Previous
Chapters 31–40
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Inheritance Games, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Money and Social Class
Competition, Cooperation, and Manipulation
Family
Charity and Responsibility
Violence and Intimate Partner Abuse
Summary
Analysis
Chapter 41. When Avery and Jameson return to Hawthorne House, Oren is waiting. He tells Avery they’ll talk the next day. That night, Avery has trouble sleeping, thinking about Jameson’s hunger for life, which she shares. At 5:30 a.m., Max calls and tells Avery that paparazzi got footage of her car ride with Jameson. When Max asks whether Avery is romantically involved with him, Avery denies it, implying that he was involved with a girl named Emily who died. Max asks whether “he” is still invested in Emily, and though she’s talking about Jameson, Avery thinks of Grayson’s reaction to Emily’s name. Then someone knocks on Avery’s door. After she ends her call, she has a long talk with Oren about security.
Oren’s disapproving lectures to Avery about security remind readers that despite the increased power and control wealth has given Avery, her wealth itself comes with restrictions and drawbacks: she is a target for journalists and stalkers. Avery is coming to identify with Jameson due to her perception that they share a hunger for life, yet she remains romantically intrigued by Grayson, as evidenced by her thoughts flying to Grayson when Max asks her a question about Jameson and Emily’s relationship.
Themes
At school, Avery confronts Xander with her hunch that he and his brothers all got the same letter from Tobias. Xander refuses to confirm it, suggesting that he too wants “to win.” They go to class, where two seats are open, one next to Thea and one next to a red-haired girl. Avery sits next to the red-haired girl, who introduces herself as Rebecca Laughlin and explains that her grandparents work at Hawthorne House. As Rebecca shows Avery how to submit assignments via tablet, Avery sees her background photo: Rebecca and a girl with a magnetic presence. When Avery asks about the girl, Rebecca says it’s her dead sister. Avery asks, “Emily?” Rebecca replies that Emily would have been curious to know Avery.
Xander has previously helped Avery, for example by telling her that Tobias didn’t have a middle name at birth. Now, however, Xander abruptly refuses to help Avery, citing his own competitiveness: he wants “to win.” Given Xander’s inconsistent behavior, readers may wonder whether “winning” means the same thing to him that it does to Avery and Grayson. Meanwhile, Rebecca’s statement that Emily would have been curious to know Avery might imply that Emily would have perceived Avery as a competitor of some kind.
Themes
Chapter 42. As Oren drives Avery to the Hawthorne Foundation after school, Avery obsesses over Emily, whom she remembers from the photo as green-eyed with reddish blond hair. Inside the Foundation’s lobby, she sees stunning photos of people from all over the world, which reaffirm her desire to travel. Then Grayson appears, saying that Zara wanted Grayson to orient Avery to the Foundation. Avery, recalling a book of photos by Grayson from Tobias’s office, asks whether Grayson took the photos in the lobby. He confirms it, mentioning that Tobias said, “you have to see the world to change it”—and that Tobias believed Grayson had “the eye.”
Avery’s obsessive thoughts about Emily imply that she is romantically interested in Jameson or Grayson and, as a result, feels unwillingly competitive toward Emily, for whom both brothers cared. Grayson’s claim that “you have to see the world to change it” could mean several things. For example, it could mean that a would-be world-changer needs to travel, literally seeing more of the world; if so, this meaning would limit effective world-changers to people rich enough to travel extensively. On the other hand, it could mean that a would-be world changer needs to be attentive to other human beings, as suggested by Grayson’s portrait photography, in which case the meaning suggests that interpersonal empathy is necessary to good philanthropy.
Themes
Avery, annoyed to be confronted by Grayson’s photographic talent, says that Zara perhaps didn’t realize that Grayson had ordered a background check on Avery’s dead mother. Grayson suggests that Zara probably did and offers Avery two folders. The first is material on Avery’s mother, while the second contains a blank sheet of paper representing everything Avery has bought for herself since inheriting. Avery realizes her lack of greed probably shocked him and asks whether this is him saying sorry. Grayson insists that he’ll always choose his family over Avery but admits that he “misjudged” her.
Grayson succeeded in running a background check on Avery and her family despite his disinheritance and Avery’s new wealth. His success shows the ongoing power and influence of the Hawthorne family name despite the Hawthornes’ loss of money. Grayson’s claim that he’ll always choose his family over Avery emphasizes again his stated motive for mistrusting her: namely, his selfless loyalty to his family. Yet he admits he “misjudged” her, suggesting that he is rethinking his negative stereotypes about working-class people’s materialism and greed as a result of more contact with Avery.
Themes
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Avery tells Grayson that he’s wrong. She did spend money on something—housing for a homeless friend of hers. Grayson stares at her a moment and then tells her she’s “in desperate need of an education.” He leads her to a conference room, where he tells her that giving money to individuals isn’t useful. When Avery points out that it’s pretty useful to the people who get the money, Grayson replies—as if reciting something others have told him—that her wealth means she can’t “concern [herself] with the individual,” only the global. He explains that he put off college to work for the Foundation, studying the best ways to donate. He was supposed to give a presentation on his research to Tobias but will probably give it to Avery now.
Here Avery and Grayson represent two different models of generosity. Avery has been interpersonally generous to her friend Harry due to her empathy for him. In contrast, Grayson argues that individual empathy and other such emotions are bad ways to make philanthropic choices—Avery can’t “concern [herself] with the individual” but only with structural change now that she’s a billionaire. Their different perspectives and the shifting leadership of the Hawthorne Foundation due to Tobias’s will may lead readers to wonder: what right do individual billionaires have to decide how to change the world—or to change the world at all, without input from the rest of the people who live there?
Themes
Avery, realizing how much time Grayson has invested in the Foundation, is about to apologize when Grayson tells her not to “be sorry” but “worthy.” Avery thinks that nobody’s worthy of the wealth she’s inherited, but when she asks Grayson “how,” he says he wants to teach her a methodology: donating based not on sentiment but on maximum efficiency and “largest impact.” Avery informs him that she wanted to study actuarial science in college and asks to see his data. After he shows her, she realizes that they have similar thought processes—and that he’s attractive, though she scolds herself for noticing.
When Avery thinks that no one can be “worthy” of the billions Tobias gave her, she is suggesting that the Hawthorne Foundation, though well-intentioned, is in some sense an illicit enterprise: neither the Hawthornes nor Avery deserves to have the power to change the world unilaterally merely just because they’re massively rich. Yet when she asks Grayson “how” to be worthy, he argues that worthiness entails an efficiency- and outcome-focused approach to charitable giving. That is, he believes a certain giving methodology can make someone worthy of immense power—without addressing the question of whether a single person should have that much power in the first place. Here, Avery consciously acknowledges her attraction to Grayson due to their similar logical and data-focused thought processes, hinting at a future love triangle between her, Grayson, and Jameson, to whom she is also attracted.
Themes
Nash calls Grayson, who takes the call outside the conference room. As Avery wanders the room by herself, she notices among other maps on the wall a map of Hawthorne House and its grounds. When she sees Wayback Cottage, she thinks about the Laughlins and about Emily. As Grayson reenters the room, she continues to look at the map and notices that the forest north of the house is labelled the Black Wood. Remembering that one of the grandsons’ middle names is Blackwood, she scans the map, notices a brook on the grounds’ west side, and interprets it as Westbrook, another middle name. Grayson interrupts her thoughts by telling her Nash called about Libby.
Readers may wonder whether Tobias willed control of the Hawthorne Foundation to Avery and placed the map on the wall as a clue for her. That is, they may wonder how much Tobias cared about the impersonal, structural philanthropy Grayson supports and how much Tobias was simply using his massive wealth to manipulate his close family and a few other people like Avery.
Themes
Chapter 43. Avery gets in the car with Oren, calls Alisa, and asks about Drake. When Alisa says that Avery and Libby have temporary restraining orders against him, Avery asks why he’s outside Hawthorne house texting Libby and telling her to come talk to him. Alisa says she’ll call some “discreet” police officers and hangs up. Then Oren tells Avery that he could haul Drake away from Hawthorne House, but that it would excite the paparazzi. When Avery asks whether the paparazzi have approached the house again, Oren says that Drake probably called them.
Drake is still trying to exert control over Libby. Yet whereas Avery felt powerless to intervene in the abuse before her inheritance, she can now hire lawyers to handle restraining orders, hire security to protect Libby, and so on. Avery’s greater practical agency after her inheritance shows that while abuse can affect people of all social classes, those with money potentially have more ability to protect themselves from it.
Themes
When the car reaches Hawthorne House, Avery says she’s getting out. Oren insists on getting out first. When Grayson warns Avery not to confront Drake and the paparazzi, she asks him what he would do for his family. He silently accepts her point. Avery gets out of the car, stomps up to the paparazzi, tries to think how she can wrest control of the narrative from Drake—and abruptly announces to the swarming journalists that she knows why Tobias willed her his fortune, but that she’ll never let a journalist who writes about Drake find out the truth.
Avery’s decision to confront the swarming paparazzi personally shows her devotion and protectiveness toward Libby. When she asks Grayson what he would do for his family and he accepts her point, it suggests that Avery and Grayson are similar not only in their love of logic and data but also in their intense loyalty toward their family members.
Themes
Chapter 44. Avery goes to the kitchen, where Libby is frantically baking while Nash watches. When Nash tells Avery that Libby has been baking “for hours,” Libby snaps at him. He just smiles at her. When Avery says she “took care” of Drake, Libby says it’s her job to “take care” of Avery. Meanwhile, Avery wonders about Nash’s presence and “savior complex.”
Libby responds to Avery’s claim that she handled Drake by saying that she should be the one “tak[ing] care” of Avery. The exchange shows the sisters’ mutual supportiveness and devotion—but it also illustrates how Avery has become much more powerful than her legal guardian Libby, despite being younger, thanks to her new inheritance. A “savior complex” is a potentially pathological feeling of responsibility for others’ well-being. When Avery wonders about Nash’s “savior complex,” she is implicitly worried that Nash is interested in and flirting with Libby largely because of Libby’s abuse history, which makes him want to save her.
Themes
Chapter 45. By that evening, Avery is all over the news. Alisa gives her an angry phone call. After Avery texts Max but doesn’t hear back, she googles Emily Laughlin and finds Emily’s obituary. Avery is staring at the accompanying photo of Emily when Jameson starts banging on the inside of the fireplace. Avery quickly closes her laptop and opens the secret passage. When Jameson comes in, he starts flirting with her—and Avery, remembering the warning about the glass ballerina and the knife, demands to know what he wants. He asks whether she was lying to the paparazzi earlier, and she insists she was.
Avery’s fixation on Emily, for whom both Grayson and Jameson cared, clearly indicates her romantic curiosity about the brothers. Yet when Jameson starts flirting with her, she brusquely cuts him off because she remembers Nash warning her that Jameson sees her as a puzzle piece or a tool, not a fellow game-player or full human being. Avery’s insecurity about whether Jameson sees her as a full human being shows how Tobias damaged her self-esteem in manipulating her into joining the Hawthorne family’s games.
Themes
Jameson says that joyriding with her helped him figure out the clue of the middle names. Avery retorts that she’s already figured it out too: Blackwood and Westbrook are places on Hawthorne House’s grounds, though she’s not sure what the other two names are yet. When Jameson assures her that “we” will discover the secret of the other two names, Avery tells herself that Jameson only thinks of her as a tool—but she still invites him to come with her.
Again, when Avery repeatedly tells herself that Jameson only sees her as a tool, it shows her wariness to trust him despite her attraction to him. She’s wary exactly because of how Tobias’s manipulation of her has damaged her self-esteem and sense of personhood.
Themes
Chapter 46. As Avery and Jameson walk toward the West Brook with Oren shadowing them, Jameson explains that the clue will likely be located near the bridge over the brook, where Tobias proposed to his wife. It’s near Wayback Cottage. When Avery mentions that Emily’s grandparents live in the cottage, Jameson says Xander mentioned that Avery had talked to Rebecca. He says that Rebecca was always the good sister. Emily, by contrast, had a congenital heart defect that, after she got a transplant at 13, made her “just want[] to live.” When Avery asks whether Jameson took Emily joyriding, Jameson says that they did everything and that he’d believed they were “the same.”
Readers may wonder whether Rebecca resented having to be the good sister while Emily, having suffered from a congenital heart problem, was given leeway to act out and “live” more fully. In this way, the Laughlin sisters may provide another touchpoint for understanding toxic family dynamics in the novel. Meanwhile, Jameson’s claim that he thought he and Emily were “the same” implies that identification is the basis for romantic attraction. The novel has already implied this by having Avery feel attracted to Jameson and Grayson in turn when she notices similarities between herself and the young men in question.
Themes
When Avery asks what happened to Emily, Jameson replies that “Grayson happened.” Avery asks him to explain. In response, he suggests that they play two lies and a truth. He claims that a) he knew the contents of Tobias’s will before Avery arrived, b) encouraged Grayson to go get Avery, and c) saw Emily die.
Jameson implies that Emily’s death was Grayson’s fault, hinting that the brothers’ competitiveness over Emily somehow became fatal. Yet when Avery asks him to explain, he dodges by proposing a game instead—another example of the Hawthornes’ intense love of puzzles and games leading to dysfunctional interpersonal dynamics.
Themes
Chapter 47. Avery chooses not to guess which of Jameson’s statements is true. When they reach the bridge, Jameson walks onto it and Avery follows. She asks what they’re searching for. He replies, “I’ll know it when I see it.” Annoyed that he’s ignoring her agency and telling herself that Emily would have been more than a “passive participant,” Avery begins searching too. Suddenly, Jameson announces that they need to look under the bridge—and he suggests dangling Avery over the railing by her legs. Avery, though nervous, agrees. Yet all she sees under the bridge is that the bridge has two layers of boards, not just one.
Jameson’s claim, “I’ll know it when I see it,” indicates that he believes he’ll be the one to find the next clue, not Avery. Avery’s irritation seems to derive from competitiveness both with Jameson and with Emily: she wants to beat Jameson to the clue and prove herself as active as Emily rather than being a mere “passive participant.”
Themes
As a wound-up Jameson paces the bridge, Avery notices that one particular board is creaking under his feet. They examine the board and realizes it’s a bit loose. Jameson suggests that they should look for a latch. When they find and press it, the board rotates, flipping. On the other side, they find a symbol that Jameson interprets as an infinity and Avery as an 8.
Though Avery was feeling competitive with Jameson prior to noticing the creaky board, she and Jameson ultimately cooperate to find the clue—suggesting that cooperation can be as integral to games as competition is.
Themes
Chapter 48. The next morning, the maid that Nash recruited brings Avery breakfast. When Avery asks the maid’s name, the maid says she’s Mellie and she’s going to clean the room. Avery thanks Mellie, and Mellie stares at her like she’s crazy. Avery, uncomfortable, goes to commiserate with Libby, but when she approaches Libby’s slightly open door, she sees Nash asleep on Libby’s ottoman. Nash wakes and walks into hall. When Avery asks what Nash was doing in Libby’s room, Nash says Libby’s “going through something.” Avery tells Nash that Libby isn’t someone for him to save. Mellie walks out of Avery’s room and says a smiling hello to Nash—until she sees Libby’s open door and stops smiling.
When Avery thanks Mellie for cleaning her room, Avery’s gratitude implicitly emphasizes her working-class background: she doesn’t take people serving her for granted. Mellie’s discombobulated reaction, in turn, implies that Mellie is totally unused to receiving thanks from the elite-class Hawthornes for similar services. When Avery tells Nash that Libby isn’t someone for him to save, it shows her protectiveness of Libby. She’s worried that Nash’s savior complex will lead him to pursue Libby romantically solely because of her abuse history—which would ultimately be condescending behavior damaging to Libby.
Themes
Chapter 49. Alisa joins Avery on her ride to school and tells her, brusquely, that Avery will attend a fundraiser that Saturday and a football game played by an NFL team she owns on Sunday. She wants Avery to throw bones to the paparazzi so Avery can avoid real interviews till she’s had “media training.” Avery is aghast.
Alisa’s insistence that Avery attend fundraisers and other public events to placate the paparazzi—as well as her insistence that Avery undergo “media training”—emphasizes yet again that despite the increased power and control that Avery’s wealth brings her, it comes with drawbacks and annoyances.
Themes
At school, everyone stares at Avery without speaking to her—except Thea, who gleefully asks whether Avery told the truth about knowing the motives behind Tobias’s will. When Avery blows her off, Thea says that she’s used to people loathing her because she’s a beautiful, “hypercompetitive bisexual perfectionist.” Avery denies loathing Thea, thinking that she basically just met Thea. Thea says that’s for the best, as her parents are leaving town and she’ll be staying at Hawthorne House with her uncle and Zara. When Avery asks why Thea would consent to stay at Hawthorne House, Thea says that Emily was her “best friend,” so, given what happened, the Hawthorne brothers can no longer fool her.
Thea suggests that many people loathe her in part because she is “hypercompetitive,” another hint from the novel that competitiveness can damage interpersonal relationships if taken too far. Thea’s claim that she has a negative view of the Hawthorne brothers due to Emily’s death, meanwhile, implies that she believes the Hawthorne brothers are somehow responsible for Emily’s death.
Themes
Chapter 50. Avery finally gets Max on the phone, but Max quickly excuses herself. Avery thinks something is wrong but can’t tell what. Later, Avery talks to Xander about Thea, whom Xander claims has it out for him. When Avery asks why, he gives a nonsensical answer that includes the phrase “fake dating” and then takes Avery to see the Rube Goldberg machine he built.
Max’s avoidance of Avery hints that Avery’s new wealth is driving a wedge between the friends, though the exact nature of that wedge remains unclear. Xander’s reference to “fake dating” in response to Avery’s question about Thea implies that he and Thea used to date, but also implies that there was an artificial, game-like quality to their relationship.
Themes
