The Thing About Georgie
59 pages • 1-hour read
Lisa GraffThe Thing About Georgie
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Symbols & Motifs
Andy’s Room
Andy’s bedroom and its evolution throughout the novel function as a motif for the theme of Prevailing Through the Hardships of Friendship. At the beginning of the novel, when Georgie and Andy first begin to encounter conflict over Andy’s friendship with Russ, Andy’s room is divided with a curtain, as he must share it with Nonna Rosa. This division represents the division between Georgie and Andy on the topic of Russ coming into their dog-walking business. This topic ultimately leads to the end of their friendship in Chapter 9 when Georgie gives Andy an ultimatum, forcing Andy to choose between Georgie and Russ. Andy replies, “Then I won’t be your friend anymore. And by the way, we’re moving this summer, and I hope it’s really far away so I never have to see you again!” (78). Andy’s declaration of the end of their friendship and the end of him living near Georgie solidifies Andy’s room as a representation of their friendship. No longer divided, Georgie and Andy are completely separated, just like Andy’s room is now potentially going away forever.
In Chapter 20, as Georgie and Andy are reconciling their friendship, Andy reveals that his family is not moving; instead, they will be building a new room in their house. The revelation that Andy is staying and soon will get his room back symbolizes the return of Andy and Georgie’s friendship. Andy helps Georgie become more open to friendship with Russ, and in Chapter 21, the three boys work together to brainstorm ideas for Andy’s new room. Russ uses his artistic talents to sketch Georgie and Andy’s ideas, and “[b]etween Georgie’s great ideas and Russ’s detailed drawings, the builders [a]re able to figure out exactly how everything should go” (213). The three boys spend the night camping in the loft they designed, enjoying the fruits of their combined labor in Andy’s cool new room. The transformation of Andy’s room from divided, to possibly gone for good, to back and better than ever parallels Georgie’s friendship with Andy, as it transforms from conflicted, to broken, to mended and stronger with Russ’s presence.
Baby Godzilla
“Baby Godzilla” is the name that Georgie assigns to his unborn sibling, and the image that this name evokes functions as a symbol for Georgie’s insecurities about his new sibling. These insecurities start when Georgie learns that the baby is “nice and healthy” (30). Georgie interprets this to mean that his new sibling will not have dwarfism. Georgie doesn’t like that his parents intend to have “another kid, a perfectly normal-looking, nice and healthy one” (30). The narrative follows this up in Chapter 4 when Georgie realizes that his sibling will eventually grow taller than him. The idea that he will have to watch his baby sibling outgrow him contributes to the formation of the nickname Baby Godzilla in Chapter 6 when Georgie exaggerates that his sibling “w[ill] probably end up as huge as Godzilla” (45). This nickname symbolizes Georgie’s feelings about his height in relation to his future sibling’s potential height, as he feels insecure about the idea of having a baby sibling who is bigger than him.
Georgie maintains this nickname for most of the rest of the novel. He cannot stop thinking about “the baby. Baby Godzilla, growing larger and larger inside his mom’s belly” (46). He thinks about how “Baby Godzilla [i]s already gaining on him” after measuring the baby’s length against his own height (48). The final use of Baby Godzilla occurs in Chapter 24, just before Georgie asks his parents his burning question about whether they are disappointed that he turned out the way he did. Once Georgie has the reassurance he needs from his parents, he drops this nickname, symbolizing him shedding his insecurities about becoming a big brother to a younger sibling without dwarfism.
Abraham Lincoln
In Chapter 15, Jeanie signs Georgie up to play Abraham Lincoln in the school play, leaving him stuck with the role of “[t]he tallest president ever” (135). Georgie’s journey facing this role and the help he receives from Jeanie develop the theme of Going Outside One’s Comfort Zone, with Lincoln functioning as a motif.
Georgie outlines his discomfort clearly in Chapter 16 when he considers how people will react to him stepping on stage and announcing his role. Georgie thinks, “[E]veryone was going to laugh. Everyone. Even the adults would laugh. A dwarf playing Abraham Lincoln? They were going to explode with laughter” (137). Georgie worries that his stature will become the focal point of his performance and that the contrast between his 42-inch height and Lincoln’s notable tallness will only make people laugh at him.
In Chapters 22 and 23, Jeanie helps Georgie step outside his comfort zone to become Lincoln. With the help of Jeanie’s costume, Georgie towers above his peers, but he is still uncertain. He admits to Jeanie that he wanted to be Georgie Washington, not Lincoln—a moment that highlights Georgie wishing that he were in his comfort zone. Jeanie counters this by telling him, “You already are George Washington! Now go out there and be Abraham Lincoln!” (201). Jeanie’s statement emphasizes that Georgie, who is already comfortable being himself, George Washington Bishop, must now step outside his comfort zone to perform as Lincoln, a historical figure very unlike himself. This moment of encouragement forces Georgie out onto the stage, where he aces his Lincoln performance. Through Georgie’s unwanted part as Lincoln, the novel develops the idea that one must step outside one’s comfort zone to develop confidence and succeed.
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