Peanut, the stray dog that befriends Kidd, symbolizes how appearances are deceiving. At first glance, the dog is unsightly. Devon describes him as “the ugliest dog” and “an overgrown sewer rat” (119). However, Kidd recognizes there is more to the dog. After a few weeks with the animal, Kidd notes:
I was starting to really like Peanut, even if he wasn’t the kind of dog some animal magazine would pick out for a photo shoot. He was loyal to people like me and Mr. Red. And he hardly every barked. And he seemed like my friend (121).
What Kidd sees in the animal goes far deeper than beauty, for Peanut is loyal and kind to the people he loves. In addition to being Kidd’s near constant companion, he is perceptive and attentive. Like a warning signal, Peanut growls whenever the Devon side of Kidd emerges. And when Kidd cannot find Red the night of Ben’s birthday, Peanut escorts him to where Red sits drinking himself into a stupor. Dismissed by some because of his ragged appearance, Peanut represents the idea that beauty transcends what the eye can see.
Red’s Sombreros
Red’s sombreros reflect The Struggle for Healing and a New Beginning. A gift from his son, the original hat lay dormant in a closet until Ben’s death. It represents the pain and grief Red carries with him every day. Kidd recognizes this the night of Ben’s birthday when Red goes on a drinking binge and describes how his son died. The hat is beaten up just as the man is emotionally bruised. Its ragged state prompts Kidd to buy Red a new one, which represents Red’s growth and new beginning.
Kidd’s gift coincides with Red’s realization that he needs to lean on friends for support. Instead of bearing his burden alone, he understands that others can help ease his pain. His sombreros reflect how hard it can be to work through grief, but that a fresh start is always possible.
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By Matt de la Peña
