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Chapter 7
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Mysterious Benedict Society, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Confidence and Growing Up
Deception vs. Truth
Loneliness vs. Friendship
Control vs. Freedom
Hope
Summary
Analysis
Rhonda sits down with the children to review the mission. She gives them notes that Number Two prepared, and all of them but Constance eagerly read them. They learn that the Institute generates its own electricity with tidal turbines, which are considered the best in the world and were invented by a scientist named Ledroptha Curtain. Ledroptha Curtain is certainly the Sender, but his plan is unclear. The turbines generate enough power to broadcast coded messages far more often and on a far stronger signal, which makes Reynie suspect Curtain is saving up energy for something. Mr. Benedict comes in and confirms this, referring to this unknown evil as “the thing to come.”
The revelation that Mr. Curtain’s plan is only in its early stages raises the stakes of the story and characterizes Mr. Curtain as dangerously ambitious. He is not content to manipulate the public with coded messages; he has something even more drastic planned.
Themes
Kate asks what will happen when the Sender boosts the power, and Mr. Benedict tells her that the only thing they know for certain is that increasing the power will allow the Sender to broadcast his messages directly into everyone’s minds, leaving no escape. Some exceptionally sensitive minds might hear the children’s voices, but for the most part, everyone will simply feel irritated and confused. But Reynie speculates that this is not the Sender’s main purpose, otherwise he would have boosted the power already. Mr. Benedict agrees; the Sender must be waiting in order to prepare people for “the thing to come.” What “the thing to come” might be is exactly what the children must find out.
Reynie is smart enough to understand Mr. Curtain’s plan and to guess the most effective strategies to carry it out. If it were not for Reynie’s innate morality, he could easily follow in the footsteps of Mr. Curtain, who is himself a brilliant scientist. This highlights that intelligence is not a guarantee of empathy or morality. In fact, intelligent people can abuse their gifts for selfish and evil purposes.
Themes
Sticky asks if the Curtain’s success would really be so bad. Mr. Benedict grimly suggests that it would be especially bad for them––people who love truth and can resist manipulation will likely be given “special attention” from the Sender. The prospect frightens all the children.
Though the children’s love of truth has allowed them to resist the coded messages so far, it can only protect the children before “the thing to come” is in effect. Once Mr. Curtain has achieved his goal, Mr. Benedict predicts he will follow the path of many authoritarian leaders and eliminate free-thinkers and critics.
Themes
Reynie is tempted not to believe Mr. Benedict, who is an odd man and might just be losing his mind. But he trusts Mr. Benedict, and in fact he is troubled by how badly he wants to trust him. He recognizes that he needs to figure out if he can trust himself, because he doubts someone in their right mind “would actually want to be put in danger just because that let him be part of something.”
Reynie is a desperately lonely boy, and Mr. Benedict has offered him an opportunity to be included in a group that values his intelligence instead of belittling it. Reynie longs to “be part of something,” and he is more than willing to put himself at risk to cure his loneliness. At the same time, he recognizes that this is a troubling mindset, indicating that Reynie’s emotional intelligence extends––to some degree––to himself.
Themes
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