49 pages • 1 hour read
Rick RiordanThe Maze of Bones
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2008A 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
Jade Necklace
Grace wears a unique jade necklace with dragons on it throughout her life, and the siblings come to associate it closely with her. The necklace’s international origin connects to Grace’s past life as a world-traveling cartographer who could navigate any major city. When Amy finds Grace’s jewelry box, she sells the other jewelry but can’t bring herself to part with Grace’s favorite piece. Amy initially feels ambivalent about the jade necklace; she had hoped to inherit some keepsake to remind her of Grace but instead faces the emotionally complicated clue quest. By taking the necklace, Amy creates some semblance of the kind of relationship she hoped to have with Grace’s memory, wearing the necklace to stay emotionally connected with Grace. When she needs a little support, she touches the necklace “like it might protect her” (75). The necklace acts as a sort of good-luck charm or talisman, allowing Amy to remember Grace’s kindness and her unwavering belief that one day Amy would go on exciting adventures.
The dragons featured on the necklace point to a broader dragon motif that runs through Cahill family iconography. They therefore cue the siblings to follow the dragons on the ceiling that ultimately help them escape the burning mansion. Here too the necklace acts as a symbol for Grace, offering the siblings comfort and assistance throughout the clue quest.
Dan’s Photo of His Parents
Dan carries a photo of his parents in his backpack. Since Dan was young when his parents died, he barely remembers them and possesses only this one photo of them. Dan resents that Amy remembers more about their parents, lamenting that he can’t even see their eye color in the photo. Nevertheless, he uses the photo to extrapolate and daydream about who his parents must have been; he takes care of the photo and looks at it when he feels particularly low. As Dan tends to forcibly repress his emotions, the photo symbolizes the grief he carries with him, which he can’t let go of without Reckoning with Past Trauma.
When Dan’s backpack gets wedged in the train tracks, he nearly dies trying to save it as a train barrels toward him. Amy pulls him away at the last second and comforts him through his tears. While the photo is gone and the memory of his parents ever more distant, Dan realizes that his sister is there for him physically and emotionally. He has family, even if he no longer has parents. Ultimately, Dan’s relationship with the photo—keeping it hidden away at first, then carrying it with him, then letting it go—parallels his relationship with his own grief and marks each step in his character development.
Saladin
Grace’s enormous, fluffy Egyptian Mau cat appears throughout the story as a recurring comic motif and a symbol of the siblings’ genuinely caring relationship with Grace. Saladin is humorously snooty, demanding only red snapper and expressing his discontent with a disinterested “mrrp.” However, he always triggers warm memories from Amy and Dan, who think of curling up with Grace to read books in the library or of hearing stories with the cat purring by their sides in Grace’s bed. Grace cared deeply for the cat, and so too do the siblings: They take in the cat after the fire and think of Saladin’s safety at every turn. Their treatment of Saladin demonstrates their caring nature and further differentiates them from their selfish relatives, who only cared for Grace’s wealth and power.
When the quest begins to get too dangerous, Amy and Dan selflessly ask McIntyre to take care of him. When they meet McIntyre again later, he reveals that Saladin never trusted him and made his feelings known with his sharp claws. Like the necklace, Saladin acts as a surrogate for Grace from beyond the grave, offering subtle clues and hints that help the siblings out: Saladin’s distrust of McIntyre helps Amy realize that she shouldn’t trust McIntyre or tell him anything they’ve figured out.
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By Rick Riordan
