Petey

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1998

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-4

Part 1, Chapters 5-9

Part 1, Chapters 10-14

Part 2, Chapters 15-19

Part 2, Chapters 20-23

Part 2, Chapters 24-27

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Petey’s Wheelchair

The use of a wheelchair is essential to Petey’s ability to exist outside the confines of a bed, and they are symbolic of the nature of his care, inadequate but functional enough to suffice in the minds of those who make decisions for him. Because he is immobile, wheelchairs symbolize Petey’s only means of engaging and interacting with the world. Through their use, Petey can look out the window, spend time with Calvin, and in later years participate in activities at the hospital that would be impossible without this essential mode of transportation for him.

The first intercession on Petey’s behalf was by Joe, who insisted on getting Petey up and out of bed and into a wheelchair. When Owen arrives on Ward 18 decades later, he is forced to exert greater efforts to return Petey to a life upright in a chair instead of in bed to ensure Petey gets to experience as much of his limited world as possible. Trevor goes further still; now that Petey is in a less restrictive environment, his wheelchair undergoes more significant wear and must be upgraded to fit in with Petey’s new lifestyle. The resistance these caregivers encounter is indicative of the condition of helplessness Petey is relegated to; he is at the mercy not only of his need for a wheelchair but also his need for understanding and advocacy.

Framed Quotation from the Book of Isaiah

“They that wait upon the Lord

shall renew their strength.

They shall mount up with wings like eagles; pigeons

they shall run and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint.”

-Isaiah 40:31

That both Joe and Trevor chose the same verse to gift to Petey decades apart is a testament to the emotions Petey evokes in those who care for and about him. The principal tenet of the verse is that there will be rewards for those who endure great suffering during their lives and that there is hope for another existence to come for those to whom life has dealt immeasurable challenges. His friends often express that Petey deserves better than what he has experienced and that in the next life they hope he will be unencumbered by the disabilities that have prevented him from thoroughly embracing all that life has to offer. When Petey first encounters this verse, he and Calvin do not know what eagles are. They have not been exposed to the outside world or to educational materials that might have provided them with the relevant reference imagery. Instead, Joe references pigeons, with which the boys are familiar. Petey remembers the edit that Joe made on his original verse when Trevor reads the verse aloud to him in 1990. The sentiment expressed in Isaiah symbolizes the wishes and desires that Petey’s loved ones have for him. Though everyone introduced in the novel who comes to love Petey—Calvin, Joe, Cassie, Owen, Sissy, and Trevor—does what they can in their own way for Petey, what they truly desire for him is something unattainable for him in his lifetime.

“Gunfights” on Ward 18

The lively gun battles that Petey and Calvin stage on the ward symbolize their youthfulness and how they are much like any other young men their age despite the vast differences in the life circumstances. Their enthusiasm for Westerns is one of their vital connections to the outside world, and in recreating the excitement and action they see in Western films and television shows, they devise their own way to engage with the content that has provided an escape for them. The gunfights allow them to use their imagination to place themselves outside the setting of the state hospital and cast themselves as adventurers. They are able to consider what they might have been if they were not confined by their circumstances. Montana, where both Calvin and Petey live for entirety of their lives, is situated directly within the American West geographically and also constitutes territory essential to the history of Western expansion. Through their imagination, they become part of the landscape just outside the hospital walls. Their gunfights are lighthearted and whimsical, resulting in excitement and revelry that breaks up the monotony of their days, but they are also an essential coping mechanism and outlet for the youthful energy the two young men have no way of expending otherwise. These interactions were so impactful and such a source of joy that a reference to these gunfights is one of the first things Calvin mentions to Petey upon their reunion in 1990, and Petey instantly recognizes this cherished pastime and returns fire.