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Part 1, Chapter 5: Hugo’s Father
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
Early the next day, as Georges opens his toy shop, Hugo approaches him. Georges knew Hugo would come, and he hands him a tied-up handkerchief. At first, Hugo is excited, but then he realizes what the handkerchief contains: the ashes of his burnt notebook. Hugo starts to cry and then attempts to attack Georges. However, Georges is quicker, and he grabs Hugo’s arms before Hugo can do anything. Again, Georges asks Hugo why he cares about the notebook so much. Hugo does not answer and tries to pull away from Georges. As he does so, he notices that Georges is starting to cry as well. Georges sadly tells Hugo to leave, and he does.
It appears that Hugo and Georges have a lot in common. Both of them have a strong emotional attachment to the notebook—although the nature of Georges’s attachment remains a mystery—but neither is willing to open up to the other. At this point, the novel has clarified Hugo’s refusal to open up about the notebook: he has suffered emotional trauma and does not feel comfortable opening up about it to others. Since his father’s death, adults have not been kind to Hugo. Claude is abusive, Georges has apparently burned his notebook, and the Station Inspector is a constant threat. Given this pattern of mistreatment, it is no wonder he does not trust anyone.ub’Hu
Themes
It is time for Hugo to check the clocks. At first, he does not want to, and even considers turning himself in to the Station Inspector, but then he quickly changes his mind. Even if he cannot get the automaton to work, he would prefer to have it near him, and he knows that would never happen if he was sent away from the train station.
Now that Hugo’s notebook is gone, the automaton is the only connection he has to his father. Sadly, without the notebook, the automaton will remain lifeless, making it a sad reminder of his father’s death. However, for Hugo, a sad reminder is better than nothing at all.
Themes
Hugo starts checking the clocks but has a harder time than usual because his mind is still on the burnt notebook. When Hugo finishes with his last clock, he sits down, curls up in a ball, and lets the sound of the clock put him to sleep. However, his sleep is interrupted with more dreams about fire, and he wakes up, startled. Then, Hugo returns to his room to sleep there; however, sleep will not come. To try to make himself feel better, Hugo draws pictures of the things that make him happy such as magicians, machines, and the automaton. Eventually, this activity calms him down, and he gets back into bed.
The clocks provide some order to Hugo’s life because they allow him to keep a schedule even in times of personal turmoil. Clocks comfort him, and they help lull him to sleep—probably, in part, because they are yet another reminder of his father. Meanwhile, Hugo’s drawing is an effective coping mechanism he came up with all on his own. It is one of the few positive outcomes of his traumatic past.
Themes
The following morning, Hugo goes around the train station and checks the clocks, as always. When he is finished, he desperately wants a cup of coffee, so he scrapes together some of his few remaining coins and buys one. Hugo does his best to not steal food, clothing, or other things that he knows people need to survive. Often, he gets his food out of the garbage, though he occasionally steals from restaurants when he is desperate. He does not like stealing, though he made an exception for the toys. As Hugo sits in the train station and drinks his coffee, he notices a piece of paper on his table. It is a note, which asks him to go to the bookstore in the train station. It also says that his notebook was not burned.
Despite Hugo’s circumstances, he does what he can to be a good person, and he only steals when it is necessary for survival. The fact that he makes an exception for the toys demonstrates just how much the automaton means to him. Although it is not necessary for his physical survival, it is necessary for his mental and emotional health. Luckily, Hugo gets some much-needed hope at the end of the chapter, as the note tells him that the notebook—a symbolic piece of his father—is still intact.
Themes
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