I Survived the Hindenburg Disaster, 1937

The recurring motif of wild animals is the primary literary device used to establish and explore the theme of Childhood Innocence as a Moral Compass. The narrative filters the moral complexities of the adult world through the simple, unfiltered perceptions of its youngest characters, Hugo and Gertie. The motif is introduced as one of “Gertie’s games” (23), a playful way of categorizing the people she meets. Fellow passengers are likened to largely harmless creatures; Miss Crowther is an “ostrich,” and the cheerful Mr. Lenz resembles a “nice walrus” (29, 31). These initial comparisons create a baseline of innocent observation, establishing Gertie’s unique worldview as a source of charming, if simplistic, truth about the people around her. These observations set up Gertie’s comment about Colonel Kohl being a “big cobra,” which carries serious thematic weight.

Hugo has his own animal comparison that follows him throughout the narrative. The one-eared baboon he met in Kenya serves as a touchtone for important plot moments and decisions. The baboon is important because it became Hugo’s companion in Kenya. Every day, it visited him on the porch while he did his homework, and sharing a mango with it became one of Hugo’s happiest memories from that time. Hugo thinks of the baboon in the crucial moment when he decides to outwit Kohl in the cargo hold. Taking the baboon’s strategy of creating a distraction to outsmart a hippo, he and Panya successfully direct Kohl’s attention away from Mr. Singer. This scene subtly changes Kohl’s animal corollary from the deadly cobra to a slow-witted hippo. He remains a threatening presence, but Hugo’s success takes away a little of his venom.