Previous
Mushrooms/Willowbee
Trevor’s Swiss Army knife represents the senselessness and unpredictability of his death. Both Ellie and Vivian remember at various points how much Trevor loved and relied on his Swiss Army knife; it made him feel prepared to tackle any situation, from tightening screws to the time he brandished the knife at the Leech while hiking with Ellie. However, the knife, and the sense of security and preparedness it gave Trevor, wasn’t enough to protect him from murder when Dr. Allerton killed him. As Ellie receives Trevor’s knife from Lenore, she muses on how the knife certainly did nothing for Trevor in his final moments. For all his attempts to protect himself from the dangers lurking in the world, his senseless, unfair, and untimely death came anyway. The knife thus becomes a reminder of Trevor’s mortality—and the mortality of all living beings.
Swiss Army Knife Quotes in Elatsoe
The Elatsoe quotes below all refer to the symbol of Swiss Army Knife. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 9
Quotes
“Here,” Lenore said, handing Ellie a velvet-wrapped parcel. “He wanted you to have this.”
Gingerly, Ellie unwrapped Trevor’s Swiss Army knife. “He used to carry this during hikes,” she said. “Every hike. Even little ones in Grandma’s yard. Just in case.” She held it carefully. “I’ll always carry it, too.”
“That’s Trevor,” Lenore said. “Prepared for just about anything. It didn’t help him in the end.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Elatsoe LitChart as a printable PDF.
Swiss Army Knife Symbol Timeline in Elatsoe
The timeline below shows where the symbol Swiss Army Knife appears in Elatsoe. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6
...to kill him and now, he’d like to kill Ellie. Trevor threatened it with his Swiss Army knife , but Ellie killed the monster by summoning thousands of mosquitos’ ghosts. Trevor was extremely...
(full context)
Chapter 9
...disturbed by Lenore’s unkempt appearance and lack of her usual perfume. Lenore gives Ellie Trevor’s Swiss Army knife . She laments that while Trevor was always prepared, his knife didn’t help him.
(full context)
Chapter 33
...grabs her braid. She can’t return like this, she knows: he’ll follow her. With Trevor’s Swiss Army knife , Ellie chops her braid off, and Kirby attacks Dr. Allerton. Ellie thinks of home...
(full context)
