Zach’s Bicycle Symbol Analysis

In Good Night, Mr. Tom, Zach’s bicycle represents how necessary remembering one’s dead loved ones is to healthy grieving. Zach mentions he is fixing up an old bicycle to his best friend William during their first full conversation after William has spent several days recovering from a traumatic trip to visit his abusive mother, Mrs. Beech. Given the context, the novel seems draw a subtle parallel between Zach repairing the bicycle and his friendship helping to “repair” William’s psyche in the aftermath of his mother’s abuse. Later, Zach rides the bicycle when taking a trip to the seaside with William and his guardian Tom Oakley (who ride a tandem together), strengthening the symbolic connection between Zach’s bicycle and his friendship with William.

When Zach dies while visiting his parents during the brutal September 1940 bombings of London by Nazi Germany, William is devastated. For months, in a state of emotional numbness, he shuts away everything he has that once belonged to Zach and tries to avoid reminders of Zach’s death. It is only when William decides to teach himself to ride Zach’s bicycle that he starts to get back in touch with his emotions. Riding the bicycle reminds William of all the positive effects that Zach’s friendship has had on his life and how Zach’s extroversion and friendliness allowed William to access the same qualities buried in his own personality. Though riding Zach’s bicycle, William both remembers Zach and teaches himself that Zach isn’t fully “gone” from his life just because Zach has died. Thus, the bicycle that once represented Zach’s friendship to William comes to represent how necessary it is for William to remember Zach in order to heal from Zach’s death.