Sweet Tooth

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2012

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-16

Chapters 17-20

Chapters 21-22

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Books

Books are important symbols for the characters in Sweet Tooth and represent different ideas at different times. For the young Serena, books are an escape. The fictional worlds in the novels are exciting, absurd, and different from the dull, comfortable childhood she experiences. Books provide a way out of her small English city and emotionally distant parents. These stories provide insight into the kind of sweeping emotions that she wishes to experience for herself, representing a portal to many different worlds which she hopes to see one day. However, Serena’s escapism is limited. Though she wants to study literature and expand her knowledge, her mother convinces her to study mathematics. Serena is denied the chance to embrace everything the books represent, and her choice of degree shows how she is willing to curb her own ambitions at the behest of others. Serena loves books, but her relationship to them remains a limited form of escapism shaped by her parents.

Books are also important symbols of learning. For most of her life, Serena reads the books which interest her most. She has set ideas about how books should be written, and these opinions do not necessarily fall in line with the mainstream idea of what makes for good literature. Serena is aware that she may be reading the wrong books, but she actively justifies her choices. Only when she meets Tony and Haley does she forcibly expose herself to other books. In the context of these relationships, books symbolize her desire to get to know these men better. She reads poetry and history books, even though she does not enjoy them. Just as when she set aside her desire to study literature at her mother’s behest, the books Tony and Haley tell Serena to read symbolize her desire to please other people. She abandons the literature she loves because she wants to endear herself to the person she loves just as much.

Kumlinge

Kumlinge is a Finnish island in the Baltic sea where Tony spent periods of his youth. To him, the island is a symbol of a childhood nostalgia he can never truly experience again. He spent years on the island with his brother, but the passage of time and old age means that he cannot truly relive these experiences as an old man. The island is a symbol of his youth, but also a symbol of everything that he has lost. He travels to Kumlinge to spend his last days, most of which are spent enduring a terrible nosebleed brought about by his terminal illness. Tony’s last trip to Kumlinge is alone, miserable, and shrouded in the specters of his own failures. For all the nostalgia that the island once represented, the symbol grows into a representation of his loss and alienation. Tony dies alone on the island that no one else visits, indicating the ways in which nostalgia can become overwhelming, isolating, and destructive.

In a geographical sense, Kumlinge marks the boundary between east and west. The island is on the Baltic Sea, meaning that it is near the Soviet countries as well as those which would consider themselves western capitalists. Kumlinge exists in an ideological neutral zone, neither communist nor capitalist, which makes it the perfect symbol of Tony’s expressed beliefs. He justifies his betrayal of his country by saying that he wants both east and west to maintain a balance of nuclear power. Though this profession is made hollow by the reality of his history with the Soviets, the island becomes a physical symbol of his declared beliefs. Kumlinge exists on the precipice of east and west, at a point where he can divide himself equally between both spheres. The island is a symbol of Tony’s belief in the equality of the human experience.

However, Kumlinge is also a symbol of punishment. Tony spends his final days on the island in a form of exile. MI5 allow him to travel because they do not believe that he is capable of any more damage. He is a dying, pitiful old man who poses no threat to anyone. By allowing Tony to travel to Kumlinge, the intelligence services are acknowledging his weakness. Tony is sent to this symbolic neutral zone to die alone, having driven himself away from Serena (by orchestrating an argument) and his wife (through a string of affairs). In effect, Kumlinge becomes a purgatory for Tony. He is made to exist in a state of meaninglessness in the days before he dies, wallowing in self-pity and misery for the crimes he has committed and the people he has hurt.

Newspapers

Newspapers are symbols of social lubrication. They are repositories of knowledge which prove particularly useful to Serena when she wishes to impress people or feel better about herself. She is introduced to this idea by Tony, who insists that she read newspapers and appraise herself of current events ahead of her interview with MI5. She does as she is told, partly because she wants the job, but mostly because she wishes to impress her new romantic partner. Their relationship is fueled by discussions of the newspapers, as the talks of politics and world events are central to the time they spend together. The way in which Serena embraces the newspapers symbolizes the extent to which she wishes to ingratiate herself to Tony, while his desire to teach her about the world via the newspapers is symbolic of his desire to impress the younger woman. Newspapers therefore become a symbol of the way in which two seemingly disparate people can bond in an unexpected fashion due to a desire to impress one another.

After Tony leaves Serena and she takes a job at MI5, newspapers take on a different meaning. They are still a form of social lubrication; in that they make the small talk and office chit chat possible. Serena and her colleagues read the newspaper to stay abreast of the issues which will inevitably manifest in their work. The war in the Middle East and the Troubles in Northern Ireland are of particular concern to the intelligence services, so being able to read about and discuss current events shows a willingness to engage with the world that improves a person’s chances in the intelligence organizations. The discussions Serena, Max, and others have about newspaper stories symbolizes the seriousness with which they take their world, as well as the constant desire to impress one another in a professional setting. Not reading the newspaper, on the other hand, symbolizes a disconnect which could limit a person’s career.

Ultimately, newspapers become the downfall for Haley and Serena. The truth about their relationship is printed in every newspaper in the country. These stories become the ultimate social lubrication for the pair, as they no longer have any lies to hide from one another. Newspapers symbolize the way in which the awkward, inconvenient truth always manifests. Thankfully for Haley and Serena, they use this truth to build a better, brighter future.