The Trumpet
The trumpet is the way that Louis learns to overcome his disability and communicate with other swans, thus allowing him to find a mate. Because the trumpet is man-made and helps to overcome the deficiencies of nature, it is symbolic of humanity’s connection to nature. The overarching theme of the book is the insistence that man must respect nature by helping it to survive. The trumpeter swan was once endangered to the point of near-extinction until a thriving flock was discovered. With the help of human intervention, the species has been flourishing ever since. Interaction between swan and human is pervasive throughout he narrative and speaks to the idea of how man and the natural world are dependent upon another for survival. The trumpet is the symbolic center of that theme.
Chalkboard
Louis is born with the inability to make sounds which allow for communication with other birds. He goes away for more than a year and learns to read and write with chalk on a slate hanging from a chain around his neck. When he returns home he writes greetings to his family, but they merely stare quizzically, failing to understand the scribble marks because they haven’t learn to read. The chalkboard thus becomes both a symbol of overcoming an inability to communicate (between Louis and humans) as well as the lack of the ability to communicate (between Louis and other birds). Together they fuse as a symbol of the importance of communication which also speaks to the theme of connection between humans and nature.
The Objects Around Louis’ Neck
As the story progresses forward, Louis collects a number of objects which he carries with him at all times hanging from a string around his neck: trumpet, slate, chalk, money pouch and a medal. Even before he gets the pouch and medal, the extra weight begins to impact his ability to fly. Although they all mean something special to him, by the end he decides to keep only the two items which mean the most and to ride himself of the bagged he has collected on his journey through life. The collection, obsession and eventual rejection of possessions plays into the overall negative symbolic aspect of wealth and materialism.
Money
Money gets a lot attention in the story. Louis learns to play the trump like a jazz musician in order to raise money to pay for the stolen trumpet. The boatman wonders why a bird would have need for money. When Louis’ father tries to give the money to the store owner to pay off the debt for having stolen the trumpet, he gets shot and the question of ownership of the money must be decided in court. Money is symbolic of the purity of the natural world which has no need for it versus the use of money by man to own things he has no use for. Ultimately, the store owner decides to donate the money to the Audubon Society. This act illustrates the connectedness of man with nature in very strong terms: the inhabitants of the natural world have no need for money among themselves, but man can use his money to make that world a better and safer place.
Sam Beaver
The name says it all. The young boy who is the first character to find a way to communicate with Louis is the symbolic representative of the connection between man and the natural world. Sam Beaver as a name brings the two world together in a way that cannot be separated which is the theme tying everything else together.
