55 pages • 1 hour read
Rick RiordanDaughter of the Deep
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Sharks
Shark House is a symbol of military and tactical sciences as sharks evoke imagery of violence and aggression. As Ana puts it, “Sharks are frontline fighters, tacticians, weapons specialists, commanders” (164). However, while at first glance Shark House might be militaristic, a deeper look at the shark symbolism shows that those in Shark House evoke another characteristic of the animal—its persistence. Sharks famously must continue swimming or risk death. Most sharks are capable of staying still (although some do have to keep moving in order to pump air through their gills), but the popular imagination focuses on their need for constant motion. Similarly, those in Shark House are determined to keep going no matter what, and if they have nothing to do, they are at a loss. Dev demonstrates this at the beginning of the novel when Ana thinks, “always hungry, my brother, and always moving—the perfect Shark captain” (10). Dev is not one to linger; he is always going from place to place (especially in search of food). Persistence and determination are positive qualities inherent to Shark House members. However, that same persistence leads to restlessness when it has nothing to grab hold of. When Gem no longer needs to act as Ana’s bodyguard, he does not abandon her. He says that he will stay with her, “not a bodyguard. Maybe I could just, you know, stay as a friend” (321). Loyalty and determination are not characteristics belonging solely to Shark House, but for Gem, it is certainly an important part of his identity. He is committed to his cause, his people, his faith, and he uses his military strength and training to protect them.
Cephalopods
Another of Harding-Pencroft Academy’s houses, Cephalopod House is a symbol of engineering and technical creativity and reasoning, as Riordan shows in his house breakdown. Squids and octopuses are cephalopods, as is the nautilus, the animal that gives Nemo’s ship its name. A cephalopod is, etymologically speaking, an animal whose feet (pod) come from its head (cephalo-). Cephalopods are known for their incredible intelligence, problem-solving, and in the case of octopi, even the ability to even use tools. Nelinha is a typical Cephalopod: Ana thinks, “I’ve spent enough time with Nelinha to know that Cephalopods get tunnel vision when they’re working on things that intrigue them” (188). Technical skills are an important part of being a Cephalopod, but the most characteristic aspect of this house is its emphasis on working with one’s brain: “Cephalopods are problem-solvers” (24). Just like cephalopods in the animal kingdom, student Cephalopods are known for their amazing ability to work their way through complex problems using their logic and intelligence.
Dreams
Dreams—both good and bad—appear throughout the novel. They both allow Ana to work through her emotions and foretell upcoming conflict. In one dream, at the beginning of Chapter 23, Ana recalls the Fourth of July celebration her family had when she was 10 years old. When they went to the San Alejandro Botanical Gardens to watch the fireworks, she discussed death with her mother. There, her mother told her, “dying is nothing to be embarrassed about. It happens to everyone” (129). When Ana wakes from the dream, she recalls this line in particular, feeling bad that she could not honor her mother’s final wish to have her ashes sprinkled in the botanical gardens. This sets off her grief for her family, reminding her that all she has left of her parents is her mother’s pearl. The grief that Ana’s dream causes her could hold her back, but she knows she cannot allow herself to wallow: “[W]ith grief, like with menstrual cramps, I just need to keep moving” (130).
Ana has another dream later in the novel after she takes command of the Nautilus. In the dream, she “was glued to Captain Nemo’s chair while the bridge filled with green slime […]” (264). Several of Ana’s nightmares involve drowning, twisting one of her loves in life (the ocean) into a fear. Here, she dreams more specifically of being stuck to the chair her ancestor, Prince Dakkar, died in. This represents Ana’s fears that her family and her legacy might hold her back, or even metaphorically drown her. Nemo’s legacy might be great, but it is also frightening. Ana fears that her connection to him is not enough to make her a good captain, but that it is also too dark and dangerous for her to keep her friends and family safe.
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By Rick Riordan
