47 pages • 1-hour read
The Kaiju Preservation Society
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 Kaiju
The kaiju are a motif that represents nature and nuclear energy. Like nature and nuclear energy, the kaiju are powerful, dangerous, and difficult to control, though humans try to control and use them for their own interests. For example, Sanders explains that the kaiju’s reactors would be useful, saying, “Imagine the competitive advantage we could have if instead of building viable nuclear reactors, we could just grow them. Safe. Effective. Organic” (236). Sanders’s desire to use the kaiju for their reactors connects the kaiju to nuclear energy, both of which Sanders wants to use to make money and to become even more wealthy and powerful.
The kaiju motif serves all the novel’s major themes. In developing the theme of The Importance of Conservation and Environmental Stewardship, Scalzi traces Jamie and the other team members’ feelings about the kaiju as they develop from fear to respect and understanding. Sanders’s attempts to exploit Bella and the KPS’s mission to protect the kaiju emphasize theme of Humans’ Impact on Ecosystems. This illustrates both positive and negative human effects on Kaiju Earth. The kaiju’s volatile and dangerous nature also necessitates Teamwork and Community in the Face of Global Catastrophe. For example, the Gold Team must develop trust in each other’s skills and bond over their shared desire to protect the kaiju to be successful. In addition, the kaiju pose potential dangers to humans, and the Gold Team’s concern for their community and their fellow humans motivates them to risk themselves to help. This is in direct contrast to Sanders, whose disregard for other people puts everyone in danger.
“Who Are the Monsters?”
The question “Who are the monsters?” is a motif that supports themes of The Importance of Conservation and Environmental Stewardship, Humans’ Impact on Ecosystems, and Teamwork and Community in the Face of Global Catastrophe. The question asks whether the kaiju or human beings are the monsters that should be held in check. Tom first asks this question after he explains the KPS’s origin following the use of nuclear bombs during World War II, which thinned the barrier between worlds and brought the kaiju to main Earth. This juxtaposes the purposeful human use of destructive bombs and the natural attraction of animals to food. Tom asks, “The only real question is, who are the monsters?” (45). When Jamie lightheartedly suggests the question is cliché, Tom asks, “What does it say about us that it’s relevant every single time they ask it?” (45). Scalzi suggests that humans and supposedly monstrous animals affect the world differently because humans are destructive on purpose while animals respond to instinct. Aparna and Niamh reinforce this assertion later, informing Major General Tipton that Bella is unlikely to cross the barrier because she is driven by instinct and not interested in the barrier.
Sanders serves as Scalzi’s answer to Tom’s question, ruthlessly and selfishly kidnapping Bella and her eggs for his own gain, regardless of the consequences. Indicating humans’ impacts on ecosystems, Bella’s kidnapping poses risks to both Earths, including the extinction of her species on Kaiju Earth and the nuclear explosion that will kill thousands on main Earth. Sanders’s willingness to risk the safety of other humans on earth suggests another reason to teamwork and community; if Sanders valued these more, he could have avoided global disaster. Jamie chastises Sanders for viewing the kaiju as a resource to be exploited: “Tom Stevens told me once that part of the job of the KPS was keeping the kaiju safe from humans. We joked about which of us were the real monsters. But it turns out it’s not a joke after all, is it?” (245).
The Plant
The plant in Jamie’s room symbolizes Jamie’s life and community at the KPS, emphasizing the theme of Teamwork and Community in the Face of Global Catastrophe. Jamie’s predecessor, Sylvia Braithwhite, leaves it along with a letter for Jamie, describing her tour and the friendships she had. Sylvia explains that she thought her room “would be nicer with some green in it, and brought a cutting home and put it in a pot on my windowsill” (63), literally integrating Kaiju Earth into her private home and life. When she asks Jamie to care for the plant, she literally passes the lessons of her deployment to Jamie.
Jamie’s relationship to the plant changes throughout the novel. Jamie confides in the plant, suggesting a desire for connection with her new environment. When Jamie has trouble sleeping after the attack on the nesting site, they tell the plant, “This is not working” and thinks that the plant “while sympathetic, I’m sure, said nothing” (205). Mourning Tom’s death, Jamie has trouble connecting to their role on Kaiju Earth in this moment. Eventually, however, Jamie derives comfort and companionship from the plant, indicating that they are now comfortable with their fellow KPS members and the environment of Kaiju Earth. When Jamie’s first tour ends, they leave the plant for their replacement and write a letter that parallels Sylvia’s. They write that, like the people and the friendships they formed at KPS, “[T]his plant is real” (256) and ask their replacement to nurture the plant—and the friendships and life at KPS. In this way, Jamie ensures that the community at KPS will survive.
Unlock the meaning behind every key symbol & motif
See how recurring imagery, objects, and ideas shape the narrative.
- Explore how the author builds meaning through symbolism
- Understand what symbols & motifs represent in the text
- Connect recurring ideas to themes, characters, and events