Throughout the novel, Bertie demonstrates a fixation with inanimate objects, such as where they came from and where they went. Why do you think this is?
I wondered two things about this. (1) Could it have been a kind of calming mechanism for him; and (2) Is it more about having factual, fixed answers. In a time of such uncertainty, where something came from and what happened to it could give resolution where there otherwise isn’t.
I think it was to give comfort and distract. The reputation provided a safe outlet to focus on
Bertie, like everyone else, had loss so much. Sometimes an object can be both a calming tool but also a symbol of a better time and hope. It is tangible, not just words. Also, by Bertie wondering about the object, he was still involved in the world and thinking rather than just existing.
Although, I will say every time the photos came out, I was nervous for the characters.
It seemed to be a way of keeping hope alive, that these objects had endured unscathed.