52 pages • 1 hour read
Oliver ButterworthThe Enormous Egg
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1956A 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
Fishing
Fishing appears frequently throughout the novel, most significantly as Nate’s treasured pastime. Every day, he hikes down to Loon Lake, sometimes with Joe Champigny, and boards his small rowboat. Nate’s technique is notably easygoing: “I dug out a fat old worm and baited up, and then made myself comfortable, kind of leaning back on the gunwale […]. Fish bite better if you just relax and don’t try to rush them too much” (18). This commitment to waiting, coupled with Nate’s fickle rate of success, suggests that fishing represents patience. As the novel progresses, fishing often coincides with examples of Nate’s fortitude, as he awaits Uncle Beazley’s hatching and endures the ensuing hiccups. For instance, it’s while fishing on Loon Lake that Nate initially meets Dr. Ziemer, who takes an interest in the egg and encourages Nate to keep waiting. And later, after Nate realizes that he’ll have to part with Uncle Beazley, he joins Joe Champigny on Loon Lake. Describing the afternoon as one of those “kind of slow, quiet days” (108), Nate kicks back against the gunwale and sadly informs Joe that Uncle Beazley is destined for Washington, DC. Though Joe encourages him to rebel, Nate ultimately accepts Uncle Beazley’s fate and promises to wait till “[he] can go to the museum and see Uncle Beazley again” (110). In speaking with Joe, Nate employs a model of acceptance, patience, and perseverance that is similarly obvious in his approach to fishing.
Ultimately, Nate is rewarded for his patience, both as he fishes and as he approaches Uncle Beazley’s move to DC. Fishing with Joe, Nate finally catches “two perch and a nice bass” (110), which Mom prepares for dinner. As Nate eats his dinner, he realizes he’ll be allowed to accompany Dr. Ziemer to DC after all. In associating patience with success, the novel further emphasizes its value and deepens his thematic exploration of Persistence in the Face of Adversity.
The Twitchells’ Fence
The Twitchells maintain a fence around their property, separating themselves from neighbors like Mrs. Parsons. Though the fence serves a practical purpose, it also symbolizes the Twitchells’ isolation: With a barrier against the outside world, it’s easy for them to maintain their own routine. All of this changes, of course, when Uncle Beazley arrives. The novel manifests the Twitchells’ fear of change in a scene involving the Twitchells’ fence. When Dr. Kennedy arrives from Washington, DC and is quickly escorted to Uncle Beazley’s pen, both Nate and Dr. Ziemer are stunned to realize that Uncle Beazley has escaped. After some investigation, Nate discovers a breach in the fence: “I went over and looked at the fence, […]. There was a place where two sections met that had been pushed apart, and it left a space big enough for a chicken to get through” (72). The breach in the fence foreshadows a much more serious disruption: Just as Dr. Ziemer has predicted, a crowd of scientists, onlookers, and businessmen infiltrate Freedom, and the Twitchells have no way to keep them out. In this way, the fence is shown to be a temporary but ultimately futile barrier to life’s changes.
Washington, DC, Landmarks
As Nate settles into Washington, DC, he quickly grows familiar with its most cherished landmarks. He notices the Washington Monument on his first night, describing it as a “big, tall, pointed pillar sticking straight up in the air” (123), and spots the Capitol Building at the city’s opposite end. In a straightforward sense, these landmarks serve as symbols of the Founding Fathers’ democratic vision, emphasizing the power of Congress and the Constitution it is sworn to uphold. For Nate, visiting DC makes him realize just how impressively these landmarks tower over the city; it’s possible, for instance, to glimpse the Washington Monument from blocks away. Nate is always drawn back to these landmarks, as he often walks Uncle Beazley along the National Mall. In emphasizing the landmarks’ prominence, the novel suggests the enduring power of their symbolized ideals. It’s foreshadowing, too, for Nate’s challenge to Senator Granderson: though lacking in influence, Nate leans on core American values like voting and popular representation to achieve success. The novel’s message is that, just as the landmarks tower over the city, so too does democracy easily defeat self-interest.
