In the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret written by Brian Selznick the machine known as the automaton is an important symbol in the story for both Hugo and the old man. The automaton fills in missing, broken pieces of both of these characters lives by allowing them to connect to joys in their past. The mechanical man is all that he has left in life. As he is going through the process of fixing and replacing the automaton, he is also through a very touchy and emotional development of his own and the automaton in a sense, fixes Hugo. The automaton was all that Hugo had to remind himself of his father that had passed away. So as he spent time alone and even away from his uncle that did not seem to care for him, this machine was all Hugo could …show more content…
George at first gives an initial impression of being a bitter old man that simply wants to get back at Hugo for stealing from him. However, throughout the story through the actions and things he does allows the audience to see a much more caring side to him. The automaton brings back life to George. Although when the audience is able to see George and his past with the mechanical man, he was very opposed to talking about his past. Once he explains the rise and fall of his career in the film industry, the reader sees that this pas and the automaton brings up an unfortunate past to him. He felt stuck and as if he settled for working and tinkering in a toy shop. Once Hugo unlocks his secret with the automaton, it unlocks the wonderful and magical creations of George’s past. Just as the automaton gave Hugo a sense of closure and fulfillment, this machine brought back a magical past that George use to create and gave his life to. As he is talking with his wife, Hugo and Isabelle he says ““I was haunted by those ghosts for so many years. The only thing I couldn’t bring myself to destroy was the automaton”(406). He burned his sets, costumes and destroyed nearly everything in his past related to film and him being a magician. Although he was burying and hiding this past that pained and saddened him, seeing the drawing the automaton had