48 pages • 1 hour read
James Ramsey UllmanBanner In The Sky
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1954A 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 Red Shirt
In Banner in the Sky, Rudi has little to remember his father by. His father’s red flannel shirt is not only one of his most prized possessions but also a symbol for his father’s legacy, both as a dreamer and as an honorable man. The red shirt represents the dream of climbing the Citadel. While the shirt was tattered from Josef Matt’s failed attempt, Rudi still dreams of flying it from the summit. After he has a taste of climbing, he has a dream in which he takes his climbing pole and sets it into the “magical, shining snow upon which no man had ever stood before” (52) and straps the shirt to it “like a flame on the white summit of the Citadel” (52). Rudi insists on taking the shirt with him as a symbol of his intent to summit the Citadel.
However, the shirt takes on a deeper meaning as Rudi learns more about his father’s honorable behavior. Old Teo explains, “While he himself was freezing to death, your father had taken it from his own back to try and keep another man warm” (84). When Rudi is stuck at the fortress overnight, he wraps the flannel around him, thinking that “it might save him” (159). As Rudi learns more about what it truly means to be a great climber, he has to be willing to sacrifice his dream of reaching the summit. When Saxo falls, Rudi sheds his pack with the shirt and his pole, a symbol of his giving up his dream of being the conqueror to help Saxo.
At the end of the novel, Franz finds the shirt and wraps it around his waist. Thus, he takes up Rudi and Josef’s dream for himself. In the end, the shirt reaches the top, “streamed out like a banner against the shining sky” (283). It symbolizes much more than a dream of victory; the shirt represents the sacrifice, honor, and teamwork that it takes to truly be a great climber.
The Fortress and the Needle
The Citadel is not a simple mountain but a complex climb with dozens of obstacles and different terrains. Two parts of the climb, the Fortress and the Needle, stand out as symbols of boundary markers and the desire to challenge limitations.
At the beginning of the novel, no one has ever climbed farther than “The Fortress,” which Rudi’s father, Old Teo, and Stevenson reached before the disastrous rockslide that led to their tragedy. When Rudi gets a small taste of climbing, he immediately dreams of conquering the Fortress. After his disastrous folly on the Wunderhorn climb, he feels like the Fortress is looking down at him, almost taunting him. When he leaves to climb on his own, he knows he won’t make it up to the top of the Citadel, He just wants to make it as far as anyone before him. When he does, he feels that “all that mattered, was that he had gained his goal” (147). This moment is so intense that Rudi cannot even cry out in victory. He feels, “A shout would have been a blasphemy in that high secret place to which he had come at last” (147). By reaching the Fortress, Rudi can see the way past it, the “key to the mountain” (151), and lead Winter and the others on.
Similarly, the Needle seems to be the end of their climb. Despite Winter’s “miracle of climbing” (213) slowly across the diagonal and Saxo’s attempt to go through it, they conclude that “one cannot get through” (211). Rudi is unwilling to accept defeat and wants to push the mountain to its limits. After watching the others try and fail, he convinces them to let him try. He is able to climb through the passage because of his size, ingenuity, and cool-headedness. As he navigates through the tight passage, he feels like “a climber again—not a frightened child” (219). Both the Fortress and the Needle represent limitations. Therefore, Rudi being the first person to pass both obstacles shows his courage and his determination to overcome obstacles.
Heritage and Honor
There is a strong sense of heritage and the honor of legacy throughout Banner in the Sky. This motif is tied to the theme of Maturity and Masculinity, showing that heritage and legacy are an important part of one’s sense of self, which is developed through the coming-of-age process. However, the novel also shows that a commitment to one’s community can also cause prejudices. Rudi has a strong tie to his heritage as a mountain climber. Despite his mother’s and his uncle’s attempts to drive him to a peaceful, commercial life, Rudi is truly himself only when he is climbing. Old Teo recognizes the importance of this heritage, warning Franz that “you cannot bottle the wind” (41). Climbing is not just a fun activity for Rudi; it is also a way to be close to his father.
While this sense of loyalty to family and community is important in forming one’s identity, it can also cause bias. The rivalry between Kurtal and Broli is so strong that there is no respect between the two communities. Saxo insists, “A man of Broli does not climb with a Kurtaler” (133). Similarly, some of the Kurtaler villagers call him a “trespasser” (177) for climbing the Citadel. Franz cannot fathom these opposing sides climbing as a group at first and says that he will have to be Winter’s rival rather than climbing with Saxo. This rivalry gets in the way of their climb, causing needless bickering that blinds both guides from the wisdom that the other could offer. Both men make important contributions to the climb. While a sense of pride and honor are important—in fact, the entire village of Kurtal feels victorious when Franz summits—honor and heritage should not give rise to harmful prejudice.
