Pax

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2016

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-7

Chapters 8-12

Chapters 13-15

Chapters 16-18

Chapters 19-21

Chapters 22-24

Chapters 25-28

Chapters 29-34

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Chapters 16-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 16 Summary

The third condition for Peter staying is that he help Vola with her marionettes. Peter asks why, and Vola says, “Another true piece of myself I recovered: I remembered that I’d made some marionettes for my little nieces when I was a teenager. I remembered how much I loved carving the wood” (144). He studies them “five were human—a king and a queen, a child, a pirate or a sailor, and a sorceress—the rest animals” (146). There’s also a huge bird.

Vola then speaks to Peter about war and says whatever lies they try to tell you “you’re there to kill people. Kill or be killed—that’s the contract in war” (148). Peter asks if she’s killed someone and Vola says she probably killed many people, but one in particular haunts her: “I was a medic, but I still expected him to be plastic, not real. The way they taught us to think about our enemy in training. But of course he was” (149). During this moment, she had a sudden realization that, even though the man was of a different ethnicity and nationality, she might have a lot in common with him.

Vola searched the man’s pockets and found The Seven Voyages of Sinbad from the Arabian Nights Series. It was an old copy, so it had probably been his as a boy. He had bookmarked a page where Sinbad escaped from Roc’s nest—Roc was a giant bird. “I figured that story helped him believe that one day he’d escape, too, and get back home” (150). Vola says that for 20 years she’s been carving the puppets to tell the story that meant so much to the man: “And now, finally, I’m going to get to see what it looks like” (151).

Chapter 17 Summary

More humans have come south and made camp. Pax realizes he’s been in this place before with Peter, when Gray steps on a mine and dies: “Pax nosed his friend’s muddy cheek, pawed his flank. He sniffed Gray’s muzzle. There was breath but just barely” (157). Pax stays with Gray as he dies, and the two consciousnesses merge as Gray takes his last breaths: “He purred with Gray under his silver mother’s rough tongue, tasted her warm milk, felt the weight of her chin resting over his newborn skull. And then peace” (158). Pax goes back home and find’s Gray’s mate. When Gray’s mate sees him, he shares a vision of his and Grey’s journey. She also learns that Gray died obtaining the information that it was not safe for any of them to go south because of the human war camps.

Pax decides to leave. Bristle follows him, entreating him to stay, and “Pax shared his new understanding that the exploding earth was war, and that the wires caused death” (160). She tells him to leave the humans behind and stay with them for safety. Pax refuses to listen.

Chapter 18 Summary

Peter keeps practicing to get stronger. He is able to do the obstacle course that Vola set up for him.

Vola asks Peter if he’d like to practice his woodwork now, and Peter is annoyed: “Those puppets don’t get me a minute closer to my fox,’ Peter wanted to say” (162). Peter says that he’ll be leaving soon and that they should do the show. She wants Peter to show her how he can work Sinbad the puppet, and he doesn’t do a good job: “Vola took the controls from him and instantly the marionette seemed to become flesh and blood” (163). Vola gets a screwdriver and disassembles the puppet so Peter can put it together himself. He gets confused but strings everything together again: “Vola was right: after he’d refastened Sinbad, he could move the puppet more smoothly” (167).

Peter suddenly wants to know about the bird, Roc, so he searches for Vola’s copy of Sinbad; and right next to the book, he finds a “a square tin, faded yellow and decorated with the peeling words Sunshine Biscuits” (168). It reminds him of the cookie tin from his grandfather’s house, so he pries off the lid. Inside he sees a stack of index cards and recognizes Vola’s handwriting. He realizes this must be where she keeps the private truths about herself that she shares with no one. He slams the box shut but can’t stop himself from reading the first one: “I would have been a good teacher” (168). Peter feels guilty for having seen the top one, even though he knows it was unintentional.

Peter says he has a better idea of the story and the puppets and wants to do the scene, but Vola says they can’t do it without a proper stage. Peter then watches Vola carve wood and realizes that he’s become comfortable with her. He asks if she will show him how to make something. She asks him a question: “Who is the master here?” He looks confused. So, she follows it up with “Who is the boss: me or the wood.” He tells her she is the master. Vola makes a few cuts in the wood and then says. “And now, who is the master now?” Peter says, “The wood is” (171). She asks if he knows what he wants to create, and Peter decides he wants to make a carving of Pax. He selects butternut wood to carve, and Vola approves his decision.

Chapters 16-18 Analysis

The symbol of the Phoenix appears again in this section in Vola’s large bird marionette, signifying that the marionettes are part of Vola’s “rebirth” and recovery from trauma.

Peter gets angry at first about having to make Vola a stage because that wasn’t part of the original agreement, but Vola says “listen, boy, I will see that soldier’s story told the way it should be seen” (169). She then elaborates “You’re carrying that charm around, it’s the same thing. You’re telling that story of your mother’s for her” (169). This begs the question of why we tell stories and not just why we tell our own stories, but why we tell other people’s stories. Particularly those of the dead. Perhaps, so that they live on through words, if nothing else.

Vola then refers to Sinbad “Think about what he wants: to escape” (163) that connects Sinbad and Peter together by the quintessential nature of the human experience. In many ways, Vola is the bird, Roc, and Peter is Sinbad—the one trapped, desperate to escape. Sara Pennypacker draws this comparison throughout the novel to delve into themes of freedom and captivity.

Vola’s discussion with Peter regarding who is the master, her or the wood, shows that, at a certain point, the craftsman becomes a servant to their craft. It also develops Vola’s character as a good teacher, a concept that first appeared when Peter found her card stating as much. The discussion also implies that, while Vola is teaching Peter, she is also learning from him.