57 pages • 1 hour read
Taylor AdamsThe Last Word
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaSymbols & Motifs
Stars
Content Warning: This section of the guide describes and discusses the source text’s treatment of mental health conditions, suicidal ideation, child death, and substance use disorder.
The recurring motif of stars takes on multiple meanings throughout the novel. At the beginning of the story, the meaning is purely utilitarian, for Emma gives Kane’s book, Murder Mountain, a scathing one-star review—the lowest ranking she can assign. In this context, the single star represents her deep hatred for the book, and the negativity associated with this action comes back to haunt her when Kane/Howard seeks revenge in person. By contrast, because Emma loves astronomy, the vast star-spangled canopy of the night sky takes on a positive meaning, especially given that her husband pays a service to name a star after her. This specific star represents Shawn’s love for Emma, and her love of the stars in the sky becomes associated with the elements of her life that inspire her to keep on living. Significantly, as Emma struggles with her grief and suicidal ideation, the cloudy skies of the Pacific Northwest block her view of the stars, signifying that she is enduring her lowest spiritual moment. However, after she survives Deek’s attempt to murder her, she has a vision of her dead daughter and is once again able to see the stars when she resurfaces from her plunge into the ocean. This moment symbolizes Emma’s decision to overcome her grief and resume her life.
Spaceships
Emma frequently refers to Jules’s house and Deek’s house as spaceships encountering each other in the vast emptiness of space. This comparison symbolizes the relationship that develops between her and Deek before she learns of his true role in her recent troubles. Initially, Emma feels a certain kinship with Deek, and she thinks of them both as “[t]wo spaceships. Alone in the void” (148). She believes that they are both experiencing isolation and loneliness. However, this isolation takes on a more ominous tone when Deek admits to using his telescope to track Emma’s movements on the beach, and the motif of spaceships suddenly foreshadows the conflict to come when Emma realizes that “Deek’s spaceship has veered alarmingly close to hers” (33). This description suggests that Deek’s presence in her life is becoming increasingly invasive as he violates unspoken boundaries and uses his observations of her to manipulate Kane into attacking her.
Birds
The motif of birds appears in key moments of Emma’s present and past, and the image is often used to indicate that Emma feels trapped. In some cases, the offhand descriptions of the birds even indicate Emma’s mental state, for in one of the flashbacks, the narrative asserts that a “suicidal little finch” flies into a window in front of Shawn and Emma as they are discussing the prospect of having children (151). To Emma, this incident represents her struggle to conceive and the death of her infant daughter. Avian imagery also appears in the narrative present, when Kane’s response to Emma’s negative reviews includes the contemptuous phrase “little sapsuckers like you” (9). Significantly, an actual sapsucker hits the window of Jules’s house just when Emma posts her review, imbuing the narrative with an uncanny sense of imminent danger.
