Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Mysterious Benedict Society, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Confidence and Growing Up
Deception vs. Truth
Loneliness vs. Friendship
Control vs. Freedom
Hope
Summary
Analysis
After a great deal of effort, Sticky stops resisting the Whisperer. Mr. Curtain is frustrated, and he begins to suspect that Sticky might be untrustworthy, but he calms down once Sticky’s mind becomes receptive. The session is interrupted when S.Q. calls Mr. Curtain through the intercom to alert him that two students are breaking into the flag tower. Mr. Curtain dismisses this, since he doesn’t believe children can pose a real threat.
Even when children are actively sabotaging his plans, Mr. Curtain is too confident that children are inferior to believe S.Q.’s warning. His suspicion when Kate hid in the culvert and his recent distrust of Sticky’s resistance indicates that Mr. Curtain is smart enough to suspect disloyalty in an abstract sense. However, his arrogance prevents him from anticipating the Mysterious Benedict Society’s plans.
Themes
Mr. Curtain scolds Sticky for his performance in the Whisperer, and then he turns to Reynie for his turn. Mr. Curtain is worn out from the difficult Whispering session, so he takes a break before Reynie’s turn. As Reynie waits, he is tempted to join Mr. Curtain. With Mr. Curtain, Reynie could be part of something. He wonders how different Mr. Curtain is from Mr. Benedict. Mr. Benedict tricked Reynie into joining him with the promise of “special opportunities” and encouraged Reynie to cheat on quizzes. The only difference between the two is that Mr. Benedict “can offer [him] only suffering now,” while Mr. Curtain “offers [him] a way to belong––a way to relieve the loneliness.” Reynie is unsure. He wants to make Miss Perumal proud, but he feels trapped.
Reynie’s pervasive loneliness affects him more than he lets on, so much so that the opportunity to be a part of Mr. Curtain’s organization strikes him as tempting. He rationalizes this temptation by pointing out the similarities between Mr. Benedict and Mr. Curtain, and the abundance of examples highlights the story’s moral ambiguity: neither man is entirely good or entirely evil. Reynie is fundamentally practical, and he recognizes that doing the right thing is riskier and less personally rewarding than acting selfishly; in fact, following Mr. Benedict’s plan has promised Reynie “only suffering.” The Whisperer observed that Reynie’s greatest fear is loneliness, and joining Mr. Curtain offers him the opportunity to “relieve” this loneliness.
Themes
Reynie makes his way toward the Whisperer. He wants to give in. He thinks of Constance, wondering what will happen to her when Mr. Curtain boosts the power. He looks at Sticky, who resisted the Whisperer despite his fear because Reynie asked him to. He remembers all the risks Kate has taken. Reynie sits in the Whisperer and remembers the last question of Mr. Benedict’s first quest, which asked if he is brave. Reynie decides that he isn’t brave. He had only hoped he was.
As Reynie approaches the Whisperer, the main object standing in his way is not the broader moral implication of his actions, but the thought of his friends. Despite his love for them, he ultimately gives in to his self-doubt.
Themes
The Whisperer welcomes Reynie, and its greeting makes him feel less alone. The Whisperer asks what Reynie fears most, and he realizes that he could never be more alone than if he betrays his friends. The Whisperer reassures him that he is brave enough not to betray his friends, and he almost laughs; the machine has given him the encouragement to fight it. Reynie feels confident. The Whisperer denies fears to prevent people from needing to face them, but Reynie has confronted his fear. He no longer needs the Whisperer.
Mr. Curtain’s promise to end Reynie’s loneliness is useless, because the Mysterious Benedict Society has done that already. Reynie has faced his fear of loneliness head on and realized he has the strength to push through it. Finding this courage within himself inspires a wave of confidence more authentic than anything the Whisperer’s superficial pleasure could replicate. Reynie is not alone, and as he comes to this understanding, he is filled with hope and courage.
Themes
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The Whisperer asks Reynie to begin, but he resists, thinking of all of his friend’s idiosyncrasies. He insists that he needs to polish his spectacles and fetch his bucket, and he recites one of Constance’s rude rhymes. Constance herself appears in the window, demanding to be let inside. Mr. Curtain is frustrated, but Reynie points out he will not be able to concentrate with Constance’s yelling. Mr. Curtain orders Reynie to open the window, and Reynie does so. Outside, Reynie finds Constance clinging to the flagpole and Kate on the ground fighting Executives. He is filled with pride and hope as he understands that the situation is bad, but the girls have not stopped fighting.
Reynie finds in his friends the courage to resist the Whisperer, so he continues to think of them as the Whisperer tries to make him submit. When he sees the predicament Constance and Kate are in, their perseverance kindles even more hope and love for his friends.
Themes
Sticky helps Reynie pull Constance inside. Mr. Curtain remarks that he always knew Constance couldn’t be trusted, and that he would have taken care of her long ago if not for Reynie. This makes him realize that Reynie is a double agent. He throws his reflective glasses to the floor, rises from his wheelchair, and charges at the children. Below, Kate manages to fight off the Executives for a while, but eventually they grab her. She stops struggling, ashamed. She convinces herself that she can’t do anything by herself, and that she cannot help her friends or herself. Kate sees the irony in her circumstances: “The moment she finally admitted to herself she needed help, there was no help to be found.”
Mr. Curtain’s primary tool is deception, so it is hardly a surprise that his very identity is a lie. He has no real need for a wheelchair, and he rises from it easily to attack the children. As Mr. Curtain reveals this deception, Kate recognizes a fundamental truth. She finally comes to terms with the fact that she cannot do everything by herself. Unfortunately, she realizes this while her friends are being threatened by Mr. Curtain, leaving her alone.
Themes
The Executives continue to beat Kate until someone approaches from behind. All three attackers fall to the ground, revealing Milligan with his tranquilizer gun. He is covered in slimy black mud from the Waiting Room, and his arm is in a sling, but for the first time, Milligan is smiling. Kate recognizes something familiar in Milligan. With joy in his eyes, he says, “Sorry it took me so long, Katie-Cat,” and Kate realizes this is her missing father.
As Kate accepts that she needs help, she is saved by the man whose disappearance caused her desire to appear invulnerable. Milligan fulfills his role as protector and finally provides Kate with the parental figure she has always lacked. It is clear that remembering Kate saved Milligan, too. The memory of his daughter has cured the deep sadness that Milligan once carried, and his love for her drove him to escape the Waiting Room and come to her aid.
Themes
