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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Magic, Cinema, and Imagination
Friendship, Honesty, and Vulnerability
Meaning and Purpose
Hardship and Maturity
Summary
Analysis
A full moon shines brightly over the Eiffel Tower on a starry night. Before long, night gives way to day as the sun comes up over Paris. As the sun rises, crowds flock to a large, elegant train station with a clock tower and massive stone archways. Among the crowd, a young boy makes his way up some stairs and then walks past several trains preparing to depart.
Hugo is an unusual novel in that it incorporates images to help tell its story. This entire first section of the story is told entirely in images, as are many segments of the story. This form of storytelling creates a blend between traditional novels—which use words to create meaning—and films—which use images to create meaning. Films are an important part of this story, and the images in the book allow the story’s form to reinforce its thematic content.
Themes
Soon, the boy finds himself in a quieter part of the station. He walks down a dark, empty hallway with a mischievous look on his face. On a wall in the middle of the hallway is a small vent, which he opens and crawls through. The vent leads to the backside of a clock, which overlooks a nearby street. The clock is translucent, allowing the boy to spy on the street without being seen. He peers through the “5” on the clock and sees an old man sitting at a toy shop across the street from the train station. Despite the toys surrounding him, the old man looks bored and depressed. At the moment, he has no customers, so he keeps his eye on the same clock the boy is hiding behind.
Many characters in Hugo are nameless when they are first introduced, including the three main characters. Here, the old man’s attitude and his job are at odds with each other Presumably, much of his job revolves around selling toys to children, which make them happy. However, the old man is unhappy, and his constant looks at the clock suggest that he just wants to go home. Meanwhile, the boy has a keen interest in the shop. For him, the clock is a meaningful tool rather than merely an instrument that counts down the minutes to the end of the day.
Themes
The boy—whose name is Hugo—watches as a young girl, approximately his age, walks up to the old man and talks to him. Hugo is nervous as he watches. He tells himself to be calm and rubs his fingers on a notebook in his pocket. From where he sits, it looks like the little girl and the old man are arguing. Hugo knows they know each other because he regularly sees the little girl at the toy shop. The little girl always carries books with her.
Yet another important unnamed character enters the scene. Meanwhile, this is also the first mention of Hugo’s notebook, which is an important symbol in the novel. Although readers won’t understand its full significance until later, it is clear that there is something about the notebook that puts Hugo at ease. It is clearly meaningful to him.
Themes
Hugo notices that the old man is irritated. He wonders if the old man found out that he is missing some toys. Even if that is the case, Hugo does not care—he needs the toys and plans to continue stealing them. Soon, the argument between the old man and the girl ends, and the girl runs off. Immediately afterward, the old man closes his eyes, much to Hugo’s delight. Hugo exits the vent and carefully makes his way over to the toy shop. Once there, he gives his notebook one final rub and slowly reaches up to grab a blue windup mouse. However, as he does so, the old man wakes up and grabs his arm.
Here, Hugo carefully executes all his premeditated actions. He knew what he wanted to do all along, and he puts his plan into action like someone who has been doing this a long time. However, despite his efforts, the old man catches Hugo almost immediately, which suggests that the old man’s nap was just a ruse to catch Hugo. Additionally, a mystery emerges from this scene: why does Hugo need the toys so badly? His actions and thoughts suggest that he does not simply want to play with them, so there must be something more.
Themes
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The old man starts yelling “thief” and calls for the Station Inspector, which sends Hugo into a panic. He desperately tries to escape the old man’s grasp. As he struggles, the old man tells Hugo to empty his pockets. In response, Hugo growls at him. Annoyed, the old man tightens his grip, and soon Hugo gives in. Hugo empties his pockets, which are full of miscellaneous objects including gears, screws, matches, and small candles.
All of Hugo’s actions, as well as his fear of the Station Inspector, suggest that he has no one looking after him. When he growls, he is like a feral animal who desperately wants to escape. However, the contents of Hugo’s pockets imply there is more to him than meets the eye. The assortment of objects that Hugo carries with him suggests that Hugo is building something—perhaps the invention referenced in the story’s title.
Themes
However, there is one pocket Hugo does not empty. The old man notices and tells Hugo to keep going. Hugo lies and says there is nothing in the remaining pocket, prompting the old man to yell for the Station Inspector again. Hugo knows the Station Inspector could ruin his life, so he takes his notebook out of his pocket and shows it to the old man. The old man rips the notebook from Hugo’s grasp and looks through it. Among its pages is a drawing of an automaton, which catches the old man’s eye.
Hugo’s refusal to give up the notebook again suggests that it is valuable to him. Meanwhile, the drawings of the automaton, complete with images of individual parts, suggest that Hugo is building it, which is why his pockets are lined with mechanical things like gears and screws. Additionally, although Hugo’s life already seems quite difficult, there is something about his current circumstances that brings him happiness; otherwise, he probably wouldn’t mind if the Station Inspector caught him and sent him away.
Themes
At the sight of the automaton, the old man mysteriously says, “Ghosts […] I knew they would find me here eventually.” Not sure how to feel about the drawing, the old man asks Hugo who he is and whether he drew the pictures. Hugo refuses to answer and instead starts growling again, which only makes the old man angrier. Then, the old man asks Hugo if he stole the notebook. Hugo says he did not.
The old man’s response suggests he knows something about the automaton. The automaton means something to both the old man and Hugo, but neither is willing to tell the other what that thing is. They are too guarded and refuse to trust each other.
Themes
Hugo’s response appears to satisfy the old man. He pushes Hugo away and tells him not to come back. As Hugo stumbles backward, he crushes the toy mouse. Realizing what he has done, Hugo picks up the broken pieces and returns them to the old man. Then, Hugo tells the old man that he needs the notebook back. The old man says he plans to keep the notebook and might even burn it if he feels like it. The suggestion appalls Hugo, but he still refuses to tell the old man anything about the notebook's contents. Hugo leaves, upset, and calls the old man a “thief.”
Vulnerability is a major theme in Hugo and Hugo’s refusal to be vulnerable with the old man prevents him from getting his notebook back. Hugo’s behavior suggests that there is an important secret tied to the notebook, one which is too important or painful to reveal to someone else—even if it means losing the notebook itself. Additionally, the chapter ends with an ironic insult from Hugo, who calls the old man a “thief,” even though the whole incident only occurred in the first place because he was trying to steal from the old man.
Themes
