Rachel the Swan

Several of the characters in the novel are related to birds or have a bird reference attached to them. I think the importance of this is because a bird has the ability to fly and escape their situation when needed. At the beginning of the story we see the Peterson Field Guide that Brick has, then throughout the chapters we are reminded of birds. However, I think the most important reference is to Rachel and her family. The social pressures, which would be similar to the predator of a bird were extreme on Mor and her family, which pushed her to do what she did. The last lines of the book, Rachel mentions only if her family had been birds.

This line is influential and sums up the entire story because if the family had been birds, Rachel would not be the only one living. Mor wouldn't of done what she had done and the family would still be together. If they had been birds they would have been able to jump from that roof, spread their wings like the swan at the end and fly away from the social pressures that they were facing. (Shawn Parkhurst 8)