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An automaton is a complex machine that can perform an action or series of actions with little to no intervention from humans. Starting in the mid-19th century, automatons often took on humanoid shapes and performed tasks such as writing, as the automaton does in Hugo. Hugo’s plot revolves around the titular character’s quest to fix a broken automaton. When Hugo fixes the automaton, he discovers it belonged to the filmmaker and magician Georges Méliès. As the novel states, magicians were responsible for creating many of the early humanoid automatons for use in their acts.
Automaton Quotes in The Invention of Hugo Cabret
The The Invention of Hugo Cabret quotes below are all either spoken by Automaton or refer to Automaton. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1, Chapter 1: The Thief
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“Ghosts. . .” the old man muttered to himself. “I knew they would find me here eventually.”
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Part 1, Chapter 5: Hugo’s Father
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Dogs barked in the distance, and the rumblings of the street cleaners pierced the quiet of the night. Where was Hugo supposed to go? What was he supposed to do? He had no one. Even the automaton was dead.
Part 1, Chapter 6: Ashes
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Hugo touched the ashes and then let them fall to the floor with the handkerchief. He staggered backwards. All of his plans, all of his dreams, disappeared in that scattered pile of ash.
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Part 1, Chapter 12: The Message
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Suddenly, Hugo felt stupid for thinking he could fix it and especially for imagining there would be a letter from his father waiting for him.
All his work had been for nothing.
Hugo felt broken himself.
Part 2, Chapter 5: Papa Georges Made Movies
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He related the whole story, from his father’s discovery of the automaton up in the attic of the museum, to the fire, to the arrival and disappearance of his uncle. He told her about discovering the toys in her godfather’s booth and how he used them to fix the automaton. He told her everything.
When Hugo finished, Isabelle was quiet for a few moments, then she said, “Thank you.”
Part 2, Chapter 6: Purpose
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“Maybe it’s the same with people,” Hugo continued. “If you lose your purpose . . . it’s like you’re broken.
“Like Papa Georges?”
“Maybe . . . maybe we can fix him.”
“I like to imagine that the world is one big machine. You know, machines never have any extra parts. They have the exact number and type of parts they need. So I figure if the entire world is a big machine, I have to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too.”
Part 2, Chapter 12: Winding it Up
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Once upon a time, I was a boy named Hugo Cabret, and I desperately believed that a broken automaton would save my life. Now, that my cocoon has fallen away and I have emerged as a magician named Professor Alcofrisbas, I can look back and see that I was right.
But now I have built a new automaton [. . .]. When you wind it up, it can do something I’m sure no other automaton in the world can do. It can tell you the incredible story of Georges Méliès, his wife, their goddaughter, and a beloved clock maker whose son grew up to be a magician.
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Automaton Term Timeline in The Invention of Hugo Cabret
The timeline below shows where the term Automaton appears in The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 1: The Thief
...from Hugo’s grasp and looks through it. Among its pages is a drawing of an automaton, which catches the old man’s eye.
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At the sight of the automaton, the old man mysteriously says, “Ghosts […] I knew they would find me here eventually.”...
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Part 1, Chapter 5: Hugo’s Father
...aside and pulls out a large object covered in fabric. Underneath the fabric is an automaton sitting at a desk—it is the spitting image of what Georges saw in Hugo’s notebook....
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...In a flashback, Hugo’s father comes home late from work and tells Hugo about the automaton. He found the automaton in the attic of the museum and describes it as the...
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Hugo asks his father who made the automaton. Hugo’s father says that no one knows—not even the people at the museum. However, Hugo’s...
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...age, and by only six years old, Hugo could fix almost anything. As such, the automaton sounds amazing to Hugo, and he begs his father to take him to see it....
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Hugo tells his father to fix the automaton so they can watch it write. Hugo’s father says he’ll think about it, which he...
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...His father was only in the museum’s attic because Hugo asked him to fix the automaton.
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...Hugo wanted to be a horologist (a clockmaker) like his father. However, after discovering the automaton, he decided he would prefer to be a magician instead. For a moment, he considers...
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...of the museum where his father used to work. Among the rubble, Hugo spots the automaton with its desk. The fire severely damaged them, but they are largely still intact.
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Hugo looks at the automaton for a moment and it makes him feel guilty. Still unsure of what to do,...
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As Hugo looks at the pieces of the automaton, he hears a voice say, “Fix it.” However, when he looks around, he doesn’t see...
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...dangerous and if Claude comes back, it is unlikely he will let him keep the automaton. Not knowing what else to do, Hugo decides to keep maintaining the clocks around the...
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The flashback ends, and Hugo is in his room looking at the automaton. It has been three months since Claude left and did not come back. In that...
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Part 1, Chapter 6: Ashes
...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...
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...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.
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Part 1, Chapter 7: Secrets
...asks Hugo to go away. Hugo leaves but spends the entire evening thinking about the automaton. Then, he returns to the toy store the next day. Still, he has no luck...
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Part 1, Chapter 9: The Key
...is keeping so many secrets from her. Before going to bed, he works on the automaton. He looks at the various mechanisms he’s stolen from Georges and suddenly realizes that one...
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...he is maintaining clocks, and the rest of his time goes toward working on the automaton. However, when Tuesday arrives, he does make some time to go see Isabelle and Etienne...
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Part 1, Chapter 11: Stolen Goods
...the train station with tears in his eyes. He lights some candles and gets the automaton out of its hiding place. Over the past week, Hugo made a good deal of...
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Part 1, Chapter 12: The Message
At this point, the automaton is completely fixed, and all Hugo has left to do is use the key. Hugo...
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...back. Hugo does not answer, so Isabelle begins looking around. Before long, she spots the automaton and approaches it. Isabelle asks Hugo about the automaton, and Hugo gives her a straight...
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Both Isabelle and Hugo are confused about why Isabelle’s key fits the automaton. Curious, Isabelle asks Hugo to turn the key. Hugo refuses and says he wants to...
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At first, the automaton makes a series of seemingly disconnected markings all over the page. Thinking himself a failure,...
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...into a corner of the room and puts his head in his hands. However, the automaton continues drawing and making more marks all across the paper. Isabelle continues watching and, after...
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Part 2, Chapter 1: The Signature
Hugo looks at the automaton’s drawing and recognizes it as a shot from the movie his father described to him....
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...does not know why it signed Georges’s name. Isabelle grabs the key out of the automaton. Hugo tries to take it from her, and the two of them begin fighting. Their...
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...him some ice to put on it. Then, Hugo hands Jeanne his half of the automaton’s drawing and asks her what she knows about it. Jeanne is shocked when she sees...
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Hugo explains where he found the automaton and how he got it to draw the picture. When Hugo mentions the key, Jeanne...
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Part 2, Chapter 3: The Plan
...and starts dreaming. His dreams are full of images of clocks, Georges, Isabelle, and the automaton. The last image he remembers before waking up is the Station Inspector’s hand reaching out...
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Part 2, Chapter 4: The Invention of Dreams
...the moon with a rocket in his eye. It looks exactly like the picture the automaton drew. Following the picture is a description of Georges Méliès’s contribution to the history of...
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Part 2, Chapter 5: Papa Georges Made Movies
Then, Isabelle asks Hugo to tell her the full truth about the automaton. For the first time, Hugo opens up to Isabelle and tells her the full story...
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Part 2, Chapter 8: Opening the Door
...magician. Eventually, with the help of Jeanne, he succeeded. While performing magic, he built the automaton that Hugo now has in his possession. After performing magic for some time, Georges decided...
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...heels for shoes. The only part of his past Georges refused to destroy was the automaton, which he gave to the museum where Hugo’s father worked. Now that he knows Hugo...
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Part 2, Chapter 9: The Ghost in the Station
...and the Station Inspector. Hugo makes it back to his room, where he grabs the automaton and tries to carry it back to Georges. However, before he can get far, the...
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Part 2, Chapter 10: A Train Arrives in the Station
...that Hugo is coming home with him. Hugo apologizes to Georges because he dropped the automaton. However, Georges says not to worry because, between the two of them, it shouldn’t take...
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Part 2, Chapter 11: The Magician
...Film Academy furnished for him. The room includes a desk for Hugo’s schoolwork, and the automaton sitting where he can see it. Hugo leaves his room to find Georges in the...
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Part 2, Chapter 12: Winding it Up
...Hugo) says that in the years after he met Georges and Isabelle, he built an automaton all by himself. It is an incredibly complex machine that can write the story of...
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