46 pages • 1 hour read
Robert Kimmel SmithThe War With Grandpa
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1984A 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
Parents and Children
The relationships between parents and their children are at the core of The War with Grandpa. After the death of her mother, Sally’s father moves from his home in Florida to live with her and her family. He is unhappy because he’s in physical pain due to a hurt leg, he’s living with the grief of losing his wife, and now he’s come to live with his daughter—but that means taking his grandson’s room. Sally must cope with her son’s and her father’s unhappiness. Sally and Arthur must also navigate the change with their children. They choose to give Peter’s room to Grandpa—the decision was beyond Grandpa’s and Peter’s control.
As parents age, their adult children often become their caretakers while these adult children have children of their own. The resulting conflicts, such as what happens in The War with Grandpa, force parents and children to reassess their relationships and find a way to navigate changing roles. Sally and Arthur want Peter to be more mature in accepting his bedroom change, but Peter needed them to appreciate his feelings. Grandpa Jack needs to feel useful and autonomous since the decision that he’d take Peter’s room was made for him. As young children mature and as parents age, roles and expectations within families change. Smith makes it clear that empathy and understanding are important tools to navigate these changes and maintain healthy relationships.
Peter’s Room
Wars tend to take place between countries or over territory. The Revolutionary War set the American colonists against England, and World War II created conflicts between nations across the globe—mainly, the United States, France, England, and Russia against Japan, Italy, and Germany. The boys mention the Revolutionary War and, via Pearl Harbor, World War II, and the references provide a frame for Peter’s conflict and turn his room into a country. Peter bitterly asks his grandpa, “You moved in and took over my territory, didn’t you? Isn’t that what wars are about?” Grandpa counters, “Wars are about power and greed” (102). Greed and power need a platform, and countries supply that platform.
Peter feels like his room is his nation. It belongs to him and no one else. Peter states, “Nobody else in my family ever lived here. Nobody” (23). With his room, Peter turns into a greedy, powerful tyrant. He doesn’t want to share or surrender it. His parents don’t have to lose their territory, and his sister doesn’t have to give up her room, so he shouldn’t have to endure getting kicked out of his space.
The war turns into a fight for his nation. Peter has a right to defend his country from occupiers. He tells Grandpa, “Someone invades your territory, you zap them” (104). Grandpa didn’t choose to invade Peter’s country. Peter’s parents gave his room away, but Peter’s parents aren’t in Peter’s room—Grandpa is. The symbolism furthers the claim that wars and conflicts often confuse the true enemy or source. Peter’s parents dethroned him. They took away his country—he should attack them.
The Attic
The attic represents the changes associated with growing up. The attic at first is terrifying and uncomfortable for Peter. There are unfamiliar lights and sounds, and he wonders if someone is going to murder him. His father, though, attempts to reassure him: “‘Growing up, Pete,’ he said, ‘It isn’t easy’” (25). Arthur admires the view from the room, hoping Peter will find something about the move to appreciate. Despite the reassurance, Peter continues to find the room spooky. As time goes on, he sleeps better in the room and tells his friends he’s getting used to it.
The attic also represents people’s need for a comfortable space to call their own. Peter had that in his original room, but while he’s in the attic and Grandpa Jack is in Peter’s old room, neither of them is in a space that works well for them. Only when they decide that Grandpa will have more autonomy and space in the renovated basement apartment, Peter will return to his bedroom, and Arthur’s office will occupy the third-floor bedroom does everyone have a space that suits their needs and makes them feel comfortable.
