Stepping on the Cracks

“How could anyone, even a Nazi, want to hurt my brother?”

The war seems distant to Margaret, and Jimmy’s cheerful letters make her think that it is not so bad and that her older brother’s goodness will keep him safe. Though untrue in a certain sense—goodness offers no protection—this view later allows Margaret to empathize with Stuart’s idea that enemies are people no different from her family.

“Wondering why I always let Elizabeth lead me into danger, I crept through the woods behind her.”

Initially, Margaret is a follower in her friendship with Elizabeth: a sidekick to Elizabeth’s superhero. Margaret is aware of their unequal relationship but swallows Elizabeth’s scornful taunts and allows her to take the lead.

“There will be no tale-telling. I will see everything that goes on in this room, and I will not need the misguided assistance of any child.”

Mrs. Wagner categorically wants no tattling in her classroom, believing that as an adult she knows what is best. Her edict also illustrates the motif of secrets and the many threats characters make against speaking out. Secrets have moral implications and serious consequences. Some, like protecting Stuart, are arguably “good,” while others, like hiding the abuse in Gordy’s family, are clearly bad.

“Our war with Gordy had given Elizabeth a real enemy.”

Margaret and Elizabeth often fight, but now they unite against Gordy, whom they describe with language likening him to the Nazis. Until they learn more about Gordy, they see him as a one-dimensional villain with whom they have nothing in common and in fact are superior to.

“‘Not the little poet, Maggie May,’ Jimmy would say. ‘You can’t tell on the little poet.’”

Margaret shows both her empathy and her evolving worldview as she reflects on what Jimmy would do if he found Stuart hiding. Unlike Mother, Margaret sees that Jimmy valued Stuart as a sensitive friend and believes Jimmy would protect him.

“Nothing made Elizabeth madder than being called a girl.”

Feisty Elizabeth rejects gender stereotypes. She rebels against the era’s traditional female role and is angry that her gender precludes her from fighting in the war. She aspires to the ideal of heroism and defiantly displays her own bravery and daring.

“In fact, I’d never really thought about his pointing a gun at a human being and pulling the trigger. How could Jimmy do that? How could anyone?”

Upon discovering Stuart, one of the first “cracks” opens in Margaret’s worldview. She realizes she does not know how Jimmy feels about the war and is horrified that her loving brother might have to kill people. This epiphany compounds Margaret’s ethical dilemma and prompts self-reflection.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Fighting’s not everything, Gordy.”

Stuart, a pacifist, has a hard time convincing Gordy that fighting does not solve every problem. Unlike Stuart, Gordy is quick to anger and respond with physical aggression, but he nevertheless loves and wants to protect his brother.

“Sometimes you have to fight, you can’t just let bad things happen.”

Elizabeth initially thinks Stuart is a “sissy.” Her view of war is shared by Mother and, historically, much of America. Elizabeth advances the essence of the argument against pacifism: that pacifists are cowards who fail to fulfill a moral obligation. However, her phrasing raises the question of whether “fighting” necessarily involves violence; the way Stuart stands up to his father suggests that it’s possible to stop “bad things happening” without resorting to physical combat.

“Her opinions veered back and forth like a weather vane on a rooftop. What she hated one day, she loved the next.”

Margaret’s quote describes Elizabeth’s passionate and variable nature. In this case, Elizabeth changes from hating Stuart to dramatically declaring she will never turn him in and championing his care.

“What people do in their homes is their own business. It’s not for us to interfere.”

Mother shuts down the discussion about abuse in the Smith home. Her response reveals her complicity in avoiding an unpleasant truth: Mother is aware of the abuse but chooses not to get involved and to keep the secret. She therefore arguably bears some responsibility for Mr. Smith’s later actions, including his near-murder of Stuart.

“Don’t believe that patriotic stuff about dying for your country. All me and my buddies want to do is get out of this mess alive. War is nothing but killing people before they kill you, and it’s more awful than anything you can imagine.”

Donald’s letter is eye-opening for the girls, who think of the war as something of a glorious adventure. Donald’s revelation that war is hell makes Margaret wonder if Jimmy feels the same way. Donald’s words are all the more impactful given that he doesn’t typically shy away from conflict.

“I wasn’t used to thinking of things for other people to do.”

Margaret devises the plan to enlist Barbara in helping Stuart. Her comment shows that she is gaining independence and confidence. She acts separately from Elizabeth and finds her voice, speaking up and standing up to Gordy to save Stuart.

“It was Jimmy’s duty to go to war. As an American, he had no choice but to fight for his country.”

Mother expresses her belief that Jimmy is obligated to protect national freedom, scoffing at Margaret’s wish that Jimmy had stayed home. Mother’s opinion contrasts with that of Stuart, who believes killing is inherently wrong and that people have a duty towards nonviolence.

“Men who might have been friends if they hadn’t had to shoot at each other.”

Margaret takes the Thomas Hardy poem to heart. Unlike her mother, Margaret is now sensitive to the contradictions and ambiguities of the war. Soldiers “have” to shoot each other even though they may not want to. Killing is wrong, but people are told it is right. Margaret’s reflections reveal her growing maturity.

“The Smiths take care of their own problems. We don’t need help from anybody, including you!”

Gordy lashes out at Barbara and the girls even though their help is instrumental in saving Stuart’s life. His outburst reveals his anger at being an outcast in town, his heavy sense of responsibility, and his worry about his brother. Gordy’s hostility is defensive and characteristic of children who experience domestic violence.

“How can mothers let their sons go to war?”

Barbara declares that she would not let her son go to war. She hates the killing and death and, while proud of Butch’s medals, wishes her husband were alive instead. Her comment supports Stuart’s decision and views on the war. It is also another datapoint Margaret evaluates to form her own opinions, standing in particularly sharp contrast to Margaret’s mother, who takes pride in having a son in the service.

“Gordy’s life was as cracked as the old platter I was drying, and Mother had no glue to fix it with.”

As Margaret’s understanding of the ethical complexities of life—symbolized here and elsewhere as “cracks”—expands, she recognizes that her mother cannot solve every problem. This awareness reveals her growing maturity.

“I can’t keep hiding. Not from him, not from the war.”

Stuart lives up to his principles of nonviolence. He returns to his family, protecting them from his father’s abuse. Stuart attempts to calm down Mr. Smith by reasoning with him and shows he is a true pacifist by refusing to use force even to defend himself. His actions reveal a different kind of courage than war demands.

“This time she better mean it.”

Gordy’s mother plans to leave Mr. Smith for good, but Gordy’s comment reveals that Mrs. Smith has said this before—a behavioral pattern typical of domestic violence survivors, who often have trouble leaving their abuser.

“You can’t judge him the way you judge other people.”

Margaret learns that you cannot see the world in absolutes: Things are not simply good or bad, or right or wrong. She understands that moral decisions are complex and the same standard does not apply to all people.

“Leaning against Mother, I felt her arm close round me, as if she wanted to protect me from the cracks I saw opening everywhere.”

The morally ambiguous situations Margaret encounters and the difficult ethical decisions she makes in response challenge her simplistic childhood beliefs. Mother cannot keep her from transitioning to adolescence and independent thought.

“We’d been fighting Gordy for so long, I couldn’t imagine a future without him.”

Over the course of the novel, Margaret and Elizabeth have gone from hating Gordy to viewing him as more of an adversarial friend—a process that reveals both their and Gordy’s increasing capacity for empathy and friendship. The fact that the girls specifically miss fighting with Gordy also emphasizes the complex nature of friendship.