55 pages • 1 hour read
Brian SelznickThe Invention of Hugo Cabret
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 1, Chapters 9-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1, Chapter 9 Summary: “The Key”
After doing his rounds in the station, Hugo goes to his room to read his magic book. He has finished it and is now practicing tricks with objects in his room. He thinks about Isabelle introducing him to Etienne as her friend. Later, he pulls out the automaton and looks at the parts he has taken from the toy booth. Hugo sees a piece that could fit into the machine’s arm, so he makes a few minor adjustments and places it in the machine. Fixing something without the help of his father’s notebook excites him and gives him hope.
Days pass and Hugo grows tired as he works on the clocks and at the toy booth by day and on the automaton by night. He is close to finishing the mechanical man but keeps his promise to meet Etienne and Isabelle at the movie theatre. When Hugo arrives, he sees Isabelle; they wait for Etienne, who is late, causing Isabelle to worry. Hugo asks Isabelle why Georges won’t let her see movies as they wait, but she doesn’t know; her only guess is that he thinks they are a waste of time. Hugo looks for Etienne and learns that the theatre manager fired him for sneaking kids into the theatre. Hugo tells Isabelle, who takes a bobby pin and picks the lock of the theatre door. They pass through the back of the lobby and sit in the theatre. They watch some newsreels, and a cartoon called The Clock Store. Hugo knows “his father would have loved it” (202). Then, the movie begins. At the end, the children sit in awe as everyone else leaves. Suddenly, the theatre manager grabs them by their collars and dumps them in the street, telling them he never wants to see them again. The kids run away but eventually slow down and walk together. Isabelle tells Hugo about her favorite movies, but Hugo remains silent instead of telling her about the films he has seen.
When the pair arrive at the train station, Hugo sees the Station Inspector looking at the station’s main clock, taking notes as he does. Hugo and Isabelle hide behind a bench, and Hugo tells her he has to go. Isabelle asks where he lives, but Hugo runs away. Isabelle tries to follow but bumps into a man and falls. Hugo sees this and returns to help her, noticing a heart-shaped key around her neck. He asks her about the key, but she ignores him and runs to the café. The two sit at a table in silence until the café owner makes them leave.
Part 1, Chapter 10 Summary: “The Notebook”
The next day, when Hugo goes to the toy booth, Georges angrily demands Hugo return the notebook, accusing Hugo of breaking into his house to steal it back. Georges says he knew Hugo was taking parts from the booth but didn’t say anything because of his excellent work. Isabelle appears behind Georges, holding the notebook. Hugo goes to her, but she refuses to give it to him. Hugo hugs Isabelle before running away, dodging Georges’s grip.
Part 1, Chapter 11 Summary: “Stolen Goods
Hugo runs to his room and pulls out the automaton. The mechanical man has a new outfit and pen and is oiled and polished. On the man’s back is a heart-shaped keyhole. Hugo opens his hand to reveal the key from Isabelle’s neck, which he stole with the sleight of hand tricks he learned from the magic book.
Part 1, Chapter 12 Summary: “The Message”
Hugo puts the key in the man’s back and finds it fits perfectly. Isabelle bursts into his room and tackles him to the floor, asking him why he stole her key after she helped him find the notebook. Hugo refuses to answer her questions, insisting on secrecy. The two wrestle on the floor until Isabelle sees the automaton and recognizes it from the notebook. She wonders why her key would fit into Hugo’s father’s machine. Isabelle tells Hugo to turn the key, but Hugo wants to be alone when he does. Isabelle turns the key herself, so Hugo quickly fills the man’s hand with ink. The children watch as the machine’s hand begins to move and write on the paper. As they watch, Isabelle and Hugo see the man isn’t writing words or sentences. He appears to be making random marks and symbols. Hugo becomes angry and demands his notebook from Isabelle, who gives it to him. He flips through the pages and sees he’s done everything correctly. As the machine continues to write, the children realize it’s beginning to connect the markings into a drawing. Hugo immediately recognizes the picture: the man in the moon with a rocket in his eye, a scene from Hugo’s father’s favorite movie.
Part 1, Chapters 9-12 Analysis
This section marks a shift in the characters’ personality and relationships, often, ironically, through secrets. While Hugo is still adamant about keeping his automaton and lifestyle secret, he opens up to Isabelle and thinks about her often. He allows Isabelle to help him look for his notebook, but he still demands she not look inside it. Hugo is also willing to get outside his comfort zone when he goes to the theatre with Isabelle. He regrets that decision when the theatre manager throws them out, but the experience still allows Hugo to interact with Isabelle and find commonality with her. Hugo likewise loosens his grip on his obsession with his father’s notebook and finds that he can fix the automaton on his own because of what he’s learned working on the station’s clocks. This shift shows how Hugo is Overcoming Loss and starting to let go of some control as he allows himself the space to explore new experiences and ideas.
Isabelle is equally as mysterious as Hugo, though she uses secrets as common ground to develop a friendship with him. Isabelle appears randomly at the station throughout the day and says she can’t be at the toy booth but doesn’t explain why. Regardless, Isabelle enjoys helping Hugo and wants to know more about him, constantly asking him why the notebook is so important to him. When Isabelle introduces Hugo to Etienne, she calls Hugo her friend. This shows Isabelle is more inviting and open to others than both Hugo and her godfather. However, Isabelle is not emotionally swayed by friendship; she demonstrates her own strength and stubbornness when she tackles Hugo and puts her key in the automaton, refusing to let Hugo leave her out of the mystery.
Georges also demonstrates a change of heart when he becomes angry and accuses Hugo of breaking into his house and taking the notebook. It becomes immediately clear that Isabelle took the book, not Hugo, but Georges’s angry indicates a deep sense of betrayal. In a show of vulnerability, Georges admits he was coming to care for Hugo; he describes how he overlooked Hugo’s small acts of thievery because Hugo did good work in his booth, and how he genuinely enjoyed having Hugo around. His fondness for Hugo is also clear in the magic tricks he performs during working hours, when he knows Hugo—who is openly fascinated—can see him. The mysteries of his traumatic past have not yet been revealed; even so, it was clear that Hugo was helping Georges overcome some form of pain or loss, and Hugo’s supposed betrayal damages their relationship. Isabelle’s theft of the notebook likewise damages Hugo’s relationship with her, as she does not confess to being the thief; in turn, Hugo does not show remorse for stealing her necklace.
Lastly, this section marks the connection between Innovation, Technology, and Magic. In Chapter 5, Hugo’s father tells him that magicians often begin as clockmakers. They learn to be nimble with their fingers and study how machinery works. Horologists then use those skills and manipulate machinery to make visual illusions and create engaging and entertaining magic shows. Hugo personally experiences these connections in this section of the book. He uses the knowledge and dexterity he’s gained from working on the station’s clocks to fix the broken toys at Georges’s booth, and he even manages to repair the automaton without relying on his father’s notebook. The automaton—which inspired him to dream of becoming a magician—symbolizes the intersection of magic and technology, though the extent to which it does so remains to be explored. In the meantime, Hugo teaches himself magic tricks from the book he bought at the station bookstore; these skills come in handy in his quest to repair the automaton. Hugo himself acknowledges the clear connection between magic and machinery:
With the proper instruction, his talent for machines translated perfectly to magic tricks. Hugo had come to understand the connection between horology and magic that his father had talked about. It wasn’t just the understanding of machinery, it was the dexterity, the talent within his fingers themselves, as if they automatically knew what to do. Hugo’s fingers were capable of the most surprising things. He had discovered that he could make cards float and he could turn marbles into mice, and he could rip up a piece of paper and make it whole again. But most important, he found that with a hug good-bye, he could make Isabelle’s necklace disappear with her feeling a thing (232).
This connection culminates in the revival of the automaton, and the section ends on a note of tension and mystery as the automaton draws a picture of a scene from Hugo’s father’s favorite movie. This is the first link between the automaton and films, which leads Hugo and Isabelle to Georges in the next section and sets them on the path to uncovering Georges’s past.
