Symbols In The Goldfinch

The importance of simple objects in your life may not appear right away; however, they may gain significance as time wears on. In The Goldfinch, Theo survives a museum bomb; an event that drastically changed his life. As Theo is forced to leave the life he had with his mother behind, he embarks on the path that three items give him. Although it is hard to construe how a painting, a ring, and wood are connected, Theo is directed in certain ways because of them. The painting of a goldfinch held high regard along with possessive feelings for Theo. The artwork itself was one of his mother’s favorites, similar to her two toned shoes black and white shoes J that she always wore. He had stood attentively as his mother explained the simplistic beauty of it: “This is the one I was talking about. Isn’t it amazing? This one little painting … that clear pure daylight, you can see where Vermeer got his quality of light from” (Tartt 26-27) After the explosion, Theo stumbles upon a dying man while trying to

The man Theo encounters gives him his heirloom ring: “But he pressed it into my palm. His breath was bubbled and ugly. Hobart and Blackwell. Ring the green bell” (Tartt 40). Because of Theo’s concussion, he doesn’t remember this information. However, weeks later he recalls the name of the store and goes to visit it. He is welcomed by a burly man who was good friends with the deceased man from the museum. The man graciously accepts the ring and shows him around the antique furniture store. Theo is surprised that a girl, Pippa, he saw at the museum lives there now. He begins to be emotionally invested in the shop and the girl, returning multiple times a week. The ring Theo received belonged to single family for generations and thanks to the ring, Theo now had a new family to belong to. Theo would have never gotten to know Pippa or the storeowner had the dying man not given him his