The Institute

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7, Chapters 1-28

Part 7, Chapters 29-42

Part 8

Part 9

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Themes

The Ordinary Kindness of Ordinary People

Early in The Institute, Tim notes that it is often ordinary people who have the least who are the most willing to share—specifically recalling a librarian who offered him a ride and $10. Tim himself is an ordinary man: He walks into DuPray on a whim, with few possessions and little money. He becomes a humble guardian for the small town, dedicating himself to caring for people like Annie Ledoux (who has less than him) and Drummer Denton (who struggles with depression). Annie, Drummer, and other residents stand with Tim and Luke against the Institute retrieval team not out of obligation, but because it is in their nature as people, as fellow human beings, to care for each other.

This same ordinary kindness is what allows Luke and his friends to defeat the Institute. The first person Luke meets at the Institute is Kalisha, who has nothing but a carton of candy cigarettes, but she still offers one to him. She is just as frightened and trapped as he is, but she takes him under her wing and makes him a part of her family. The children take care of each other, and in the process, learn that their combined strength is greater than anything the Institute has to offer.

Kalisha notes that her power felt tainted when it was being used by corrupt people for corrupt ends—but when the children join their powers to stand up for themselves and each other, the result feels holy, sacred.

In claiming that the Institute actively saves the world, Mr. Smith implies that the children acted selfishly by saving themselves—that the Institute tortured and killed its psychics for a reason. However, Tim asserts that a world that can only be saved by the sacrifice of children is not worth saving.

Gazing into the Abyss: Dehumanization and Degradation

Dehumanization is the process of denying someone the attributes of humanity—such as dignity and individuality. The Institute children aren’t allowed to express themselves. The technicians administering injections disregard their pain; and should they express reluctance or anger, they are slapped. Mrs. Sigsby frames the children’s dislike of her and desire to attack (or defend themselves) as them lacking impulse control rather than legitimate suffering. When Luke snaps at Jolene the housekeeper for thinking her life is more difficult than his, he is reprimanded.

Even the Institute’s many posters deny the children the right to their own feelings. The children are pushed to “be happy” and “love the life they live,” as if any pain they experience is their own choice—and therefore, their own fault.

The Institute’s failure to see the children as individuals is what causes their downfall. Had they been wiser, they would have recognized Luke’s intelligence as a potential threat and left him alone. Instead, they brought him to the Institute, their temple, like the Philistines did Sampson. The staff members also overlook Luke and Kalisha’s kindness, Avery’s hunger for friendship, and Nicky’s defiance—all of which combine into the force that destroys them.

Early in the story, Luke’s father mentions a famous Friedrich Nietzsche aphorism: “He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.” Under the guise of saving the world, the Institute has become a monster as destructive as its potential targets, possibly more so, as they likely know their mission is a lie.

The lower-level staff members abuse children in ways that most wouldn’t. However, perceived authority figures can cause people to act against common sense or their own morals. For example, German officials and guards stationed at concentration camps during World War II argued that they were simply following orders in participating in genocide. Many American behavioral studies prove that people can be pressured by perceived authority figures to hurt innocent strangers, and may even develop satisfaction from causing pain (see Further Reading & Resources).

As the staff members dehumanize their charges, they, too, degrade themselves—becoming less human in their cruelty and indifference. Only Maureen regains her humanity by sacrificing the world (or so she believes) for the sake of doing the right thing.

Cults and True Believers

Tim describes the Institute as a cult, one using an irrational mission to justify the abuse of children. A cult is generally understood to be a group devoted to an idea, person, or thing. Apocalyptic beliefs are often involved and enforced by manipulation and coercion (for example, punishing a member for asking questions or trying to leave the cult). A cult is usually organized to benefit its leader(s), corrupting its members’ morals to persuade them that once reprehensible acts are now justified by the group’s mission or special status.

The Institute’s staff members are led to believe they are part of a special group with a mission to save the world, and are isolated from outside influences that might challenge this mission. The organization is not accountable to any authority. Individual administrators like Mrs. Sigsby may fear their superiors, but the organization itself is largely invisible with no government oversight.

The Institute operates to benefit its leadership, not its members or the world it claims to protect. Mr. Smith admits to Luke that he and the rest of Institute leadership are aware that their premise is wrong. Luke suggests that the Institute’s leaders continued their experiments because they couldn’t bear to admit they murdered children for nothing—but it is more likely that they didn’t want to relinquish their power and influence.

While staff members like Maureen might be excused for believing the Institute’s lie, they are still responsible for their actions. As Tim tells Mr. Smith, a society that sacrifices children for the sake of something that might happen is not a sane society—it is one unworthy of salvation.