50 pages • 1 hour read
Lois LowryGossamer
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2006A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Healing Power of Happy Memories
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child abuse and domestic violence.
Many of the characters, including the protagonist, are dream-givers. These imaginary entities’ entire purpose is to give humans good dreams because they believe “people could not exist without dreams” (98). This belief affirms the significance of Littlest One’s work and the hope and healing that she and her fellow dream-givers offer to humans. In the novel, dreams are inextricably tied to memory because memories are the raw material dream-givers use to construct dreams. Thus, dream-givers gather pieces of the past to provide comfort in the present and inspiration for the future. For example, Thin Elderly uses a memory from the elderly woman’s childhood to help her recover from the exhaustion of tending to John overnight: “I’m going to bestow a wonderful, restorative dream on her [...]. There was snow outside, and a new doll under the tree, and it was one of the happiest mornings of her life” (80). In addition to helping the woman mend from her weariness, the Christmas memory encourages her to see John as part of her family. Lowry establishes that happy memories of the past are a resource on which people can draw in the present to feel restored.
Memory impacts the development of the novel’s human characters. At the start of the novel, the dream-givers aid the elderly woman by bringing her joy and helping her hold onto departed loved ones, such as her mother and the man she lost in the war: “[D]uring a dream that by morning would be forgotten, the lonely woman became a girl and was kissed by a young soldier” (32). The feelings of happiness and connection that the woman gains from her memories of the soldier are especially important because she lacks human companionship at the beginning of the text.
Memories also help John’s mother, who is a survivor of domestic abuse. At first, the dream-giver assigned to her has difficulty finding positive memories among her meager and messy belongings, suggesting that healing is more difficult if one hasn’t experienced happiness in the past. Strapping’s repeated use of the seashell demonstrates that even a single happy memory holds great power: “Strapping could tell that she was basking in the dream and feeling the long-ago sun-filled day that he had brought back to her through the seashell, he sensed also that it had reminded her of a terrible loss” (41). This mixture of emotions suggests that happy memories help people to identify the negative and positive aspects of their life and make a change. Indeed, the reminder of this “long-ago sun-filled day” motivates the young woman to work toward reuniting with her son.
Happy memories are especially important in John’s healing process. When he is first introduced, his traumatic experiences lead him to view the world with anger and distrust. The climax occurs when a Horde of Sinisteeds makes him relive one of his worst memories, but Littlest One gives John pieces of happy memories and “willed the dreams that she had given him to work their power” (120). John and Littlest One’s triumph over the Sinisteeds’ traumatic nightmare suggests that happy memories are more powerful than painful memories, and this paves the way for the novel’s happy ending, in which the boy reunites with his mother and establishes positive connections at his new school. Lowry illustrates the power of memory by creating the dream-givers and depicting their role in the healing process.
The Role of Empathy and Compassion in Addressing Trauma
Lowry demonstrates the importance of responding to trauma with empathy and compassion through the character arcs of John and his mother. The young woman was in a physically and psychologically abusive relationship with John’s father for years: “The last time she’d had friends, she realized, was high school. After that, it was just Duane, who wouldn’t let her do anything but work, who wouldn’t even let her drive” (90). This controlling, traumatizing behavior has long-term consequences on her mental state, including feelings of fear and self-doubt. Strapping’s compassion helps John’s mother make changes in her life. The dream-giver gives her the restful sleep she needs to pursue her goals for her career, health, and overall well-being. Strapping’s empathetic perspective creates a beneficial cycle: The more he understands the woman and recognizes her progress, the more he can fuel her with inspiring dreams.
The young woman’s colleagues also address her trauma with kindness. She’s unaccustomed to politeness, let alone genuine compassion, but her colleagues literally and figuratively embrace her when frightening memories resurface. Although she hasn’t shared the details of her past with her coworkers, they empathize with her on subjects like the difficulties of divorce. Moments like these explain why she feels “as if she had found a home” at Rosewood Elementary (129). The empathy and compassion John’s mother receives help her to rebuild her life.
Likewise, compassion is essential to John’s character growth. Littlest One empathizes with him because “he’s very little, for a human boy. And [she knows] what it’s like to be little” (68). Over the course of the novel, she grows to love him, and her care and concern motivate her to create the best possible dreams for him so that he can withstand the traumatic nightmares that the Sinisteeds inflict. The elderly woman also shows the boy compassion throughout the story. She empathizes with his label as a difficult child because she was “a handful” as a child who “needed a patient mother” (33). From listening to John share his trauma to comforting him through nights plagued by bad dreams, she treats him with untiring kindness and patience. The safety and peace John finds during his placement with her help him to mend. At the end of the story, the elderly woman’s agreement to let him “keep staying with her for a while” suggests that he will continue to receive the care he needs to continue his growth (128). Lowry’s novel reminds people to treat individuals who have experienced trauma with empathy and compassion.
The Journey of Personal Growth and Resilience
Over the course of the novel, John, his mother, and Littlest One each undertake a journey of personal growth and resilience. John has a pressing need for resilience because he is a survivor of child abuse. Initially, his trauma leads him to lash out against others, as demonstrated by his harsh treatment of Toby: “The boy held a fingerful of soggy cereal under the table for Toby, then withdrew it quickly when the dog came to sniff. He wiped it on the knee of his jeans and kicked the dog lightly with his sneaker” (60). In this scene, John attempts to cope with his feelings of fear and powerlessness by repeating what was done to him, such as inflicting physical violence and withholding food. Over time, John grows to love the dog because he recognizes that they were both mistreated, and Toby becomes an important source of “affection and companionship” for him (85). For John, gaining strength means learning to show gentleness and realizing that just because he’s been hurt doesn’t mean that he has to hurt others.
Like John, his mother’s journey of personal growth involves healing after years of abuse. Her ex-husband, Duane, struck her, belittled her aspirations, and sought to control every aspect of her life. She acted with courage and enabled her and her son to escape their abusive environment on “the night he broke John’s arm, the night she called the cops, the night she said ‘no more’” (126). Other demonstrations of her resilience include finding a stable job that lets her use her education and taking steps to curb her smoking. At the end of the novel, John’s mother is still dealing with the impacts of abuse, but she’s not alone thanks to a support system that includes her colleagues, a counselor, and the social worker. Her journey of personal growth is not just about preparing to parent John again but rather about building a better life for herself, one that meets her needs for safety, fulfillment, and connection.
Littlest One’s growth mirrors theirs. She is a playful and lighthearted novice when she is first introduced, but she must quickly mature and master the art of bestowing dreams to protect John against the menacing Sinisteeds: “No other dream-giver for decades had had to face a Horde, and none as small as Littlest had ever done so” (117). The dreamgivers’ leader, Most Ancient, recognizes this achievement by awarding her a golden badge, which honors her courage and resilience. In addition, Most Ancient bestows the name Gossamer on her in the resolution to show how her identity evolves over the course of her journey. Titling the novel after the protagonist’s new name emphasizes the story’s focus on personal growth. Through this novel, Lowry suggests that having resilience on a personal journey will help people to grow.
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By Lois Lowry
