55 pages • 1 hour read
Jodi PicoultThe Pact
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1998A 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
James’s Gun
Early in the novel, it is known that the gun that killed Emily belongs to James Harte. Chris brought the gun to the carousel where Emily died upon Emily’s request. Immediately, this brings suspicion onto Chris. He has knowledge of how to load and operate the gun and, having hunted animals since his adolescence, is accustomed with shooting live beings. Gus dwells often on the fact that Emily died by this gun. She wonders if she could have prevented Emily’s death by not storing guns in her home or not allowing Chris to access and use them. On one hand, the gun paints Chris as a possible murderer.
Chris insists he brought the gun to the carousel that night in keeping with his ploy to convince Emily that he too wished to die by suicide. He was certain that he could talk Emily out of it and that the gun would never be used. Much is made at the trial about Chris loading the gun with two bullets. In this way, the gun does not reveal the full truth of Emily’s death and Chris’s motives in the way that ballistics and forensics do in most murder trials. Chris maintains that Emily could not bring herself to shoot herself—not that she was physically incapable of operating the gun but that she was too scared to pull the trigger. Chris putting his hands on the trigger, with Emily’s on top of them, becomes a way for Emily to die by suicide without actually firing the gun herself. The mechanics around the gun’s firing reinforce the uncertainty around what exactly happened on that night. At trial, McAfee is able to establish that it’s uncertain who actually fired the gun. In this way, the novel turns the “smoking gun” trope on its head.
Emily’s Diary
Because Emily is deceased during the “now” time of the plot, readers are not privy to her side of the events that transpired on November 7. Instead, the novel relies on other characters—primarily Chris—to characterize Emily indirectly. The “then” portions of the novel presented from Emily’s point of view take on great importance. Here readers can search for evidence to support Chris’s claim that Emily desired to die by suicide.
When Emily and Chris are young, Chris briefly sees his name appear frequently in Emily’s diary. It seems Chris may think Emily could have feelings for him beyond friendship. Her diary is certainly the place in which teenage Emily speaks honestly of her feelings, revealing both her pregnancy and her doubts about her relationship with Chris.
Melanie’s reading of the diary after Emily’s death is likely a means for her to reignite the presence of her daughter. Reading Emily’s thoughts is akin to listening to her speak aloud or having a conversation with her—both things that Melanie will never again experience. In reading the diary, Melanie most likely searches for signs that Emily was depressed, upset, or otherwise contemplating suicide. In all of these ways, the diary symbolizes Emily herself, conveying her inner emotions.
Melanie’s decision to destroy the journal speaks to how desperately she desires to see Chris punished for Emily’s death. The diary could greatly assist in acquitting him, as it suggests Chris had no knowledge of Emily’s pregnancy (which the prosecution insists would give Chris motive to kill Emily). Were the diary admitted into evidence, it could have metaphorically given Emily a voice in the trial, allowing the courtroom to hear her side of the truth. Melanie, however, succeeds in blurring and hiding the truth so as to maintain the narrative she herself would prefer to be true.
The Carousel
The carousel is a place Emily and Chris go to be alone. They initially are able to enter the small amusement park because Chris is employed there and has been given a key. Emily delights in being able to ride the carousel in privacy after-hours, moving from horse to horse and naming each one. In this way, the carousel symbolizes a carefree time of Chris and Emily’s relationship, reminiscent of childhood (which is what the carousel is intended for).
As their dating relationship continues, Chris and Emily frequently find themselves alone at the carousel. Here they can talk privately and share their thoughts, growing together as their relationship progresses from friendship to romance. The carousel is also a key place where the physical intimacy between Chris and Emily develops—eventually, it is the place the two have sex for the first time. And, as Melanie notes when she reads Emily’s diary, it is also the place where Emily dies.
The irony of this is not lost on Melanie—Emily’s short life is, in a sense, encapsulated by the carousel, from her growth from a child to a teen and then to a trauma-stricken survivor of sexual assault who wishes to end her life. The way that the carousel moves but does not progress forward is representative of Emily’s mental and emotional state. She appears trapped, unable to escape the endless cycle of feeling guilty for not wanting to be with Chris and feeling ashamed for the sexual assault. By ending her life at the carousel, Emily is finally stopping the unending cycle of hopelessness.
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