46 pages • 1 hour read
Wendy MassJeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2006A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Jeremy Fink
Jeremy is the point-of-view character and protagonist of Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life. As a soon-to-be 13-year-old boy who has lived a sheltered life, Jeremy finds comfort in his daily routines and dislikes surprises. When he receives the box his dad left for him, Jeremy is thrust from his comfortable world into the unknown as he embarks on a quest for the missing keys. Along the way, Jeremy is faced with many decisions about his search and must ask himself what is most important to him—predictability or adventure. His quest for the meaning of life becomes a deeply personal journey of discovery in which he contemplates his own existence and the existence of life on Earth, showing how he grows and expands his worldview. The existential crisis Jeremy experiences toward the middle of the book represents the inevitability of change. Even without the search for the keys, it is unrealistic for Jeremy to expect that life would remain constant and mostly the same as he moves through his adolescence. Meeting new people and encountering new ideas is part of growing up, and Jeremy must overcome his fear of the unknown if he is to find the meaning he seeks.
Jeremy’s final destination is the same place where he begins—his home in New York City, which he now understands in a new way because of his adventures. Learning that the entire quest for the keys was carefully orchestrated makes Jeremy realize that he doesn’t need to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of life. He may be an independent individual, but he is not alone, seen through how so many people work to make his quest an adventure to remember. Jeremy ends the book ready and mostly willing to try new experiences, bolstered by everything he overcame to keep the connection to his dad alive through opening the box. Still, at the very end of the book, after all the changes he’s undergone, Jeremy remembers his dad’s assertion that life is short. With this in mind, Jeremy resolves that “I’ll keep eating dessert first” (288), which shows how he comes full circle and realizes that not everything about life needs to change as he grows.
Lizzy Muldoun
Lizzy is Jeremy’s best friend and a major supporting character. When Jeremy receives the box from his dad, he is surprised at the care Lizzy takes with unpacking it because she is “the messiest person I know” (17). The juxtaposition between the care Lizzy shows in that moment and her usual sloppiness illustrates the tension she experiences about who she wants to be. For years, Lizzy has been content to be Jeremy’s best friend and does not care what anyone thinks of her. The new kids moving into the building represent the changes and confusion Lizzy experiences throughout the novel. Having new people to admire makes her want to be different, and this begins to drive a wedge between her and Jeremy. Helping Jeremy on his quest for the keys inspires Lizzy to look more closely at herself, spurring her own coming-of-age process. Seeing Jeremy have something special makes Lizzy want something that’s truly her own, which motivates her to befriend the new girl and try new things (such as makeup). At the end of the book, all the changes between Lizzy and Jeremy make Lizzy realize how much their friendship means. Instead of letting her changes break them apart, she uses them to make their bond stronger, showing The Interplay of Chance and Choice.
Mr. Oswald
Mr. Oswald is a benefactor archetype, meaning he is the one who presents a valuable inheritance to a younger character. Unlike other traditional benefactor characters, Mr. Oswald does not provide wealth or the means to achieve it. Rather, the value he gives Jeremy is related to personal growth, and in this way, Mr. Oswald’s character represents Finding Value in Relationships. Mr. Oswald connects the main story to the backstories of the people Jeremy and Lizzy make deliveries to. In doing so, Mr. Oswald provides an avenue for the kids to learn about themselves and the world through the perspectives of people they likely never would have met without Mr. Oswald’s influence. The deliveries they make and the stories they hear help Lizzy and Jeremy along their own journeys and allow them to conclude that there is more to life than they once thought. When Jeremy learns that Mr. Oswald had the keys to the box all along, he realizes that in life, the answers he seeks will often be hidden in plain sight. Once Jeremy puts together the clues to realize Mr. Oswald was behind the quest, he wonders how he could have missed it. This represents Mr. Oswald’s attention to detail and the importance of perspective. He sees what Jeremy does not regarding the quest because he is less emotionally invested and thus can step back to study the greater picture in a way Jeremy can’t for most of the book.
Jeremy’s Father
Though he died years before the story begins, Jeremy’s father is a central character in the novel. The actions he took during his life jumpstart the main plot of the book—the search for the keys to open the box—and the rocks he leaves for Jeremy are the culmination of all the changes Jeremy undergoes, making them a representation of Jeremy’s character arc. More broadly, Jeremy’s father represents the importance of learning from others. His impact on both Jeremy and Lizzy is clear throughout the book as the kids look back on his wisdom and actions to inform their own choices. Learning the truth of the quest for the keys allows Jeremy to strengthen his bond with his father. After everything Jeremy has learned, he now understands that his dad is not truly gone because he lives on in the legacy he left behind. This gives Jeremy a sense of peace, which makes his dad a source of motivation and understanding for Jeremy moving forward.
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By Wendy Mass
