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Symbols
Gold in Artemis Fowl symbolizes greed. As such, Artemis’s changing attitude toward gold helps readers to track his development as a character. When he gives up about half of his gold at the end of the novel, for instance, it suggests that his motivations are not entirely greedy as they may have seemed at first. At the end of the story, Artemis succeeds in tricking the fairies into giving him gold, but he voluntarily gives up a large chunk of it in order to obtain a wish from Holly to heal his sick mother, Angeline. Although a part of Artemis may actually want gold, it becomes clear at the end that the gold was just a means for Artemis to carry on the family crime legacy, and perhaps also get the attention of his absent father (Artemis Senior) and bedridden, sickly mother. Although acquiring the gold helps prove Artemis’s status as a crime prodigy and his ability to overcome a full team of fairies with the best technology, he ultimately realizes that some things are more important than gold, like his relationship with his mother.
Gold often plays a role in fairy stories, particularly those about leprechauns (the inspiration for LEPrecon in this novel), and so the inclusion of gold in this story is partly a nod to these inspirations. In this story, gold could be called the “MacGuffin,” which refers to a pivotal object in a story whose main purpose is to drive the plot forward. Artemis claims at first to want the fairy gold above all else, but as the story unfolds, it soon becomes clear that Artemis is not as ruthless about pursuing the gold as he claims, going out of his way to avoid hurting people like the healer and Holly more than necessary for his plan.
Gold Quotes in Artemis Fowl
The Artemis Fowl quotes below all refer to the symbol of Gold. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2 Quotes
Trawling through gigabytes of data, he found hundreds of references to fairies from nearly every country in the world. Each civilization had its own term for the People, but they were undoubtedly members of the same hidden family. Several stories mentioned a Book carried by each fairy. It was their Bible, containing, as it allegedly did, the history of their race and the commandments that governed their extended lives. Of course, this Book was written in Gnommish, the fairy text, and would be of no use to any human.
Artemis believed that with today’s technology the Book could be translated. And with this translation you could begin to exploit a whole new group of creatures.
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Chapter 6 Quotes
“Fowl,” she said with feeling, “you have no idea what you’ve done. Bringing the worlds together like this could mean disaster for us all.”
Artemis shrugged. “I am not concerned with us all, just myself. And believe me, I shall be perfectly fine. Now, sit, please.”
Holly sat, never taking her hazel eyes from the diminutive monster before her.
“So what is this master plan, Fowl? Let me guess: world domination?”
“Nothing so melodramatic,” chuckled Artemis. “Just riches.”
“A thief!” spat Holly. “You’re just a thief!”
Annoyance flashed across Artemis’s features, only to be replaced by his customary sardonic grin.
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Chapter 8 Quotes
“Apparently. It just came through on the outside line. This is Gudgeon’s party now. He told the Council about the ransom demand and you springing Mister Diggums. You know what the elders are like when it comes to parting with gold.”
Root folded his arms. “People told me about you, Gudgeon. They said you’d stab me in the back. I didn’t believe them. I was a fool.”
“This is not about us, Julius. It’s about the mission. What’s inside this cage is our best chance of success.”
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Chapter 9 Quotes
Artemis paused, his gaze tugged momentarily upstairs to the converted loft. Perhaps, he thought. Do I really need all this gold? And was his conscience not pricking him, leeching the sweetness from his victory? He shook himself. Stick to the plan. Stick to the plan. No emotion.
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Angeline frowned, completely unconvinced. “I see. And how about school? Have you decided on a career?”
While his mouth answered these everyday questions, Artemis’s mind was in turmoil. He was a boy again. His life was going to change utterly. His plans would have to be much more devious than usual if they were to escape his mother’s attention. But it would be worth it.
Angeline Fowl was wrong. She had brought him a Christmas present.
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Epilogue Quotes
There is a tendency to romanticize Artemis. To attribute to him qualities that he does not possess. The fact that he used his wish to heal his mother is not a sign of affection. He did it simply because the Social Services were already investigating his case, and it was only a matter of time before he was put into care.
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Get the entire Artemis Fowl LitChart as a printable PDF.
Gold Symbol Timeline in Artemis Fowl
The timeline below shows where the symbol Gold appears in Artemis Fowl. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
The goal behind Artemis’s current scheme is to acquire gold. Artemis spent a lot of time searching online and found evidence that fairies, also known...
(full context)
...is far from poor now, Artemis believes that he can use the Book to acquire gold and restore his family to its former ultrawealthy status.
(full context)
Chapter 6
...He announces his plan to be the first human to separate a fairy from its gold. Holly says that’s just a myth, but Artemis explains that he knows about her department’s...
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Chapter 8
...invitation to enter without losing their magic. Root wants approval from the Council for the gold that Artemis demanded.
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Chapter 9
...finger tranquilizer that Foaly gave him earlier. With Gudgeon unconscious, Root prepares to give the gold to Artemis, while also readying the bio-bomb.
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When Holly learns via her helmet communicator that a bio-bomb will drop after the gold exchange, she doesn’t care much about Artemis but fears that Juliet is innocent. Holly confronts...
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Just then, a floating trolley comes into the mansion bearing the ransom gold. Artemis and Butler inspect it for traps but find none, aside from a camera that...
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...are surprised to see Holly coming back out on the trolley with a lot of gold. Some fairies rush her over to a debriefing with Root in person. Holly doesn’t want...
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Foaly points out that according to the Book, if Artemis lives, he can keep the gold. But he doesn’t expect Artemis to survive the bomb. He pushes the button on the...
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Artemis tells Butler about giving up half the gold but doesn’t reveal that it was for a wish from Holly. He, Butler, and Juliet...
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...Trouble and Grub. Root warns them to watch for traps as they search for the gold. But as the fairies search, all of a sudden, they start to vomit. Holly realizes...
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...time, the narrator explains that when Mulch surfaced, he happened to see the trolley of gold going by. He stole several ingots and buried them underground, eventually planning to come back...
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