Monster Calls Motifs

Question – How have symbolism and motifs been used to convey an idea in ‘A Monster Calls’?

Patrick Ness’ 2011 book, ‘A Monster Calls’ was published in present-day England. The novel is about a 13 -year old boy named Conor that has been having the same nightmare for months which is about losing his mother and he is trying to forget and overcome it. He wakes up at midnight to discover the yew tree in his backyard, that then turned into a monster. The monster told him 3 tales and let Conor say the 4th one, which is the real truth that Conor tried to hide. He also struggles to accept his mother’s illness. Ness uses different techniques and literary devices for example symbolism and similes to convey the theme of acceptance, loss, love and mostly

Out of all of the motifs, the time 12.07 is the most important motif in the novel. 12:07 is the time that the monster usually appears in Conor’s backyard and is also the time that Conor’s mother leaves the world, which is further explored in the final chapter. In the chapter ‘Three Stories’ when Conor is anxious about the time, his mother and the monster which made him find it hard to sleep. He wakes up from his bed and ‘His beside clock read 12.05. Then it read 12.06. He looked over to his bedroom window and looked out. The monster stood in his garden, looking right back at him.’ (from page 39) In the final chapter, ‘Conor knew his mother is going to leave at the time 12.07, maybe even this 12.07.’ (form page 215) Patrick Ness has used truncated sentences to heighten the tension and tone in the text as the pace of the text is more succinct in the first quote. It can be explained as the time that the monster appears. It also means every 12.07 is a special time, which can also be a new day. Referring to the novel, it can be clarified as a new life for Conor when his mother died. The time 12.07 is repeatedly used to remind the reader that it is a special