Trumpet Symbol Analysis

Booker’s trumpet symbolizes his attempts to find joy and vitality after the murder of his brother, Adam. When Adam is killed, Booker’s father stops playing music in the house. Afraid that another tragedy might take away music again, Booker asks for trumpet lessons. He uses music to “oil and straighten his tangled feelings,” to make sense of the overwhelming pain and trauma he has experienced. Notably, Booker becomes a competent trumpet player but never an exceptional one. This reflects how, while he can navigate his emotional life with his trumpet, he will not become adept enough to overcome his emotions entirely. Similarly, while Booker can function after Adam’s death, he never feels in complete control of his life, and he is unable to experience authentic happiness.

This changes when Booker meets Bride. Newly inspired, he plays music that “he [has] never played before,” and he feels his debilitating grief starting to lift. Booker’s trumpet and Bride’s influence give Booker access to a world where trauma and pain do not consume him. This new world is a realm of intentional love, compassion, and connection rather than distraction. But when Booker leaves Bride, he leaves behind his trumpet along with his access to that world. When Bride arrives in Whiskey, Booker almost leaps with joy when she tells him she has his trumpet. By returning the trumpet to Booker, Bride restores his access to a world not consumed by trauma—but she also enables him to return to his old, inadequate coping mechanism. 

At Queen’s memorial, Booker is dissatisfied with his playing and throws his trumpet into the river. This represents Booker's temptation to return to a life of “haunt and gloom,” a life consumed by trauma. When Queen dies, Booker again loses one of the people he is closest to in life, just like when Adam was murdered. In response, he could abandon music and the joy and happiness he has been searching for. For a moment, he does just that and throws his trumpet into the river. Instead of remaining in that mindset, though, when Bride tells Booker she is pregnant, he responds with happiness. At that moment, he decides to turn to love and human connection for support and joy rather than distraction.