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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 next day, the weather is terrible, but Jacob insists on going out, implying that he’s meeting some kids who live on the other side of the island. Jacob’s dad insists he wants to meet these kids, pretending to be the “sensible, no-nonsense dad” he wants to be. Jacob says they’re meeting up on the other side, so they can be introduced another time. Before Jacob goes, his dad gives him a final warning to be back by dinner.
Jacob again stretches the truth here—even though he is meeting kids on the island, he can’t tell his dad the full truth about them. His partial truth—which seems wise for the time being—comes out of a desire to protect the peculiars and also to spare his dad from worry. Additionally, the fact that Jacob’s dad needs to feel like a “sensible, no-nonsense dad” suggests that, like Jacob, his dad has never quite felt adequate or secure in his role in life.
Themes
Jacob races to the bog and emerges from the cairn into the beautiful September 3rd day, where he finds Emma waiting for him. She says that the kids have a surprise for him, pulling him back down the path. Jacob grows excited, knowing the day is full of possibility. When they reach the house, Jacob sees that the kids have put up a small wooden stage with a curtain and are warming up and getting dressed for a show.
Again, the more Jacob realizes that his days are full of possibility with newfound friends, the happier he is. All of these are key steps in helping Jacob come into his own and find self-confidence, as well as helping him develop a broader sense of family.
Themes
Millard calls all the children to their places, and some children form an audience alongside Jacob. Millard explains that they are putting on a performance of “accomplished magicianship.” For the first trick, he’ll make Miss Peregrine appear. From behind a curtain, he pulls out a sheet and a peregrine falcon. He holds the sheet in front and counts down from three, after which Miss Peregrine’s head pops up from behind the sheet, though she appears to be naked after transforming. She wraps the sheet around herself for modesty as the children applaud.
Whereas the rest of the world treats the children as oddities to be avoided or even abused, the children have learned to use their differences to their advantage, showing off their different skills and celebrating the unique sense of connection their abilities let them create. Though magic makes them outcasts in the broader world, it makes them a community at Miss Peregrine’s.
Themes
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Miss Peregrine greets Jacob and explains that this is a performance they used to tour before the bombing. The show continues: Millard takes off his clothes and juggles. Olive performs a levitating gymnastics routine. Emma swallows fire and blows it out of her mouth without burning herself. Jacob claps and claps, astounded. Emma explains that when they performed, no one ever suspected anything unusual—it was the best way for them to make a living.
Emma’s story about the magic show also illustrates that in the right setting, common people don’t have to be afraid of the magic or view it as something to be marginalized. In this way, the book highlights how in certain settings, their magic actually helped the children blend in more—thereby protecting them—rather than making them stand out.
Themes
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Next, a girl named Bronwyn drags a large boulder out from behind the curtain. Emma explains that Bronwyn might not be the smartest, but she is extremely loyal. Bending down, Bronwyn lifts the rock above her head, and the kids applaud and shout even though they must have seen her do it a thousand times. Next is Fiona, a wild-looking girl who takes the stage behind a planter of dirt. As an orchestra plays, Fiona causes daisies to bloom under her fingertips. Then Hugh joins her onstage and lets his bees pollinate the flowers Fiona grew. Emma explains that sometimes they’ll play a game where they grab hold of a sapling and see how high Fiona can get it to grow while they’re riding it. Jacob realizes that the kids must be bored a lot.
Here, Jacob’s realizations continue to hint at the limitations of the kids’ lives. They have seen these acts over and over again for 70 years, and they have attempted to come up with every possible game in order to make their lives more interesting. In this way, the book alludes to the idea that just because they have immortality doesn’t necessarily mean that their long lives are filled with deep meaning.
Themes
After a few more acts, the children disperse to various outdoor activities, and Jacob wanders around in “dreamy amazement.” After a delicious lunch, Emma convinces a few kids to go swimming. They have to walk straight through town, and a formally dressed boy named Horace gives Jacob clothes to better blend in. Jacob asks what makes Horace peculiar, and Emma explains that he has prophetic nightmares.
The book does illustrate how appealing the children’s lives can be, as Jacob feels happier than ever while enjoying various activities with them. But his “dreamy amazement” suggests that it doesn’t actually feel real—that this is an alternate reality from which he may have to wake up.
Themes
Walking through the town, Jacob realizes that it’s as if someone hit “reset” on it: the exact same things are happening as the day before. Millard explains that he is in the midst of compiling a complete account of the day—every action, conversation, and sound made. He explains that in 27 years he’s already observed half of the animals and most of the humans. Emma laughs, saying it’ll be the most boring thing ever written. To prove that it isn’t boring, Millard points out things just before they happen, which impresses Jacob.
Even though Millard’s account impresses Jacob, it speaks to the fact that Millard has had an exceptional amount of time to compile this account, which ultimately amounts to very little. While Millard has tried to craft some purpose for himself, this ultimately adds to the image of the kids’ lives as lacking in direction and meaning.
Themes
The kids reach the docks and jump into the water together, racing each other before lounging on the beach. The others ask Jacob a million questions about the world he comes from. The technology and standard of living amaze them the most: the planes, the TVs, the cell phones, the air conditioners. It’s almost sunset by the time they start back for the town. Emma stays close to Jacob, and when she stops to pick an apple from the tree and can’t reach it, he lifts her up to help; when she returns to the ground, she gives him a kiss on the cheek and the apple. Jacob is surprised as Emma runs to catch up with the others, but he likes whatever’s happening between them.
As Jacob spends more time with the peculiar children, he starts to experience the same conflict that Abe did. On one hand, he is gaining friends and even a budding romance between himself and Emma. As a result, he gains more confidence and a sense of belonging. But on the other hand, he also realizes—particularly given their questions about technology—that the kids’ lives are pretty stagnant, with little hope for change or new meaning.
Themes
When the kids come to the bog, Jacob has to go home, and he invites Emma to come to the other side with him for a minute. She says that Miss Peregrine will be expecting her, so Jacob asks her to come over to his time for a bit. Emma says that it’s a bad idea, even though she wants to. Jacob asks once more for her to spend one minute on the other side, so he can take a picture—his phone doesn’t work in 1940. She agrees, and he takes her photo with his phone on the other side. Afterwards, she tells him she’ll see him the next day and ducks into the cairn.
Taking a photo is a symbolic gesture, because it shows that Jacob wants to be connected to Emma in the hopes that she can be a part of his present. But the fact that she can’t really spend much time on the other side of the time loop indicates that it’s difficult for Emma to be a part of Jacob’s present. As Jacob becomes more and more a part of the peculiars’ family, there is a growing conflict between wanting their support but also not wanting to lose aspects of his life in the present.
Themes
Jacob returns to town to find his dad looking frantically for him. He explains that some sheep were killed, and the farmers think it was kids who did it—they want to know where he’s been all day. Inside the pub, very angry sheep farmers are questioning Worm. Jacob says he’s been alone in the old house on the other side of the island. Jacob’s dad questions him about the friends he was seeing there, and Jacob realizes his only solution is to say that the friends he talked about were imaginary. Though Jacob’s dad is worried about this admission, the farmers buy it.
This exchange not only foreshadows that there is something sinister going on around the island, but it also shows the issue with the way Jacob’s been lying up to this point. Even though he did so in order to prevent his dad from worrying about him, in the end it only made his dad more concerned and less trusting of Jacob. In this way, the book emphasizes the value of the truth once more.
Themes
Jacob’s dad asks how many sheep were killed, and the men explain there were five—killed in their pen. His dad concludes that whoever did it would have been covered in blood, and that it was likely a pack of foxes. The farmers don’t believe it, saying the cuts are too clean. They walk over to the pen, where the sheep are lying sliced open and bloodied. Seeing the violence, Worm gags and cries, which the farmers take as an admission of guilt and call the police on the mainland.
The image of the bloodied sheep hints at the threat of danger that the peculiar children are soon to face, even if they don’t know exactly what’s coming. The fact that they are sheep suggests that even the most innocent and helpless beings can face this threat, which is why their separation from others and the protection in the home is so crucial.
Themes
Jacob and his dad walk away, and Jacob apologizes for lying. He says that there aren’t any other kids on the island, but also that he doesn’t have imaginary friends—he just wanted to get the farmers off his back. Jacob’s dad asks if they need to call Dr. Golan, but Jacob assures his dad that he’s fine. Jacob’s dad then wonders how Jacob got such a bad sunburn on such an overcast day. Jacob shrugs this off, and they turn in for the night. Before falling asleep, all Jacob can think about is Emma—even looking intently at all the photos he took of her to make sure that she’s real.
Jacob continues his trend of stretching the truth, and the book illustrates how, as a result, those statements continue to undermine Jacob’s dad’s trust in him—that is, the more Jacob lies, the more they grow apart, just as Jacob’s dad did with Abe. Additionally, the fact that Jacob looks so intently at Emma’s photo to ensure that she’s real suggests the idea that she isn’t quite real—that being stuck in the time loop means that she isn’t able to live life in the same way Jacob can.
Themes
