108 pages • 3 hours read
Barbara Haworth-AttardTheories of Relativity
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
Showering
Showering in Theories of Relativity symbolizes the inescapable cycle of homelessness that the street kids experience. To Dylan, showering is a rare treat that allows him to temporarily feel better before he is forced back onto the streets. Though Dylan feels good while in the shower, symbolizing a glimmer of hope that things will improve, he is reminded of his circumstances the moment he must get dressed in his unwashed clothes.
During Dylan’s first shower of the novel, he describes it as “feel[ing] so good, tears again gather behind [his] eyes” (25). Whereas most people take access to showers for granted, Dylan appreciates the shower for its ability to refresh him, to take his mind off of his homelessness. However, this feeling of cleanliness, comfort, and security is fleeting. When he showers at the youth center, he narrates, “For one moment, I’m content. I’m warm, full, and clean. I grimace as I pull on my dirty underwear, and the moment is gone” (107). The shower only provides a temporary reprieve from the facts of Dylan’s regular life, and his dirty clothes reflect the reality of his situation.
Winter
The season of winter embodies the dangers of living on the street. Though the weather isn’t the only threat, the approaching winter represents the looming dangers that any street kid could fall prey to at any moment. Dylan and Vulture both mention that winter means fewer people will stop to give change to beggars, which leads to fewer resources for people like Dylan who rely on that money. Winter also brings the threat of freezing to death, which Dylan must avoid through any means necessary. Winter corners Dylan and limits his options for survival, making him easier prey for people like Vulture. Dylan must either find shelter at the factory or at places like Brad or Vulture’s apartments, where accessing warmth means sacrificing one’s personal values.
Dylan’s Backpack
Dylan’s backpack symbolizes his sense of self. Within it, Dylan keeps photos and CDs, as well as personal hygiene products and whatever clothing he has left. It’s the most important thing in the world to him now that he is homeless. Dylan describes his fear of losing his backpack as a “fear of losing me” (19).
Later, after a hard night on the cold streets, Dylan nearly forgets his backpack on the sidewalk. Glen reminds him to grab it, and Dylan narrates, “I nearly left my life behind. I’ve never done that before. I’m obviously losing it” (104). To Dylan, the backpack is everything, but as he starts to lose himself to the streets, he increasingly risks losing his backpack as well.
When Dylan is beaten by Lurch and the Bandana Kids, his backpack is stolen despite his desperate attempts to retain it. Dylan comments, “They’ve taken my entire life. They’ve taken—me” (191). These are Dylan’s final moments where he has maintained himself, and his descent into drugs and addiction that soon follows serves as evidence that Dylan’s backpack represents his sense of self. Without that backpack, without that connection to himself, Dylan falls to addiction. Later, when he spots the bag in Vulture’s house during a drug-fueled stupor, Dylan considers taking it but decides not to, saying, “That life is over. This is my life now” (213). In this moment, Dylan completely abandons who he was before the beating and the drugs—before he lost his backpack. He considers taking it back but knows he isn’t the same person. He’s succumbed to the street life.
