The Value of Art and Beauty
The Goldfinch is a monument to art and beauty. It portrays art as what gives life meaning, particularly for people in the depths of despair. The novel’s protagonist, Theo Decker, comes to hold this view from his art-loving mother, Audrey. Whereas life is short, tragic, and cruel, art is a powerful (and in some ways eternal) source of meaning. Indeed, the novel shows that through being connected to art, humans can achieve a…
read analysis of The Value of Art and Beauty
Fabrication vs. Authenticity
Through its examination of highly-valued artworks (such as The Goldfinch) and depiction of Hobie’s antique restoration business, the novel explores the question of why and how authenticity is valued over fabrication. Of all the characters, Hobie is the most dedicated to the importance of authenticity. Theo at first has a more relaxed attitude toward the issue of fabrication; yet after this gets him into deep trouble, he comes to realize the important of…
read analysis of Fabrication vs. Authenticity
Friendship and Family
Many of the main characters in The Goldfinch, including Theo, Boris, Pippa, and the Barbour children, have at least one deceased parent. Meanwhile, the parents and other family members who are alive tend to be neglectful at best and toxic at worst. Yet at the same time that the novel starkly highlights the failures of family, it also celebrates the vital importance of friendship. Rather than simply painting friendship as something…
read analysis of Friendship and Family
Immorality vs. Crime
The Goldfinch is filled with different forms of illegal activity. Yet part of Theo’s coming-of-age experience involves learning to differentiate between illegal and immoral acts. This process starts at the very beginning of the novel when Theo commits an act (stealing The Goldfinch) that is illegal but arguably not immoral. Haunted by guilt and terror over this act, he rebels more and more against both moral and legal norms. Yet as the novel…
read analysis of Immorality vs. Crime
Hope, Despair, and Addiction
Over the course of the novel, Theo’s trajectory is defined by swings between extremes of hope and despair. While everything that happens to Theo might seem remarkably dramatic, the novel emphasizes that the oscillation between hope and despair fundamentally defines the human condition. Theo’s story indicates that hope and despair feed off each other, with each one making the other inevitable. Furthermore, Theo—like many other characters in the novel—experiences addiction, and this escalates the…
read analysis of Hope, Despair, and Addiction
