Heartbeat

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Middle Grade | Published in 2004

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Pages 9-40

Pages 41-61

Pages 62-82

Pages 83-100

Pages 101-117

Pages 118-128

Pages 129-148

Pages 149-175

Pages 176-199

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Themes

Embracing the Rhythms of Life

Annie’s struggle to understand the changes in her world is a story of discovering and embracing the rhythms of life. The rhythmic refrain of “thump-thump, thump-thump,” present throughout Heartbeat, is introduced as the sound of Annie’s feet running in the first poem of the book. It is also the sound of a heartbeat itself, which becomes an important symbol of life for Annie when she hears her unborn brother’s heart (75). Annie’s relationship with her friend, Max, is defined mainly by their shared love of running, and the “thump-thump” of their feet also becomes a rhythm of conversation and communication (184).

Other rhythmic refrains are present throughout the poems that comprise the story. The pages of Grandpa’s photo album go “flip, flip, flip,” and with the pages, his life moves forward (85). The cycle of breathing in and out is often repeated by Annie as she describes her runs (29). However, as Annie’s mother struggles to deliver her baby, “breathe in, breathe out” is repeated as an instruction by Annie’s father. The refrain then changes meaning in Annie’s narration as well, as she contemplates the cycle of childbirth and motherhood: “I think of all the mothers / all over the world / and all the babies / and I was one of those babies / and this is my mother / and maybe this will be me one day / breathing in, breathing out” (155). The “in and out” of breath comes to represent the endlessly repeating transition from child to mother. Each of these rhythms represents both a literal sound and the repeating patterns of life itself.

Annie’s apple drawings, which depict the apple deteriorating and becoming a seed, indicate her changed perspective on the rhythm of life at the end of the book. The apple itself is visually like a heart and takes on a symbol of life for Annie. As her grandfather and her brother Joey go through the apple drawings together, she appreciates the unique moment of all their lives coexisting as different parts of the same cycle. Though Annie’s grandfather is not named throughout the book, it is revealed that Joey was named after him (174), solidifying the sense of connection between the two of them. Though her grandfather and her brother are in opposing phases of their lives, both growing up and growing old are intrinsic parts of the rhythm of life, and in this moment, “they are both breathing / thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP” (171). Annie’s eventual understanding of life’s origins and endings, represented by her baby brother and her grandfather, is defined by these rhythms. Her apple drawings articulate her belief that birth, life, and death are not separate phenomena, but a repeating and infinite pattern.

Memory and Identity

Memory, and its relationship with identity, is a central theme of Heartbeat. At 12 years old, Annie is preoccupied with the pressure to figure out who she is as an individual and within her relationships. She feels that she has no strong sense of purpose. When she was seven, Annie claimed to want to be the “Mother of the World,” but she has no recollection of why she said this, or what she meant. Though it is normal to forget childhood memories, Annie confronts the relationship between memory and identity constantly in her narration.

It is an important element of Annie’s family dynamic, as her grandfather struggles with his mental clarity and memory. In the poem “Fried Chicken,” he cannot remember how to make the fried chicken that he used to make every week. This frightens him, as well as Annie and her mother. Immediately afterward, Annie thinks about her unborn sibling and wonders if it “can think now / and if it can think / what does it think? / And what did I think / when I was small / and why did I forget?” (54). Thus, Annie acknowledges that the loss of memory is inherent to all stages of life, not just old age, but she struggles to understand why that is the case. She feels confused about how memory of experiences can be separated from reality: “if you forget / is it as if / it never happened?” (54). She feels that when a memory is lost, something is lost without knowing it. This is reflected in her “fears and loves” class assignment, when she says that she fears “disappearing / and not knowing / that you have disappeared” (44). By elaborating that her fear is not just disappearance, but a lack of awareness of that disappearance, she expresses her anxiety about the relationship between inherently flawed memories and identity. Her grandfather’s inability to remember his own past prompts Annie to consider what role memory plays in identity.

Ultimately, her drawing exercises help her come to terms with the fragile nature of memory. After her grandfather eats her class apple, unable to remember its importance, Annie at first panics. She then realizes that she can draw the “apple that’s in [her] mind” (110). In this way, Annie comes to terms with her apple no longer being whole, and she can draw the apple how she remembers it. She begins drawing pictures of her grandfather, preserving him as she remembers him now (95). Memory is not only an important aspect of being human but is also a way of preserving the life and identity of those who can no longer remember it themselves. In this way, she resolves her fear that forgetting is “as if / it never happened” (54).

Coming-of-Age

At 12 years old, Annie is caught between childhood and adulthood. Facing the prospect of a new sibling and the declining health of her grandfather, she grapples with a new sense of responsibility throughout her free verse narration. Strong-willed, she is frustrated with the relentless pestering of the track coach, and chalks it up to how adults talk to children: “Why do people not listen when you say no? / Why do they think you are too stupid / or too young / to understand?” (78). Though she is not yet an adult, Annie is at an age where she is able to perceive that adults view her as more of a child than she does herself.

Annie’s grandfather, previously a source of comfort for Annie, suffers from memory loss and resulting panic. Throughout the book, Annie is confronted by the vulnerability of her grandfather, and feels troubled by his behavior: “I do not like to see my grandpa like this” (134). She wrestles with the adult concepts of death and memory loss, and struggles with how to support her grandpa. It feels to her as if their roles are beginning to reverse, and she is the adult, and he is the child: “[I] feel as if I should hold him / but I don’t know how to do it” (143).

As Annie’s mother plans her eventual labor and delivery, Annie feels both mature and nervous in her new role: “I am so proud that I can be there / it makes me feel grown up / but I am also a little queasy” (103). Her mother’s choice to involve Annie in preparations for the new baby shows that she not only values her support as the baby’s sibling but recognizes that Annie is becoming a “grown up.” Throughout the pregnancy, Annie feels anxious about her ability to be strong for her family, and when her mother finally goes into labor, Annie feels her identity shift: “and one moment I feel alone / and apart / no longer my mother’s only child / no longer a center of her world / and the next moment I feel / completely bound to my mother / as if I am her” (154). With the birth of her baby brother, Annie at first feels alienated from her mother. Then, she feels the relationship shift, as their bond is no longer just that of mother and child.

Though Annie is maturing into a young adult, and the events of Heartbeat serve to emphasize and facilitate that growth, Annie also acknowledges and embraces that she is still a child at the end of the book. When she is asked about whether she has romantic feelings for Max, she says that she is “not ready / yet / to think of him / the way the other girls / are thinking of him” (186). Significantly, this serves as the conclusion to Max and Annie’s story within Heartbeat, and Annie feels confident and happy in this conclusion. Part of her coming-of-age story is the understanding that some changes may come, but they don’t have to come right now.