Analyze Miss Peregrine’s
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children Setting Takes place in two particular areas that reflect the tone of the story. A fair sized town in America and a small secluded island in the Whales. The American town is parallel of what is supposed to be reality, and the island, full of secrets, is fantasy. When you step back and take a closer look, you see that American town hides more from the characters, making it fantasy and lies, while the enchanting island is far more forth coming about its problems.
Main Characters Jacob Portman- he is the protagonist in this story, he is 16 and is thought to be mentally disturbed after the murder of his grandfather by that he believes to be an imaginary creature. He travels to Whales with his father to find out the truth behind his grandfather’s past. Emma- she is one of the Peculiar children of Ms. Peregrine. She is considered “strikingly beautiful” and falls in love with Jacob, and as it turns out, she used to love his grandfather.
She is frozen at 16, in the loop, while in reality she is over 70 years of age. Plot Jacob Portman goes to Wales to find out the truth of his grandfather’s past after he was murdered by what Jacob thought was a make-believe creature. When he arrives, he meets Emma a girl who can control fire. She takes him to meet Miss Peregrine in a time loop set back in the 1940s. Jacob enjoys hanging out with the other peculiar children, such as Millard, who is invisible, and Bronwyn, who has incredible strength.
Then Jacob is told some mysterious stories of strange killings in the pub he’s staying at, and warns the peculiar children. When they tell Jacob he is the only one who can see the “hollows” or “hollowgasts”, the monsters that killed Jacob’s grandfather, Jacob knows he is the only hope they have for safety. Jacob and some of the peculiar children encounter a hollow which Jacob kills. Upon return to the Miss Peregrine’s home, they find that Miss Peregrine has been kidnapped.
The children rescue Miss Peregrine but she is in bird form and cannot change back to human form. At the end of the book, the peculiar children look for another time loop they can stay in because their current one has been destroyed, setting this book up for a sequel and more striking photographs. Conflicts Jacob vs. Self- he is at a constant battle for the first half of the book to figure out whether or not he is sane after everything that has happened. Self could also be considered society, as a set and acceptable social norm.
Jacob vs. Therapist- he is actually the cause of all his problems. He is the one who sends the hollow on his grandfather, kidnaps Ms. Peregrine, and makes all the external conflicts arise. Theme Embracing who you are and accepting what makes you remarkable is more important than being viewed as normal. Through this novel we see the reoccurring theme that being true to you is far more important that being social accepted. Because when you accept yourself, others accept you for that.
When Jacob fights himself he finds he is alone, but the more he succumbs to his true self, the peculiar children accept him and they help each other overcome the adversity surrounding them. Personal Views I enjoyed the book thoroughly and I would recommend it. It has a wonderful addition, not only is there amazing writing involved but there are also several pictures included in the pages. Every few chapters there are these old, peculiar photos that add to the story, some very chilling.
