Solitaire
42 pages • 1-hour read
Alice OsemanSolitaire
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Symbols & Motifs
Blogging
The motif of blogging reveals Tori’s desire for authentic emotional expression and develops the theme of Feigning “Normalcy” to Fit In. From the beginning, Tori’s blog is a place where she can articulate thoughts that she can’t voice aloud: “I like to sleep and I like to blog. I am going to die someday” (4). Blogging is her outlet for morbid, introspective reflections and a means of constructing identity, allowing her to process the world on her own terms, particularly as she navigates relationships with Michael, Lucas, and her family.
Blogging also reflects the power of words and observation. Through the Solitaire blog, Tori is unexpectedly awakened and drawn back into herself. The blog uses online posts to manipulate people and provoke action, and Tori’s engagement with Solitaire leads her down this path. An activity that the novel initially associates with Tori’s withdrawal from the world therefore ultimately showcases her struggle to assert agency.
Pop Culture and Literature
Pop culture and literature serve as recurring motifs that set Tori’s experiences within a wider cultural and emotional context. References include things like Mr. Kent’s discussions of Pride and Prejudice, as well as music playing during the Solitaire party (The Smiths). Tori’s interactions with pop culture serve as a source of irony that illuminates her unreliability as a narrator; she claims to hate what others like, yet she loves popular movies like Star Wars and singers like Madonna. Literature often functions as a mirror for her internal life: Her praise of Mr. Darcy reflects both her cynicism and her desire for authenticity, while her peers’ casual references to The Catcher in the Rye position Solitaire as a modern version of the famous novel. Literary and cultural references thus link Tori’s personal growth to broader cultural narratives.
Pop culture also mediates Tori’s relationships. Music, blogs, and festivals provide settings where connection and self-expression occur. For example, dancing to The Smiths at the Solitaire party offers Tori a fleeting sense of joy and community, which contrasts with her usual emotional withdrawal. Moments like this emphasize the theme of Finding Light in the Darkness.
Fire
Fire is a symbol of destruction and transformation associated with the theme of Being the Start of Change. It manifests in the school fires, fireworks at the festival, and the burning of the lectern—recurring imagery of flames and explosions that places the characters in immediate danger while forcing critical reflection. Tori, for example, experiences fire as a literal threat during the festival, where fireworks start going off across the grounds and people are catching on fire. Tori jumps into the river as one explodes behind her. For Tori, this moment combines terror with a sense of feeling alive and invigorated, the fire evoking the intensity of her internal experience.
The Solitaire fire at school also represents the chaos caused by selfish or reckless choices. Tori’s attempt to stop the fire is the highlight of her moral awakening, as the crisis brings out her bravery and sense of purpose. In the climax, fire heightens the tension of Tori’s encounter with despair and her rescue by Michael. Fire thus embodies both consequence and transformation in regard to Tori’s emotional journey from passivity toward living.
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