Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Growing Up
Adventure, Mystery, and Secrets
Family
Independence, Capability, and Creativity
Art, Beauty, and Wonder
Summary
Analysis
On Monday morning, Claudia and Jamie go to Grand Central Station to rent a post office box. When the postal worker says the rental will cost $4.50, Claudia just shrugs at Jamie and says they’ll take an extra-long bath tonight. The postal worker is unfazed; he’s used to hearing odd remarks. Jamie rents the box under the name “Angelo Michaels” from Marblehead, Massachusetts.
The kids figure they can collect coins from the museum fountain to help pay for their post office box. (Since people throw away their loose change for good luck, Claudia doesn’t seem to regard this method as stealing.) Jamie’s rental details humorously allude to Michelangelo and his marble sculptures.
Themes
When they return to the museum, they decide to find a messenger to deliver the letter for them. While sizing up a school group, they hide inside a section of a tomb called a mastaba. They can tell from the passing conversation that the school group is around their age. But they notice something else, too—the kids’ names sound uncomfortably familiar.
Up to this point, the Kincaids have had a fairly easy time dodging unwanted attention in the big, anonymous city. But the Metropolitan is one of the region’s most popular field trip destinations, so it’s not unthinkable that their luck would run out in this way.
Themes
Suddenly, they hear boys’ voices right outside the tomb door. Claudia claps her hand over Jamie’s open mouth. Then they hear a familiar teacher’s voice urging the boys onward—it’s Miss Clendennan, Jamie’s third-grade teacher. Jamie scowls at Claudia for muzzling him, but she holds her finger to her lips until the third-grade class is long gone, and the tomb grows silent again.
The kids narrowly miss being discovered by some of Jamie’s classmates. It’s not clear whether Jamie would actually have said anything to give their presence away, but Claudia is determined not to leave the museum yet, so she doesn’t take any chances with her impulsive little brother.
Themes
Jamie says part of him wants to join the class and return to Greenwich with them—he’ll “just be mysterious about where I came from.” But Claudia insists this coincidence is perfect for another reason: it gives the perfect cover for delivering their letter. Jamie can claim to be from the Greenwich group and, if asked his name, he can give a classmate’s name. They go to the museum office, and delivering the letter goes without a hitch. Jamie is wound up from all the excitement, so Claudia steers him outside and starts walking up Fifth Avenue with him.
Instead of getting upset about their near discovery, Claudia uses this turn of events to their advantage—another way she shows her creativity and resourcefulness. As the responsible planner of the pair, she’s also used to managing Jamie’s impulsive energies by this time and wisely lets him blow off steam after their big day.
Themes
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