logo

50 pages 1 hour read

She Kills Monsters

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 2011

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Symbols & Motifs

The Tree

Agnes’s family died in a tragic car accident when their vehicle crashed into a tree. In the shadow play that dramatizes the tragedy, the stage direction describes how “the tree transforms into a dragon and flies away with the broken vehicle” (9). The tree, firmly rooted in place, represents Agnes’s unchanging life, and its transformation into a dragon foreshadows the inspirational fantasy world of Tilly’s module and symbolizes Agnes’s personal journey to see beyond the strictures of social conformity.

Year after year, Agnes grows up in the most typical manner where she looks and acts like every other regular teenager in her small town. Like a tree that stays permanently in place, Agnes has little experience beyond the borders of her home. The narrator describes how “as Agnes grew and grew, she became more and more engrossed with transcending her seemingly permanent state of averageness” (8). The older she grows, the deeper the roots settle her in one place and one mindset, and the more restless she feels.

When the tree transforms into a dragon that flies away, the change symbolizes Agnes’s willingness to leave the confines of her stationary life to explore the larger world around her.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 50 pages of this Study Guide

Plus, gain access to 8,600+ more expert-written Study Guides.

Including features:

+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools