46 pages • 1 hour read
Jo Watson HacklSmack Dab in the Middle of Maybe
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2018A 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
Tanagers
Tanagers are small migratory birds that live primarily in Central and South America. In Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe, they represent a world that is always just out of reach. When Cricket’s mother was a child, she saw the Bird Room and thought she saw one of the painted tanagers flutter its wings. The tanager cameo became her obsession because she was never able to solve Bob’s puzzle. She left Cricket several times to search for the Bird Room, which she felt was a sign that “the world didn’t have to be plain and boring. It could be bright and bold and exciting” (42-43).
For Cricket, the tanagers are tantalizing clues leading her to the solution to Bob’s puzzle. She is not even sure if the Bird Room is real, but if it is, she hopes it will be the key to keeping her mother from running away again. At the end of the book, when she realizes that her mother is leaving her again anyway, she sees one last tanager in the shadow from her grandmother’s headstone. Once again, the tanager represents the life she wanted to have with her mother. The symbol of the tanager is bittersweet; although Cricket does solve the mystery, she cannot change her mother’s mind or find her way to the life with Mama she worked so hard for. Ultimately, the tanager is connected to The Impact of Mental Illness in Cricket’s life.
The Doogaloo
The doogaloo is Cricket’s first real clue on her way to the Bird Room. While tanagers represent a potential future, the doogaloo is a symbol of a past that has been lost. The coin reminds Cricket of her father, who grew up in Electric City before it became a ghost town. Because it makes her think of her father, the coin helps Cricket maintain her sense of Familial Love and Devotion. Cricket is proud of the history of Electric City, particularly the fact that it had its own currency. When she gets stuck, the doogaloo is one of the things that gives her the strength to keep searching for the buried treasure. She keeps it in her pocket for luck. The doogaloo also functions as a literal key because it helps Cricket open the wooden box.
Poetry and Art
Poetry and art are major motifs in Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe because they are vehicles for responding to the beauty in the world. Bob’s artwork is the start and end point for the scavenger hunt. Mama is constantly drawing though she refuses to show Cricket her art. Cricket is also a talented artist; her mother taught her the importance of Observing Beauty in the World, a lesson she took to heart. For Cricket, art is a key to a better future for herself when she wins the art competition near the end of the book. Miss V. is not an artist, but she loves poetry, as does Mama. Both of them use the poems of Emily Dickinson to better appreciate the natural world’s beauty. Even Percy, Miss V’s dog, seems to enjoy some poetry. Both poets and artists create their work because they keenly observe the natural world.
