39 pages • 1 hour read
Betsy ByarsThe Summer of the Swans
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1970A 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
The Swans
The swans who visit the lake by the Godfrey home are mute and function as a collective symbol for the family—Sara and Charlie in particular. Despite their name, they’re not entirely mute; they’re dubbed as such due to being comparatively less vocal than other swans. Charlie is nonverbal, but when necessity dictates, he can vocalize as demonstrated during his and Sara’s reunion at the ravine. Swans function in close familial units; Sara and Charlie are impressed by this fact, the flock’s synchrony, when they visit the lake. The swans float together, maneuvering as one without any need to communicate, their bond instinctual. Sara and Charlie’s relationship is marked by a similar attachment as well as the former’s instinct in anticipating the latter’s needs. Like the flock, Aunt Willie, Wanda, and Sara are a tight-knit unit committed to Charlie’s wellbeing. Though the swans originally hail from Wanda’s university, they appear at the lake and take their leave without explanation or warning. Sara and Charlie both experience an instinctual drive to part from home and undertake their own journeys—but like the swans, they ultimately long for the safety and comfort of said home. In contrast, Wanda spends more and more time outside the house. Betsy Byars’ decision to make Wanda’s university the swans’ home hints at her growing independence. Swans are also widely known for their aggression toward potential threats to their flock. They hiss to deter predators and are prone to escalating situations by intimidating and physically attacking potential threats. Sara is very much a swan in her defense of Charlie, sharp when he’s slighted and swift to retaliate when he’s threatened.
As for Charlie, the swans act as a source of peace and tranquility. Charlie is often overwhelmed by the world outside of the Godfrey home and seeks mechanisms like his watch, or the swans, to ground himself. So pleasant was his experience with the swans that he sought them out even amidst hesitation about being alone and his recollection of the rule regarding the front gate. Sara recognizes how important the swans are to Charlie—and at the end of the novel, she’s the one who desperately wants him to see the flock flying off overhead, as if to bring their mission to a close.
Charlie’s Watch
Charlie’s most prized possession is his analog watch, a gift from his sister Wanda. Though he can’t tell time, the watch is still a tool he uses in managing his daily routine. Aunt Willie winds it for him every morning, ensuring that it continues to tick throughout the day. Charlie frequently references the watch as a means of grounding himself; the red second hand provides a sensory experience with which to overcome frustration and stress. Charlie’s attachment symbolizes his need for consistency, for stability. When the watch stops ticking while in the ravine, Charlie is desperate to get it working again, so determined that the trinket breaks through his efforts. This loss devastates Charlie, and even after he’s found, he isn’t interested in leaving the ravine until Sara evaluates the watch and offers him her own for the time being.
Being nonverbal, Charlie uses his watch as a means of communication within the community. Charlie is well known in town: When someone asks for the time, he raises his wrist and clearly takes pleasure in displaying something he likes so much. His watch is the bridge between him and potential friends. It also provides the catalyst for Sara misunderstanding Joe Melby. It turns out Joe was correct in suggesting Charlie simply pointed at him post-watch incident because he was the one who returned the watch, not its thief. Sara’s disdain for anyone else’s interpretation of Charlie’s actions creates a greater rift between her and Joe before their reconciliation.
Not only is Charlie unable to tell time but unable to grasp the concept of time that others do. He’s frustrated when asked to wait at Mary’s house, given limits on how long he can remain with the swans, and experiences memory lapses while lost (a product of childhood illness). Sara’s adolescence and Wanda’s adulthood are rites of passage, of time, in themselves. Unlike his sisters, Charlie is likely to never reach the same milestones, limited in his means of engaging and participating with others.
Sara’s Shoes
Throughout the novel, Sara complains about her appearance, from her physical imperfections to her lack of stylish clothing and makeup (which she associates with the popular crowd at school). Sara’s dyeable shoes take the brunt of this ire.
Sara is obsessed with the idea that her feet are too big due to a tall male classmate trying on her shoes and them fitting perfectly. Sara dyed her shoes orange and liked the color until Wanda suggested that doing so attracts unwanted attention to her feet. In one moment Sara tells Charlie that she likes the color she picked, in the next she hates it, influenced by her sister’s advice. Sara re-dyes her shoes and finds them even less attractive than their original orange. In her rushed attempt to fix the shoes, to fit in with her peers, she self-sabotages. Sara comes apart at slight inconveniences, especially when they might reflect poorly on her appearance. But when her newly dyed shoes turn her feet blue at the end of the novel, it doesn’t elicit a reaction. The shoes symbolize Sara’s shift in attitude, the restructuring of her perspective and values as to what’s truly important in life.
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By Betsy Byars
