The Science of Breakable Things

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2018

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapter 1-Part 2, Chapters 2-6

Part 3, Chapters 7-9-Part 4, Chapters 10-14

Part 5, Chapters 15-21

Part 6, Chapters 22-31

Part 7, Chapters 32-41-Part 8, Chapter 42

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Symbols & Motifs

Plants

Throughout the novel, plants function as metaphors for people, especially Natalie’s mother. Perennial plants help Natalie metaphorically understand the phenomenon of her mother’s depression before she has a literal word to describe it. Natalie reasons that her mother is similar to a dormant plant, currently sleeping in darkness but not gone forever; she is just waiting for sufficient sunlight to allow her to reemerge. This metaphor gives Natalie hope that a cure is possible, although she learns that healing is not a sudden change, but a slow and involved process. Furthermore, plants are also used to metaphorically describe others. For example, Natalie’s grandmother compares the Korean fire plant to Korean people like herself and Natalie’s father, who remain strong and continue growing despite periods of hardship.

The state of Natalie’s mother’s health is also reflected in her relationship to plants. As a healthy botanist, she studied them in the lab and cared for them in her own greenhouse with Natalie. When she is depressed, she ignores the plants, and they all die.

The Scientific Method

Natalie uses the scientific method to structure the novel, but science and the scientific method also appear repeatedly as a motif to illustrate the importance of asking questions, gathering legitimate data, analyzing results, and collaborating with others to draw accurate and reasonable conclusions. For example, when Natalie gathers faulty information, she draws false conclusions. Only by retracing her steps and correcting her errors can she find out the truth behind her mother’s illness.

Natalie’s inquiry into her mother’s depression is mirrored by Natalie, Twig, and Dari’s inquiry into how to protect an egg from a three-story fall. The egg, like Natalie’s mother, is fragile, but this doesn’t mean people should stop seeking better protective mechanisms for it. On the contrary, the novel supports the view that seeking out answers in a methodical and careful manner is the best way to learn appropriate solutions to life’s inevitable problems.

Eggs

The kids’ egg drop experiment mirrors Natalie’s investigation into her mother’s depression. The eggs are “breakable” like Natalie and her mother. Natalie wants to make her mother’s depression disappear, but this is not possible. Similarly, the students are unable to build a contraption that prevents the egg from breaking after being dropped from three stories. Just as the egg breaks despite multiple attempts to shield and protect it, Natalie’s mother’s depression is not something that can be managed or prevented by another person’s efforts to shield or reposition it. Rather than trying to prevent breakage, Natalie comes to see breakability as something she can learn from. In the story’s conclusion, she extends this metaphor to herself as a way of describing the moments when her family begins to heal: “I cracked open and cried like I would never stop crying” (271). She breaks, weeping, as she sees the truth and begins to work with her parents in an open and honest way to restore their relationship and communicate about her mother’s depression. In this sense, breaking prompts healing.