The Graveyard Book

by

Neil Gaiman

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The Graveyard Book: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Silas has been busy. He often leaves the graveyard for days or weeks at a time. Bod enjoys Miss Lupescu’s visit over Christmas, but she leaves for “The Old Country” after three weeks—leaving Bod without a guardian who can leave the graveyard. Mr. Owens, Mrs. Owens, and Josiah Worthington are upset about this. Mrs. Owens believes that Silas is hurt. She throws up her hands when Josiah Worthington mentions that Silas left Bod grocery money and goes to find her son. She finds Bod, who’s now 14, at the top of the hill. Bod asks how they know that the man who wants to kill him is still out there. Mrs. Owens says that Silas told them, which doesn’t impress Bod.
As far as Mrs. Owens is concerned, it’s not good enough that Silas left grocery money if Bod can’t leave the graveyard to use it. The way she sees it, Silas abandoned Bod, intentionally or otherwise. But even without Silas around, Mrs. Owens knows it’s still her duty to act as Bod’s mother. This means comforting him when he’s sad and moody, and it means making sure Bod doesn’t lose trust in Silas. Even if Mrs. Owens doesn’t trust Silas right now, Bod must for his safety.
Themes
Community, Identity, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Parents and Guardians Theme Icon
Bod begs Mrs. Owens to tell him what his prospective killer looks like and asks why Silas didn’t kill the man when he had the chance. Mrs. Owens insists that Silas isn’t a monster. Bod wants to know what the man’s name is. He insists it matters—he can dedicate himself to learning everything he possibly can. Mrs. Owens reaches out to her son. She knows that one day, he’ll leave the graveyard and she won’t be able to touch him. She says the man’s name is Jack.
It’s telling that Mrs. Owens uses the word “monster” here. Calling someone a monster implies that they’re barbaric and inhumane, while Silas is good, kind, and noble. His choices are what define him. She also recognizes here that if she and Silas do their jobs well, Bod won’t need them when he becomes an adult.
Themes
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Good, Evil, and Assumptions Theme Icon
Quotes
Scarlett Amber Perkins is 15 years old and hates everything. She’s hates her parents for divorcing, she hates her mother for moving back to this town, and she hates this town for being simultaneously familiar and foreign. After taking the wrong bus, Scarlett accidentally finds herself in Old Town. The driver lets her off in front of imposing iron gates to get another bus back into the city. As Scarlett heads down the hill on foot, she thinks that this is why she needs a cellphone—her mother will be livid that Scarlett is late tonight.
Scarlett’s villains are fairly innocuous. Her parents are evil in her eyes because they divorced and destroyed the life she knew, not because they’ve done something objectively horrifying. In other words, Scarlett’s sense of good and evil is very different from Bod’s, but this is because Scarlett has lived a comparatively sheltered life.
Themes
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Good, Evil, and Assumptions Theme Icon
Scarlett passes the gates and feels a sudden sense of deja vu. She enters the graveyard and reacquaints herself with the old church and the little bench in front of it. As she sits, she hears a voice behind her nervously ask for her help. A man is trying to take a grave rubbing, but his paper is curling. Scarlett helps him hold the paper flat and after he takes the rubbing, the man stands up. He looks like “a friendly owl.” It starts to rain, so Scarlett helps the man gather his things. The man says he knows what Scarlett is thinking and tells her about the church’s history. Scarlett, however, says that her mother will kill her for being late. At this, the man tosses Scarlett his things and runs to fetch his car.
Like Bod, Scarlett is naturally trusting when new people enter her life—her reaction to this man mirrors Bod’s reaction when the ghouls found him asleep on the ghoul-gate. But given that most of the humans in the novel are villains, Scarlett’s easy trust in this man reads as unwise. And as much as Scarlett detests her mother right now, Scarlett nevertheless knows that her mother cares about her. Her mother will hate that she’s late, which is annoying to Scarlett but is nevertheless a sign of care and concern.
Themes
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Parents and Guardians Theme Icon
Life and Death Theme Icon
Good, Evil, and Assumptions Theme Icon
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Scarlett approaches the car but tells the man she doesn’t accept rides from strangers. He offers Scarlett his phone to call her mother. When Scarlett realizes she’s more afraid of her mother than the man, she tells him her address. The man walks Scarlett to the door and explains the situation to Scarlett’s mother, who shocks Scarlett by offering the man tea. He introduces himself as Mr. Frost as Scarlett tells her mother what happened. But when Scarlett mentions the graveyard, her mother drops her teacup and becomes suddenly icy. She explains that Scarlett used to play in the graveyard with an imaginary friend named Nobody. Scarlett doesn’t remember this. When Scarlett’s mother hears that Mr. Frost is unmarried, she invites him for dinner on Saturday.
Scarlett’s fear of her mother makes this man look less concerning to her. This speaks to the way that a parent’s concern—while necessary and well meaning—can push their children to trust people they possibly shouldn’t. Rediscovering the graveyard gives Scarlett an opportunity to learn more about her childhood and track her development over the last decade.
Themes
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Parents and Guardians Theme Icon
That night, Scarlett remembers being in the graveyard as a child. When she falls asleep, she dreams she’s walking in the graveyard. When she comes across a boy her age, she calls to him. He introduces himself as Bod and recognizes Scarlett from earlier that afternoon. Then, when Scarlett remembers that Bod was her imaginary friend from childhood, Bod mentions that they went into the barrow grave, saw the Indigo Man, and met the Sleer. At this, Scarlett remembers everything and wakes up.
It’s possible that this is entirely Scarlett’s dream—but it’s also possible that Bod experiences this meeting, too. If Bod does experience Scarlett’s dream along with her, this suggests that Bod is becoming more connected to living people as he gets older. Scarlett was the first to introduce him to the world of the living, and it’s fitting that Scarlett is the first to reconnect with him as a young adult.
Themes
Life and Death Theme Icon
Now that Silas is gone, Bod doesn’t leave the graveyard. He loves the graveyard, but things are also changing for him. This is because no one else in the graveyard is changing. These days, Fortinbras is too young to connect with, while Thackeray Porringer now tells Bod stories about his former friends. And though Liza and Bod have been close for five or six years, she seldom shows herself to him and is rude when she does appear. According to Mr. Owens, this is just something women do. He says that he was friends with a girl as a child, but she hated him when they got to be teenagers and even threw an apple at his head. Mrs. Owens sniffs that it was a pear, not an apple.
It’s a mark of how much Bod is grown that 14-year-old Thackeray now treats Bod like a friend—it wasn’t that long ago that he punched Bod for borrowing his book. Mr. Owens’s advice about Liza also suggests that Bod is getting to the age where he’ll become interested in romantic relationships. Bod and Liza are probably about the same age now, and it’s possible that Liza has a crush on Bod. But because Bod’s alive and she’s not, it may be more painful for her and make her behavior even worse.
Themes
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Quotes
Bod has no living friends, though he still remembers Scarlett. He’s disturbed that he didn’t recognize Scarlett right away when he saw her in the graveyard. Bod wanders through the graveyard’s abandoned and dangerous corner in search of the Poet, Nehemiah Trot. When Nehemiah shows himself, Bod asks if he should go find a girl he wants to talk to. Nehemiah is thrilled. He tells Bod to write poems to win the lady’s heart and brushes away Bod’s safety concerns—revealing himself to living people is dangerous. Nehemiah insists that if a person doesn’t take chances, they won’t get anywhere. This answer pleases Bod, so he asks about revenge.
Now that Bod knows that Scarlett is back in town and has been to the graveyard, it feels important to him to figure out how to reconnect with her. Doing so would reconnect him with a piece of his childhood and offer him a window into his future out in the wider world. Nehemiah Trot, while humorous, seems far more interested in creating a dramatic narrative than looking out for Bod’s safety. But Bod’s understanding of what’s safe and what’s not speaks to his growing maturity.
Themes
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Nehemiah proceeds to tell Bod how he bested his literary critics by asking to be buried with his poems. This means that when people realize he’s a genius, they’ll dig up his grave and publish his poems. Bod isn’t convinced this is the best way to get revenge and heads back to the chapel for food. When Bod reemerges from the chapel, wondering how to find Scarlett, he sees a young woman on the bench. Bod Fades, but the girl—Scarlett—sees Bod and calls to him. She explains that she helped Mr. Frost with his grave rubbings. Later, she’ll have tea with him before he takes her home. She asks if she can hug Bod and hugs Bod so hard it hurts. Bod is glad for the touch. Scarlett is thrilled that Bod is real and promises to come back over the weekend.
Hugging Scarlett helps Bod connect with his future life among the living. Assuming he’s able to best Jack, Bod will eventually leave the graveyard and join people like Scarlett. Scarlett, for her part, doesn’t seem to worry that Bod was raised in the graveyard. To her, he’s just like any 14-year-old boy.
Themes
Life and Death Theme Icon
At Mr. Frost’s house, Scarlett refuses tea and cookies. As they leave Mr. Frost’s tall, narrow house, she offers to help him with his grave rubbings. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in Krakow, Poland, Silas, Miss Lupescu, and the Abyssinian mummy Kandar enter deep underground caves. The group lost its fourth member, Haroun, to an enchanted mirror in an upper cave. Silas saved the others, since he’s impervious to mirrors. Now, they discuss that there are three of them, in addition to Kandar’s lucky pig. Miss Lupescu is annoyed by the pig and insists it’s not lucky. Silas silences his companions and says “they” are coming, and there are a lot of them.
Silas not having issues with mirrors is another clue that he’s a vampire: legend holds that vampires don’t have reflections in mirrors. It’s also increasingly obvious that Silas doesn’t use his vampiric powers for evil. Rather, when he can, he uses them to help his friends, his colleagues, and Bod. These selfless actions mark Silas as a good person—despite being a seemingly terrifying vampire.
Themes
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In the graveyard that weekend, Scarlett and Bod discuss the murder of Bod’s family. Bod mentions that his guardian is going to tell him more when he thinks Bod is ready. When Scarlett asks if Bod’s guardian thinks Bod is going to go on a murderous rampage, Bod very seriously says yes. Scarlett asks if Bod’s guardian is dead too. Bod, however, refuses to talk about Silas. Offended, Scarlett excuses herself and heads down the path. Bod hears Liza call Scarlett “Miss high and mighty.”
Given that Silas has never been wrong when it comes to teaching Bod important information, Bod feels no compulsion to doubt Silas now. He may also recognize that mentioning Silas is a vampire wouldn’t go over well with Scarlett, if she’d even believe him.
Themes
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Life and Death Theme Icon
Good, Evil, and Assumptions Theme Icon
Scarlett helps Mr. Frost make grave rubbings until midday, and Scarlett asks where she’d research a local murder. Mr. Frost goes pale and says he doesn’t like to think about it. When Scarlett says it’s for a friend, Mr. Frost suggests she try the library. Scarlett asks for a ride, but Mr. Frost seems not to hear or notice her. He then explains he’s just trying to plan his afternoon and asks if Scarlett’s mother would prefer wine or chocolate. At the library, an elderly librarian shows Scarlett how to look at old newspapers using a projector. Scarlett figures that the murder of three people would be on the front page. However, she finds it hidden on page five. The small article just says the family died and says nothing about a missing baby boy. There was no follow-up article, either.
Scarlett knows that the murder of any person, let alone three people, is a big deal, so it’s alarming that it didn’t seem to matter to anyone at the time. Mr. Frost’s squeamishness when it comes to talking about murder makes Scarlett trust him even more, as it seems obvious to her that he couldn’t have had anything to do with it. She believes he’s a good, trustworthy person because he looks and acts like one—but not necessarily because she has proof he’s actually kind and generous.
Themes
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Life and Death Theme Icon
Good, Evil, and Assumptions Theme Icon
Scarlett does learn the murdered family’s address, however. She knows the house. After she gets home, Scarlett calls Mr. Frost and informs him that 13 years ago, the Dorian family was murdered in his home. He’s shocked. Mr. Frost offers to look into the mystery. When Scarlett tries to reach out to Bod in her dreams again that night, she can’t make it work right. She dreams instead of wandering Glasgow. Meanwhile, in Krakow’s caves, Miss Lupescu falls. Silas cradles her bloody head and says he won’t leave her. She tells him that “they” will come back and raises herself to a standing position. Though she’s covered in blood, she snarls that they’ll “end this.”
If Scarlett were a bit more critical when it comes to Mr. Frost, it might seem suspicious that he’s so interested in a murder that took place in his house when he looked nervous at the mention of murder earlier. Death might not be as abhorrent to Mr. Frost as he tried to let on. In the caves, Silas again distinguishes himself as a fiercely loyal friend. His willingness to help Miss Lupescu and encourage her to go on show that he’s kind and caring.
Themes
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Life and Death Theme Icon
Good, Evil, and Assumptions Theme Icon
On Sunday afternoon, the phone rings in Scarlett’s kitchen. Scarlett’s mother picks up; it’s Mr. Frost. After a minute, she hands the phone to Scarlett. Mr. Frost says he’s found some things out for Scarlett’s friend: the family that was killed had a fourth member, a baby who survived. He invites Scarlett to bring her friend to learn the rest. A bit later, Bod walks down into the barrow grave for the first time in six years. The Sleer doesn’t speak until Bod touches the knife. It seems perplexed that Bod wants advice. Bod says he doesn’t know what to do. He can learn things about his family’s killer, but to do so, he has to leave the graveyard and all the ghosts who want to keep him safe. The Sleer says nothing except “yes” when Bod says he has to do this alone.
For millennia, the Sleer has probably had little to do but frighten the errant grave robber and wait for its master to return. But over the years, Bod has come to suspect that there’s more to the Sleer than fear and a desire to serve—being so old, it might have some wisdom to share with someone like Bod. Though the Sleer says little, it nevertheless gives Bod the space to talk through his situation and come to the answer himself. In this way, the Sleer helps Bod practice being an adult and making his own decisions without the help of a guardian.
Themes
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Then, the Sleer whispers that it’s supposed to guard the treasure until its master returns. It asks Bod if he’s its master. Bod says he isn’t and turns down the Sleer’s advances—in a whiny voice, it says that they’d protect Bod in their coils forever if Bod would be their master. Angry, the Sleer tells Bod to find his name and goes silent. Bod hurries up the stairs and finds Scarlett waiting outside the barrow. He tells her that he’ll come with her, so she leads him to a tall house in the middle of a row. Bod is shocked that the house doesn’t seem familiar. He knocks on the door until Mr. Frost lets them in and shakes Bod’s hand. Mr. Frost seems impatient and excited.
Telling Bod to find his name suggests that the Sleer knows more than it lets on—its master might be all the Sleer talks about, but that doesn’t mean the Sleer doesn’t listen to what else goes on in the graveyard. Further, telling Bod to find his name recalls Liza’s sadness about not having a headstone. The Sleer implies that Bod is missing part of his identity because he doesn’t know the name he was given at birth, which makes Bod feel even more like he has to go through with meeting Mr. Frost.
Themes
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Scarlett finally asks Mr. Frost what he found out. Mr. Frost says that oddly, no one investigated the murder and no one searched for the missing toddler. “They” squashed it. Frustrated, Scarlett asks who Mr. Frost is talking about. At this, Mr. Frost apologizes for being secretive. After he confirms that Bod has a “personal” interest in the murders, he says he found something under a floorboard and tells Bod to follow him upstairs. Bod shoots Scarlett a concerned look, but Scarlett smiles and thinks it’s Bod’s right to learn first. Mr. Frost leads Bod to the top of the house and asks if Bod is the boy in question.
Scarlett believes that she’s doing a good, kind thing for Bod by connecting him with someone who can illuminate mysterious parts of his past. And because she trusts Mr. Frost entirely, nothing Mr. Frost says reads as suspicious to her. But to Bod, who isn’t in the practice of trusting living people, Mr. Frost seems suspicious. Separating Bod and Scarlett means they won’t be able to help or support each other if things go wrong.
Themes
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Good, Evil, and Assumptions Theme Icon
They reach the attic bedroom and Mr. Frost pulls aside the carpet. He says they don’t know who did it, but Bod says he knows: the man’s name is Jack, and he has black hair. Mr. Frost says that hair fades, but his name is Jack. He turns around, holding a big knife. From downstairs, Scarlett calls that there’s someone at the door. In the moment that Jack glances away, Bod Fades. Jack growls that he can still smell Bod as Bod exits the room and locks the door behind him. Bod reaches the bottom of the stairs and tells Scarlett that Mr. Frost is Jack—and Jack tried to kill him. Scarlett is flabbergasted, but she opens the front door to follow Bod out.
Despite Scarlett and Bod’s physical separation, Scarlett is still able to help Bod. She may not know she’s doing it, but it’s possible that Bod and Scarlett are connected on perhaps a deeper or supernatural level (especially given that they reconnected in Scarlett’s dream). It’s a shock for Scarlett to learn that Mr. Frost isn’t the kind, nervous man she thought he was. Now, she’ll have to decide which version of Jack is true—the one who was nice to her, or the one who will keep trying to kill Bod.
Themes
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Good, Evil, and Assumptions Theme Icon
There are four men on the porch. They ask for Mr. Frost and say they’re friends. Scarlett tells the men that Mr. Frost went to buy a newspaper and excuses herself. She can barely see Bod as they walk up the hill. Bod says that the men didn’t feel like real people. Back on Mr. Frost’s porch, the big man, Mr. Tar, says he doesn’t like this. The men discuss that after Krakow, Melbourne, and Vancouver, they’re the last four left. Mr. Ketch fingers his moustache as Mr. Tar says they should go after Scarlett. Mr. Dandy, the white-haired man, asks for silence. He sends Mr. Nimble and Mr. Ketch after Scarlett and tells Mr. Tar to come inside with him. The door is magically reinforced, but Mr. Dandy says it’s not something a Jack can’t fix. He whispers words “older than English” and Mr. Tar pushes the door open.
Given Bod’s relationships with ghosts, vampires, and a werewolf, he probably has a firm grasp on what “real people” feel like. So while Scarlett may assume that the men on Jack’s front porch are all people because they look human, Bod’s senses are much sharper. Indeed, Mr. Dandy’s incantation suggests that he and his fellows use magic at the very least, which may make them seem not quite human.
Themes
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Mr. Dandy and Mr. Tar hear a crash above them, and Jack Frost comes racing down the stairs. Jack explains that Bod got away and will be in the graveyard. When Bod and Scarlett get to the graveyard, the gates are locked. Bod tells Scarlett to put her arms around him, hoping his Freedom of the Graveyard might help Scarlett. He passes through the bars with her and explains that since the graveyard is his home, he “can do things here.” Mr. Ketch and Mr. Nimble reach the far side of the fence and call to Scarlett. Mr. Ketch pulls a silk cord into his hand and runs his fingers along it. He promises not to hurt Scarlett while Mr. Nimble says they need to ask her questions. Bod tells Scarlett to run.
Because Bod cares about Scarlett and wants to ensure her safety, the Freedom of the Graveyard temporarily extends to protect her as well. This suggests that as Bod gets older, he has more say in who’s part of his chosen family and his community. And especially if he wants to use the powers afforded to him through the Freedom of the Graveyard for good, it may be easier for him to extend them to others. Inviting Scarlett into the graveyard like this inducts her into Bod’s community and offers her protection, just like Bod.
Themes
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The men see a boy with Scarlett. Mr. Nimble boosts Mr. Ketch over the fence and into the graveyard. Ahead of him, Bod leads Scarlett through the graveyard. They discuss that the men want to kill them. Bod says they need to hide Scarlett; then, he’ll deal with the men. Caius Pompeius rises from his grave and suggests that Scarlett hide in the barrow grave. Bod leads Scarlett to the barrow, talking to ghosts along the way. Once Scarlett is inside the hill, Bod turns to his friends and family. Mr. Owens tells Bod where the men are and assures Bod he can do this without Silas or Miss Lupescu, who are still abroad. Bod asks that Mrs. Owens keep an eye on Scarlett and then heads to where he knows Mr. Ketch is waiting. He tells himself that he’s a part of the graveyard.
When Mr. Ketch infiltrates the graveyard, it represents the arrival of true evil in Bod’s home for the first time. Now, Bod knows it’s his responsibility to protect his home and the people he loves, both living and dead. Mr. Owens’s reassurance that Bod can do this without help reminds Bod that he’s growing up and is more prepared now than he’s ever been. He knows how to use the privileges inherent to the Freedom of the Graveyard, and he has an entire community of ghosts to help him if his own skills fail him.
Themes
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Bod finds Mr. Ketch first. Bod Fades, slips past Mr. Ketch, and then makes himself visible. Mr. Ketch begins to trail him as Bod walks into the overgrown section of the graveyard. When Nehemiah Trot appears, Bod asks the Poet to say something when Mr. Ketch gets close. Bod stops on the far side of a grave. Nehemiah tells Bod when Mr. Ketch is a few yards behind. As Mr. Ketch leaps for Bod, he tumbles into the old grave. The grave is 20 feet deep and the fall shatters his ankle. Miss Euphemia and Tom appear and say that there are three men heading up the hill, and Jack is at the chapel.
Bod is able to outsmart Mr. Ketch because he has intimate knowledge of all the graveyard’s nooks and crannies. Mr. Ketch does not, so he’s at a disadvantage despite his association with Jack and with magic. When Bod tricks Mr. Ketch by Fading, it shows Bod using lessons he learned from those in the graveyard to protect himself and his loved ones.
Themes
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As Bod passes the apple tree, Liza’s voice points out that there are four killers on the loose. Bod asks her to confuse the men, but Liza tells him to Fade, hide in Mrs. Owens’s tomb, and wait for Silas. Bod cuts her off and asks Liza to meet him at the lightning tree, a tree that lightning struck 20 years ago. As Bod hurries there, he tries to remember Miss Lupescu’s old lessons. He finds an ugly, water-stained grave and knows it’s the ghoul-gate when it’s cold to the touch. Bod settles himself on it, ignores Liza’s taunts, and makes himself visible. Soon, three men run toward him. When they’re close, Bod asks why they want to kill him.
While Bod called on Mr. Pennyworth’s lessons on Fading to best Mr. Ketch, now, Bod has to remember what Miss Lupescu taught him. This ordeal becomes a test of whether Bod has learned enough over the years to navigate this dire situation alone. By combining everything he learned from people in the graveyard to do away with these villains, Bod is able to honor his family’s hard work and their contributions to his education.
Themes
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Mr. Dandy explains that he’s a member of the Jacks of All Trades, and they know a specific type of magic that one harnesses through killing. Bod thinks this is ridiculous, but Mr. Dandy says they killed Bod’s family for protection. Back in ancient Egypt, one of the Jacks foresaw a child who would live in between the living and the dead. If this boy were allowed to live, it’d be the end of the Jacks. They sent “the most dangerous of all the Jacks” to kill Bod. Now, Jack is tracking down Scarlett. Bod utters three ancient words and opens the ghoul-gate. Mr. Tar and Mr. Nimble fall through, but Mr. Dandy stands on the edge and points a gun at Bod. Bod gives Mr. Dandy advice for navigating Hell and when Mr. Dandy glances away, Bod Fades.
If one takes Mr. Dandy’s prophecy at face value, it’s possible to see that Jack actually created Bod’s situation by killing Bod’s biological parents—had he not been orphaned as an infant, Bod wouldn’t have found his way to the graveyard, where he grew up between the living and the dead. The Jacks made assumptions about baby Bod and in doing so, they created their worst enemy. Sending these three Jacks to Hell and the ghouls will allow Bod to do away with the Jacks without killing them and stooping to their level. In this way, Bod can maintain his integrity and his sense that he’s doing the right thing.
Themes
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Mr. Dandy hears a voice say that it’s impossible to leave ghoul-gates open for too long. The earth shakes and Mr. Dandy falls. He catches hold of the headstone. Bod reveals himself and says that he’s going to let the gate close. Angrily, Mr. Dandy says that Bod can’t escape the Jacks of All Trades, but Bod says it’s over—Silas is seeing to that. Mr. Dandy lets go and Bod closes the ghoul-gate. Fortinbras tugs at Bod’s sleeve—Jack is heading up the hill, toward Scarlett.
With his growing maturity and understanding of the world, Bod now understands that Silas has been going away to track down and defeat the other members of the Jacks of All Trades organization. This makes Bod feel even closer to Silas, as it’s clear now that Silas hasn’t just been going on vacation. Even when Silas isn’t around, he still acts in service of his adoptive child.
Themes
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In the graveyard, Jack can’t follow Bod’s scent. He can, however, follow Scarlett’s scent, and he knows that Bod will come for her. As Jack climbs the hill, he realizes that the Jacks who accompanied him here are gone. He’s not sad; now, he can resume his rise to the top of the Order. When Jack loses Scarlett’s scent, he follows it back to a mausoleum. He pulls coffins off of shelves, scatters the contents, and finds a hole in the wall. Scarlett hears the crashes and carefully descends the stairs. She’s terrified of Mr. Frost and of Bod. Bod doesn’t seem quite human. Scarlett vows to force her mother to buy her a phone as Jack clamps a hand over her mouth.
The way that Jack describes the Order suggests it’s a highly political and ruthless organization, where people try to gain power and wind up at the top. Jack is cruel and selfish, so he’s unbothered by his peers’ deaths—instead, he sees it as an opportunity to gain more power for himself. He also recognizes that Bod is the opposite in this regard. Bod cares about his friends and his community, which means that at some point, Bod will come for Scarlett and find Jack in the process.
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Bod makes his way down the stairs. He can see Jack holding Scarlett and Fades, but Jack threatens to hurt Bod. Jack asks if Bod knows who he is. Bod says that Jack killed Bod’s family—and he should’ve killed Bod too. Bod says that Jack messed up, since Bod made it to adulthood and there are no more Jacks. Jack insists that this is all the more reason to kill Bod and Scarlett. The Sleer begins to wind around the room and says that it guards the treasure for its master. Scarlett only hears a hiss, but Jack and Bod can hear the words. The Sleer hisses that this is a place of treasure and power. It’s waiting for its master.
As far as Jack is concerned, Bod is naïve and doesn’t understand the concept of looking out for oneself. Given that Bod has grown up in a functional family that taught him to be generous and compassionate, Bod has no understanding of why Jack wouldn’t mourn the loss of his fellows. The fact that Jack can hear the Sleer’s voice but Scarlett can’t suggests that Jack, like Bod, might reside somewhere between the living and the dead. Killing people, in this sense, might bring about a sort of death of oneself.
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Bod asks what his name used to be, before Jack murdered his parents. Jack refuses to say, but he notices the altar stone with the cup, the knife, and the brooch on it. He smiles and says that even if the Jacks are over, there can be a new Brotherhood. The Sleer says, “power” and Bod feels it grow more excited. Jack asks Bod to bring him the cup, the brooch, and the knife. With the items in hand, Jack tells Scarlett to lie down. She’s certain she’s going to die. Jack tells Bod to kneel on the altar stone and asks if Bod wants to know his name. Suddenly, Bod understands everything. He says that his name is Nobody Owens and asks the Sleer if it still wants a master.
Like Jack, the Sleer is motivated by power and control. It’s exciting for the Sleer to see someone who respects the treasures as symbols of power and not just for their monetary value. In this moment, Bod realizes that he has a choice—he can, like Jack and the Sleer, selfishly pursue his childhood name. Or, he can accept the name, the life, and the love that his adoptive parents and guardian have given him. As Nobody Owens, Bod knows that he can work with the Sleer to defeat Jack.
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Quotes
At this, the Sleer reveals itself: it has the body of an enormous snake and three heads with long-dead, purple faces. Bod tells Jack that the Sleer needs a master to serve. Jack says that he’ll be the Sleer’s master. As Jack moves to slit Bod’s throat, Bod asks the Sleer what it’s going to do with its new master. The Sleer says that it’s going to protect the master and hold him in its coils. Then, it starts to loop its coils around Jack. Jack begins to flail and slash with the knives in his hands. Terrified, Scarlett turns on her flashlight keychain. She can’t see the Sleer, but she does see Jack’s terrified face as the Sleer pulls him through the wall.
Tricking Jack is easy for Bod because Jack is so obsessed with amassing power. In this way, the novel proposes that selfishness and cruelty put people at a disadvantage to others who have a more generous way of seeing the world. When Scarlett sees Jack get pulled through the wall, it probably doesn’t make sense to her. The supernatural nature might be hard to grasp, but what Scarlett does see is Jack’s fear. To her, this makes him more relatable and turns him into someone to pity, even if he did try to murder her friend.
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When Jack is gone, Bod puts the knife, the goblet, and the brooch back on the altar stone. Aboveground again, Scarlett says that Bod told her the Sleer couldn’t hurt them. When she realizes that Bod knew the Sleer would take Jack, she accuses Bod of using her as bait. She asks where the other men are and calls Bod a monster, even though Bod assures her the other men aren’t dead. She doesn’t seem to care that they got through this ordeal alive. Scarlett turns to run, but she comes face to face with Silas. Calmly, Silas suggests they go for a walk and talk about what Scarlett should remember. Silas tells Bod that it’ll be safest for everyone if Scarlett forgets this. Bod watches as Silas leads Scarlett away. He hopes that Scarlett will turn around, but she doesn’t.
Scarlett doesn’t fully understand the situation, and her understanding of good and evil are still relatively simplistic. And especially since she’s terrified, she naturally lashes out at Bod. To her, Bod appears callous and unfeeling—the same way that Jack looked to Bod. Being lumped in with a villain like Jack is painful for Bod, as he believes that he did the right thing. In his estimation, he saved them and he ensured that the graveyard is going to be a safe place for them from here on out.
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Silas takes Scarlett home. After the fact, Scarlett’s mother learns that Mr. Frost had to leave town. Scarlett’s mother decides that she and Scarlett should move back to Glasgow. When Silas returns to the graveyard, he finds Bod sitting in the amphitheater. He tells Bod that he took Scarlett’s memories and apologizes. Bod tries to smile, but he can’t. He asks if Silas is the “trouble” the Jacks referred to in Krakow, Melbourne, and Vancouver. When Silas says he wasn’t alone, Bod asks if Miss Lupescu helped—but the look on Silas’s face is concerning. Silas says that Miss Lupescu fell while fighting for Bod.
It’s a mark of Bod’s maturity that he isn’t extremely angry with Silas for taking Scarlett’s memories and sending her away. Even though this is difficult for him, he recognizes that Silas is right—letting Scarlett move on and live her life in peace is the best thing for everyone. Bod trusts that Silas has his best interests at heart and won’t lie to him. This is why Bod also feels comfortable asking about Silas’s trips.
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Bod shares that the Sleer has Jack, and he tells Silas the fate of the other four Jacks. After a moment of silence, Bod says that Scarlett was scared of him. He doesn’t understand why, since he saved Scarlett’s life and they’re both alive. Bod pauses for a moment and asks how Miss Lupescu fell. Silas says simply that Miss Lupescu died in battle, protecting others. He then suggests that they have a meal in town—Bod can leave the graveyard now, since no one is trying to kill him. They walk down to a pizza parlor and Silas teaches Bod how to use a menu. Silas orders a salad but doesn’t eat it while Bod eats his pizza.
Because Bod feels so strongly that he did what he had to do when it came to the Jacks, it’s unfathomable that Scarlett would be afraid of or upset with him. But Bod has also had an unusual upbringing and sees the world differently than Scarlett does. In this way, Bod is more mature and is able to grasp the nuance of the situation. Because Scarlett doesn’t want to acknowledge the existence of true evil in the world, she can’t fathom that Jack was brought to justice.
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Eventually, Silas talks. He says that “we” had known about the Jacks for a while, but it wasn’t until the Jacks murdered Bod’s family that Silas was able to figure it all out. Bod asks if “we” refers to Silas, Miss Lupescu, and the Honour Guard, a question that shocks Silas. But Silas tells himself that children listen and pretends to sip his water. (The narrator interjects that an attentive observer might notice that Silas has no reflection in the shiny tabletop.) Bod asks if Silas is going to stay in the graveyard now that Bod is grown, but Silas says that Bod isn’t grown up. Finally, Bod asks again why Scarlett was afraid of him. Silas doesn’t answer and leads Bod out of the pizza parlor.
When Bod continues to ask why Scarlett was afraid of him, it shows that Bod is confronting an aspect of himself he didn’t know existed. Before he disposed of the Jacks, Bod only suspected he was capable of condemning people to death or worse—and now he’s done it. Though Bod thinks he did the right thing, he still has to face that other people won’t feel the same way.
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