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What’s the Use of You?
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Monster Calls, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Death, Denial, and Acceptance
Storytelling
Isolation
Family and Growing Up
Summary
Analysis
Conor is in the middle of his nightmare—the nightmare he’s been having since his mother first complained about her exhaustion and how sick she felt, even before she was officially diagnosed with cancer. He begs the monster to get him out of the nightmare, but the monster insists that Conor must tell the fourth tale.
“The Fourth Tale,” is actually Conor’s nightmare. As the monster has stated again and again, Conor has to tell his own story—his own truth. He must learn to accept the reality of what is happening to his mother and how he feels about it, even though it deeply scares him.
Themes
In his nightmare, Conor sees his mother on the edge of a cliff, and begs her to run away from what is coming. He strains to move toward her, but he feels so heavy and weighed down. He hears a booming from below the cliff: the “real monster.” Two giant fists reach up to grab her, and she is too weak to run. The fists start to pull her over the edge of the cliff, and Conor runs, his hands just catching hers.
Conor’s nightmare becomes a clear metaphor for her death. The real monster, which represents cancer or death, comes for Conor’s mother. Conor desperately tries to hold onto her, even though he knows that there is very little he can do to save her.
Themes
Conor’s mother begs Conor to hold on. He promises not to let her go, but she starts to slip. He turns back to the yew tree monster, which stands there not moving. Her hands continue to slip, and she gets heavier and heavier as the nightmare monster pulls harder and harder. The yew tree monster tells Conor that he must speak the truth, but Conor refuses. His mother continues to slip, and Conor continues to refuse, until his mother falls.
The metaphor of Conor’s nightmare extends even further: even though Conor cannot possibly save his mother, he is trying to hold onto her for as long as he can. Still, he is weighed down more and more by the emotional pain, and by the responsibility that has been placed upon him, of trying to keep her alive.
Themes
