57 pages • 1 hour read
Dusti Bowling24 Hours In Nowhere
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2018A 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
Gus’s Pocket Watch
Gus’s pocket watch appears frequently in the novel, especially as the group ventures further into the cave. The watch carries its own kind of legend: According to Gus, his great-grandfather found it in the desert, not long before he succumbed to a rattlesnake bite. Then, “[his] grandma had given the watch to [his] father, and [his] father had given the watch to [him]” (18). Mysteriously, the watch is engraved with “W.D.A,” and Gus admits that “no one kn[ows] what the initials st[an]d for” (18). As Gus narrates this chain of ownership, he emphasizes that the watch has survived multiple generations, linking him to the great-grandfather he never knew. Gus brings the watch into the cave, and its many appearances evoke the power of history and its bearing on the characters’ experience—a fitting association for a device literally intended to record the passage of time. For instance, when the group first notices Gus’s watch, Rossi asks to inspect it and quickly realizes that the initials read “W.A.D,” for William André Dufort. Predictably, Matthew claims the watch, and he and Gus rehash their family history; Gus maintains that it belonged to his great-grandfather, while Matthew alleges that “[his] dad had a belt buckle with this same thing on it” (120). As the characters handle the watch and debate its ownership, they confront history, vulnerable still to its grievances. In this light, the watch emphasizes Transcending Family History.
As the novel continues, Bowling deepens this motif, suggesting that the watch isn’t just indicative of history generally but also evokes its susceptibility to change. For instance, when the group notices something new about the watch—the initials and its secret compartment—they’re inspired to reevaluate their understanding of history. “What if the story is all wrong,” Rossi wonders, curious if “there was another person who stole the gold” (121). Acting on this hunch, and following the secret map, the group ultimately decides on a story markedly different from the accepted history: Dufort was familiar with the cave, “dropped his watch and lost the map” (191), struggled to find a way out, and died from either drowning or blood loss. With the pocket watch as their strength, the group has not only confronted history but also realized its fallibility. In this way, the watch encourages them to look ahead to the future, in charge of their own destiny.
Gus’s Souvenir Stones
Gus first mentions these stones as he narrates a pivotal trip to Disneyland. According to Gus, his father organized the trip on a whim and, at the end of the day, pushed Gus to choose a souvenir. Noticing a “giant barrel of sparkling treasure” (114), Gus filled a bag with 17 jewels, mesmerized by their beauty. Kneeling, Gus’s father encouraged him to remember the jewels as a token of their bond: “Every time you look at those jewels,” he said, “you’ll think of me and this day” (115). Indeed, just as intended, these jewels emerge as a symbol of Gus’s relationship with his father. For instance, when Gus first bought the jewels, he assumed that they were real, helped by the “light of the fireworks” (115). At this point, Gus also believed that his connection with his father was similarly authentic: He admits that the trip “was the best day of [his] life” and that he looked forward to stability, imagining that the jewels would afford him and his father a “nice place and […] nice food” (115). However, Gus’s father immediately abandoned him in Nowhere, never to contact him again. Now, Gus considers his father with bitterness, criticizing him as insincere. Just as Gus reevaluates his father, so, too. does he look more critically at the jewels: Ultimately, Gus has accepted that the jewels are “as fake as [his] dad” (116), and they remind him only of his abandonment. Finally, toward the novel’s end, Gus discards these stones in the desert, symbolically overcoming his anger.
Silt
Silt—or a fine soil often deposited by running water—is a unique feature of Nowhere’s landscape, mostly around the racetrack. In a town that Gus describes as “filled to the brim with desert dust” (16), even the memory of water is unusual, and its slippery surface scares off even the most daring racers. Nevertheless, to Rossi, the silt presents a rare, if dangerous, opportunity, and she encourages Matthew to hit the silt “as fast as possible” so that he might glide his way to victory (100). In this way, silt emerges as a nuanced symbol, indicating unlikely opportunities for success. For instance, when the group is lost in the cave, disoriented after a detour back to the cave drawings, they suddenly notice a patch of silt. Rossi wonders if “maybe it leads outside” and decides to pursue its trail (181). Fittingly, the silt signifies a moment of hope in an otherwise dire situation, and the group ultimately follows its trail to an escape. The silt also figures similarly in the novel’s climactic race between Rossi and Bo: Just when it seems like Rossi will likely lose to Bo, she drives “straight into the loose silt” and successfully overtakes him (236). Again, the silt provides a much needed, if risky, opportunity, proving that no contest is ever truly over. In this way, the silt encourages the characters to never abandon hope.
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By Dusti Bowling
