MOTIVES & MYSTERIES
The fact that the man Jack kills the entire family but leaves the baby suggests this about the target of his
The fact that the man Jack kills the entire family but leaves the baby suggests this about the target of his
This is the reason Silas must bring Bod food, books, and clothes from the outside world instead of the ghosts.
What is he is neither alive nor dead, allowing him to leave the graveyard?
The freedom of the graveyard granted to Bod is really this kind of restriction in disguise.
What is a kind of imprisonment/confinement?
The reason Liza Hempstock's ghost is stuck in the area of Slab Town and cannot join the other ghosts.
What is she was never properly buried?
The only beings who can open the Ghoul-gate are those who are this.
What are Ghouls?
After Lady Owens takes the child, her line, "He'll be wanting to join his parents soon enough," suggests this about the common fate of children brought to the graveyard.
What is they usually die quickly?
Silas's ability to appear instantly in different places and not require sleep leads the reader to infer he is this type of creature.
What is a vampire (or something similar, like a guardian/watcher)?
The fact that the ghosts and the land seem to be slowly Fading suggests this about the cemetery's power or lifespan.
What is the graveyard's magic or ability to protect the ghosts is slowly diminishing?
The fact that Liza asks Bod for a headstone, suggesting this about her primary motivation in the afterlife.
What is she desires dignity and to be formally recognized as a person?
The fact that the Ghouls keep changing their names, such as the "Duke of Westminster" or the "Archbishop of Canterbury," suggests this about their actual status.
What is they are pompous, pathetic, and hold no real worldly power?
Bod's continued curiosity and desire to leave the graveyard, despite the danger, suggests he lacks this common human understanding.
What is a real sense of permanent danger/mortal peril?
The fact that the Sleer knows Silas and addresses him with an odd kind of respect suggests this about Silas's reputation or power in the wider supernatural world.
What is he is a figure of considerable power or has a long, important history?
The Sleer only guards this particular item for its absent master, suggesting that the master must be this.
What is a powerful being who is still alive (or not dust yet)?
Liza's ability to help Bod with spells and the art of Dreamwalking suggests this about her powers compared to the other ghosts.
What is she possesses darker or more powerful/focused abilities than the other ghosts?
The Ghouls' desire to travel to the city of Ghulheim suggests this about their ultimate goal.
What is they want to live in a world where they are the dominant, powerful figures?
When the man Jack learns that the baby has a futtock—a name given to him by the ghost—this is the conclusion he makes about the baby's guardians.
What is they are members of a supernatural organization/cabal?
Silas's refusal to let Bod practice Fading or Walking Through Walls suggests this about the permanence of Bod's status in the graveyard.
What is Bod is still alive and will never gain the full abilities of a ghost?
The reason the ghosts cannot see the outside world when they want to, but only when it is visible from their graves.
What is their ties to the physical world are limited to the location of their burial/final rest?
What the reader can infer about the circumstances of Liza's death based on her being accused of witchcraft and being buried without a coffin or proper rites.
What is she was likely executed/murdered by an angry mob?
The smell and general decay of the Ghoul-gate and the Ghouls themselves suggests this about the nature of their world.
What is their world is a filthy, decaying, and disgusting place?
The reason Mrs. Owens is adamant about taking care of the living boy, despite the protest of the other ghosts.
What is she missed having a child/she has a strong, protective maternal instinct?
When Silas says, "We are all of us, except me, on the road to dust," it concludes this about his own existence.
What is he is eternally trapped between life and death and will not find peace?
The warning Bod receives from the dead girl about never leaving the graveyard suggests this about the danger facing Bod outside its gates.
What is the danger is constant and will not lessen over time?
The reason Liza accepts the jade paperweight for her headstone, even though it's not a real slab
What is it is a physical symbol of recognition and respect?
The reason the Ghouls are so interested in kidnapping Bod.
What is they want to raise him to be a Ghoul?