Saving Noah

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1-Interlude 2

Chapters 5-8

Chapter 9-Interlude 6

Chapters 13-16

Chapter 17-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Impossible Choices

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses pedophilia, rape, child sexual abuse and violence, possible incest, suicide ideation, and death by suicide.

Ethical dilemmas and impossible choices form one of the most significant motifs of Saving Noah. Choices such as whether Adrianne should resist Lucas’s decree against Noah’s return to their home not only propel the novel forward but also highlight key themes, such as The Search for Redemption and The Complexities of Mental Health and Human Nature. Impossible choices also deepen the metaphysical and philosophical elements of the narrative. As in real life, characters have no way of exactly predicting the outcome of their actions: They have to simply roll the dice and hope for the best. This dilemma of choice is especially amplified in stressful, unusual, and unimaginable situations, such as the one the Coates family faces. For instance, a desperate Adrianne asks Lucas to speak to Noah, hoping Lucas will be able to break through to their son. Her choice backfires, and Lucas’s harsh advice ends up triggering Noah into further self-harm.

Further, author Lucinda Berry presents impossible choices not only to test the characters but also to provide thought experiments. For instance, through Adrianne, Berry presents the question of what a person would do if a loved one admitted to a terrible offense. However, the biggest impossible choice in the novel is Adrianne’s decision to help Noah die. Adrianne is shown not to regret her decision to assist in Noah’s death by suicide, but this doesn’t resolve the conflict of whether there was another way to stop Noah’s pain and prevent the future danger he may have posed to children. Adrianne’s choices following Noah’s death also pose an ethical dilemma. She decides to live in the same house as Lucas even though her marriage is over because she thinks it will be the best thing for Katie. However, unknown to Adrianne, Lucas presents a potential threat to Katie. Even if he has not molested Noah or Katie, Lucas’s secrets have contributed to the breaking apart of their family. On the other hand, if Adrianne had divorced Lucas, he likely would have gotten partial custody of Katie. The impossible choices available to Adrianne show the messiness of making decisions.

Noah’s Intended Suicide Note

Noah’s intended suicide note for Adrianne functions as a key symbol in the novel, representing the whole truth and self-awareness. In terms of the plot, it acts as a catalyst for Adrianne to shed the final vestiges of denial and accept Noah in all his complexity. While Adrianne’s support for Noah is constant, it is important to note that her reaction to him is not always positive. When Noah first confesses his actions to her, she feels shocked and disgusted. The only way for her to cope with Noah’s offense at that stage is to believe that it is a one-time mistake or aberration which can be corrected by time in rehabilitation. Further, Adrianne cannot accept Dr. Park’s assessments of Noah as a pedophile, let alone the potential risks he poses.

The discovery of Noah’s note is therefore akin to Adrianne discovering the truth in flesh and blood. The note contains Noah’s frank admission: “I am a pedophile. You can’t treat what I have” (175). After Adrianne finishes reading the note, she feels physically winded, and her knees give way. The physicality of the moment represents the shock of the truth sinking in. Later, when she discusses the note with Dr. Park, Adrianne has a similar response. She feels as if “the last parts of my insides had been scraped out and discarded” (178). Although Adrianne initially feels the truth as a loss of hope, the discovery of Noah’s note marks a moment of relief and catharsis. Adrianne can finally accept Noah as he is, rather than her fantasy of him. Once Noah knows Adrianne has read the note, it triggers a series of confessions from him, including what Lucas said to him to prompt his attempt to die. He also begins to look Adrianne in the eye again. This indicates that the truth, however harsh, is liberating and clarifying.

Fathers, Sons, and Doubles

The text’s two timelines are deliberately set up to suggest that the interludes are an account of Noah’s experiences at Marsh. It is, at first, easy to assume the experiences are coded because Noah wants to hide the unpleasant aspects of his experience from Adrianne. However, as the narrative proceeds, it becomes clearer that the past timeline is about Lucas. The parallel narrative structure emerges as a plot device to enhance the suspense of the novel. The parallelism also reflects the fact that Noah and Lucas, father and son, are presented as mirror images or doubles in the text. Thus, fathers, sons, and doubles operate both as symbols and motifs.

As a motif, doubles highlight the thematic element of the lasting impact of trauma and sexual abuse. Though Lucas does not sexually molest Noah (or at least, such abuse is not revealed), his secrecy still traumatizes Noah. Thus, Lucas’s pretense contributes to intergenerational trauma, showing how the cycle of abuse continues from father to son. Lucas’s father is shown to react with cruelty to the discovery of Lucas’s offense. When he walks in on Lucas molesting his cousin, “he whip[s] [Lucas] with his belt till [he] pass[es] out” (248). Even after Lucas returned home from Reuters, his father “never forgave [him]” (249). Shunned by his father, Lucas repeats the same pattern with Noah.

The doubles also emphasize the difference between Noah and Lucas. Adrianne frequently notes how similar Lucas and Noah look, and the many interests they shared before Noah’s disclosure. After the disclosure, Lucas begins to see Noah as his mirror image, reflecting the vilest parts of him. However, the truth is that the similarities between Lucas and Noah turn out to be superficial. Though both are pedophiles, Noah’s belief that he is a potential threat offers a stark contrast to Lucas’s hypocrisy. If Lucas had been open with Noah, it is possible that they could’ve broken the cycle of intergenerational trauma together.