Previous
Prologue
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Coming of Age and Self-Confidence
Magic, Belonging, and Protection
Family
Mortality and Meaning
Truth vs. Deception
Summary
Analysis
The afternoon before the first extraordinary event, Jacob is building a replica of the Empire State Building out of boxes of adult diapers at the store where he works—until Shelley, the manager, explains that the sale is on a different brand than the one Jacob is using. Annoyed that Shelley told him the wrong brand to use, he starts over and sends the tower tumbling. Jacob knows that Shelley would have fired him on the spot—he has been trying to get fired all summer—but she can’t fire him because his uncles own the store. And Jacob can’t quit, because working at Smart Aid as a first job is a family tradition, leaving him and Shelley at an impasse.
Jacob’s experience at the Smart Aid establishes how little control he has over his own life. He feels that his path at the Smart Aid, and consequently throughout the rest of his life, has been predetermined by his family’s expectations of him. In response to his limited choices, he behaves childishly by knocking down the tower of boxes—his attempts to get fired suggest that there’s little else he can do to change his circumstances.
Themes
Just as Shelley reacts, someone comes on the PA system explaining that Jacob has a call coming in. Jacob goes to the employee lounge and picks up the phone. On the other line, Grandpa Portman frantically asks where his key is. Jacob is confused about what his grandfather means, and Grandpa Portman explains that the monsters are after him after all these years; he needs something to fight them with.
Jacob’s plodding day is suddenly interrupted, hinting that his predictable life is about to change in a big way. Jacob has resigned himself to believing that Grandpa Portman’s stories aren’t true, but Grandpa’s urgent—and very literal-sounding—problem challenges that belief.
Themes
This isn’t the first time Grandpa Portman has sounded like this—he’s been declining mentally for some time. But this summer, the monsters Grandpa Portman invented are starting to haunt him, becoming far too real. Jacob’s parents are thinking of putting him in a nursing home. Jacob tries to calm his grandfather, explaining that he killed the monsters in the war. Jacob’s grandfather disagrees, warning Jacob not to come home or else he’ll be in danger. Grandpa Portman once again states worriedly that he has to find his key.
Because of Grandpa Portman’s perceived decline and Jacob’s settled bias against believing the “monsters” are real, Jacob is slow to accept that there could be any truth to his grandfather’s frantic warnings. Jacob’s reaction suggests that whenever there’s a perception of untruthfulness, trust between people is weakened.
Themes
The key opens a locker in Jacob’s grandfather’s garage, and it contains a large number of guns and knives. His grandfather loved them, frequently going on hunting trips. He sometimes even slept with them; Jacob’s dad has a photo of Grandpa Portman sleeping with a pistol in his hand. Jacob’s dad explained that he did this because, after the war, he never truly felt safe. But now he’s becoming paranoid, so Jacob’s father took the key, worried about letting Grandpa Portman access the guns. Jacob lies and says he doesn’t know where the key is, but Grandpa Portman figures that Jacob’s dad took it.
This is a prime example in the book of how lies—even those that are meant to be protective—can have dangerous consequences. Jacob lies to his grandfather about where the key is, and as a result, his grandfather feels even more panicky and upset. Additionally, the fact that Jacob’s grandfather has built his life around so many guns and fighting off “monsters” illustrates that his grandfather constantly feels targeted for his differences.
Themes
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Jacob calls his dad to explain what happened. Jacob’s dad asks him to check on Grandpa Portman because he can’t get off work. Jacob’s dad volunteers at a bird rescue and is an aspiring nature writer. He can only afford to call these “jobs” because Jacob’s mom’s family owns a chain of drugstores. Jacob assures his dad that he can stop by the house, hoping that despite the increasing frequency of these incidents, his parents won’t put Grandpa Portman in a nursing home.
This passage highlights Jacob’s struggles with his family—particularly with his dad. The implied tension between Jacob’s parents, and the more obvious tension between them and Grandpa Portman, suggests that family can be loving and supportive, but also difficult and complicated. Moreover, the book illustrates how Jacob’s dad has never fully come into his own because of his wife’s money. Like Jacob, he is stuck in a kind of immaturity, with little agency or sense of purpose.
Themes
Jacob tells Shelley he has a family emergency and calls his friend Ricky for a ride. Ten minutes later, Jacob finds Ricky outside, smoking on the hood of his car. They’re friends as part of an “unofficial brains-for-brawn trade agreement.” Jacob is the “brains”—he helps Ricky with his English homework—while Ricky, the “brawn,” helps Jacob not get beat up at school. Ricky is Jacob’s best friend, but only because he is Jacob’s only friend.
Jacob’s friendship with Ricky provides insight into Jacob’s life at school. The fact that Ricky is his only friend—and that he is only friends with Ricky because he needs Ricky’s protection—shows not only that Jacob’s lack of confidence has left him with few friends, but also that he is often picked on. These dynamics add to his sense of inadequacy and powerlessness in his teenage years.
Themes
As Jacob and Ricky drive home, Jacob worries about Grandpa Portman, wondering if he might be streaking naked in the street or waving a rifle around. They get lost in Jacob’s grandfather’s neighborhood, where the houses all look the same, until Jacob recognizes a few landmarks and finds his grandfather’s street. As they drive to the end of the street, Jacob notices one of his grandfather’s neighbors, who is watering his lawn. Jacob sees with a shock that the man’s eyes are completely white—he had not realized that his grandfather had a blind neighbor.
Jacob’s worries about his grandfather illustrate how complicated family can be. Jacob idolizes his grandfather, but his grandfather's old age and infirmity now come with more difficult responsibilities for Jacob. Additionally, the fact that Jacob notices his grandfather’s “blind” neighbor foreshadows Jacob’s eventual realization that his grandfather’s stories aren’t as exaggerated as he’d thought.
Themes
Jacob rings his grandfather’s doorbell, but no one answers, so Jacob retrieves a spare key from a nearby bush and tells Ricky to wait out front. When Jacob enters, he sees that the house looks like it’s been vandalized. Jacob understands that his grandfather has really lost his mind. Jacob searches the house but can’t find his grandfather, until he sees a beam of light shining at the edge of the woods behind the house. When Jacob finds a flashlight on the ground near the woods, he envisions nightmare scenarios of his grandfather being eaten by an alligator.
Jacob continues to doubt his grandfather’s stories about the monsters, choosing to believe instead that his grandfather is simply losing his mind. This shows how the perception that his grandfather has been exaggerating—both in the stories about his childhood and now with his fear of the monsters—has distorted Jacob’s relationship with his grandfather.
Themes
Jacob calls for Ricky, who comes around the side of the house and immediately notices a slice in the screen door. They wonder if an animal might have done it, and Ricky fetches a gun from his car. As Ricky is doing so, Jacob feels inexplicably compelled to walk into the forest, led only by instinct. He trudges through thick vines and roots, following a recently made path.
Despite Jacob’s fear, he is willing to walk into the forest alone in order to protect his grandfather—even appearing to have an instinct for when someone he cares about is in trouble. This passage shows both Jacob’s devotion to his family and his willingness to put himself at risk for others, despite his frequent lack of confidence.
Themes
Suddenly, Jacob sees his grandfather face down in the bushes, his legs sprawled out and his arm twisted. His shirt is soaked with blood and he’s missing a shoe. Jacob thinks he’s dead but then sees that he’s breathing. Rolling his grandfather over, Jacob sees in shock that his grandfather’s face is pale and there are gashes across his stomach. Jacob calls out to Ricky, spotting the letter opener in his grandfather’s hand; he was clearly trying to defend himself with it. Jacob attempts to lift his grandfather but is unable, so he simply waits for Ricky.
This incident illustrates some of the devastating consequences even of perceived lies. Because Jacob and his dad didn’t believe Jacob’s grandfather about the impending danger he was facing, they left him essentially unable to defend himself from that threat. This provides the book’s first major example of how lies—or simply believing that someone isn’t telling the truth—can have harmful consequences.
Themes
While Jacob waits, Grandpa Portman starts mumbling, shifting between English and Polish. He warns Jacob to go to “the island” where he’ll be safe. Jacob doesn’t understand, but he agrees. Jacob’s grandfather tells him to “Find the bird. In the loop. On the other side of the old man’s grave.” He talks about September 3, 1940, “Emerson,” and “the letter.” As his grandfather dies, Jacob tells him he loves him.
Grandpa Portman’s death reinforces the dire consequences of not being believed. Additionally, while Grandpa Portman’s final words are cryptic, they clearly give Jacob an important job to do that’s somehow critical both for Grandpa’s sake and his own.
Themes
Just then, Ricky arrives and, seeing the scene, begins to panic. Ignoring him, Jacob lifts the flashlight and for one moment sees a face with dark eyes, rotten flesh, and several eel-like tongues. Jacob shouts, and the thing disappears. Ricky fires off a few shots, but he doesn’t get a view of the thing. Jacob can hear Ricky talking, but his voice is far away and Jacob blacks out.
As Jacob sees one of the horrific monsters his grandfather described for the first time, Jacob realizes that his grandfather was telling the truth, and that not believing him has had dire consequences. The encounter with the monster is a huge shock, undermining Jacob’s sense of reality.
Themes
