Meaning and Purpose Theme Analysis

The Invention of Hugo Cabret explores the idea of finding one’s purpose in the world using an important metaphor involving machines. While working at Georges’ toy stand together, Hugo and Isabelle discuss how sad it is to see a machine that does not function; machines were built for a specific purpose, and when they no longer work, they have lost their entire purpose. Hugo suggests that the same is true of people, and he points to Georges as an example. For a long time, Georges was a great filmmaker and French audiences loved him. However, at the onset of World War I, he was plagued by financial hardships and had to sell all of his films, most of which were destroyed. Indeed, after losing his film career, Georges’ life lacks purpose. Although fun objects surround him at his toy stand, all Georges can do is look at the clock and watch the seconds ticking away. It is no accident that Georges falls ill after seeing the pictures in the armoire; they remind him of the purpose he once had, which is now lost.

Luckily, Georges’ purpose is reignited when Isabelle and Hugo bring Etienne and Monsieur Tabard to his house. After seeing one of his films and hearing Monsieur Tabard’s stories, Georges realizes that his purpose never went away—it was simply hidden from him. At this point, Georges becomes a completely different person, as he starts to turn back into the man he once was before his life was engulfed in tragedy. By the end of the story, Georges is the same magical man he was in his youth. Georges’ character arc proves Hugo’s thesis, which is also the novel’s thesis; that is, like machines, humans require purpose to properly function because without purpose, people lose touch with who they are.