51 pages • 1 hour read
Tessa BaileyIt Happened One Summer
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
No Name
The bar that Henry Cross owned in Westport and which he bequeathed to his daughters has been nicknamed “No Name” by the locals who use the premises without permission. The bar symbolizes Westport and Henry’s rootedness in the town, as further demonstrated by the wall of pictures that Piper and Hannah find. Brendan describes the bar as a nexus for the townspeople’s connections to one another as well as to the past: “On my boat, I have a crew, and each member has a family. A history,” he tells Piper. “Those roots run all through the town. They’ve lived a lot of it inside No Name” (51), he says, suggesting that Henry as well as the bar connect the people of Westport.
Just as Henry’s memory has been lost to Piper, No Name is dilapidated and in a state of disrepair. While she and Henry’s wife and children have neglected to mourn or honor him, the bar has continued to deteriorate. Like Piper, who is feeling uncertain about her identity, the bar has no name, either. No Name functions also as a symbol for Piper’s transformation. Renovating the bar puts her in touch with her past and gives her a way to acknowledge and honor Henry’s role in her life. Naming the bar Cross and Daughters shows Piper’s new identification as part of Westport and her intention to remain integrated into the town’s life.
Social Media
Piper’s Instagram account is a symbol of her emphasis on appearances and the shallow, image-conscious way she has lived her life in LA. Even while Adrian is breaking up with her, Piper is thinking about who is watching and how she will spin it on social media—perhaps posting an inspirational quote: “Something about growth and loving herself, maybe?” (4). She comes up with the idea of the hotel break-in precisely so what circulates about her on social media reflects the presence she wants to have.
Hannah points out that Piper puts a lot of energy into worrying about how people on the internet perceive her, and from that point, Piper spends less time online. Where before she had already been imagining how to spin her Westport adventure for her followers, once she is there, she only posts one more picture of herself at the winery in the “selfie spot.” When Brendan follows her on Instagram, Piper is suddenly self-conscious of how she has revealed and presented herself online. She wants Brendan to see the real her, face-to-face.
Later in the novel, Piper’s appearance in LA Weekly creates conflict for her, and she comes to realize that she no longer relishes this attention. When she is making her way through the crowd at her party, trying to reach Brendan, she is frustrated and upset by the number of people using their phones to take pictures. What before was her element has become a barrier that keeps her from Brendan. Brendan has zero social media presence. He lives his life in the real world, and she wants to be there with him.
The Ocean
While the ocean has held manifold meanings across literature, here it primarily represents a dangerous element, signifying the outside forces that can wreak havoc on and destroy the tenderness of a love relationship. The ocean stole Henry from Maureen, and when she witnesses the storm that arises at the end of crab season, Piper fears it has stolen Brendan from her.
For Brendan, as a fisherman, the ocean has a sirenic call: “It was up to the ocean how she gave up her treasures” (48), he thinks, comparing the ocean to an alluring woman. On land he likes routines, but at sea, Brendan enjoys the volatility: “battling the tides, the current, the waves was his life’s work. There was salt water running through his veins” (174). In one respect, Brendan worries that his love for fishing will put him at a disadvantage with Piper, who likes a lot of attention. She teases him that he’s already “in a serious relationship” (174) and sees the ocean as the barrier that will regularly draw him away from her. The references to the ocean as a woman present her as a symbolic rival, especially when Brendan explains the old superstition about having women aboard ships. But in the end, Piper comes to terms with her rival’s claim on Brendan. She waits at the harbor to welcome him back, recognizing that she is his land life. She doesn’t want to take Brendan away from Westport or his job, showing that she loves him for who he is and supports what makes him happy.
“It Girl” / Celebutante
“It Girl” is a 20th-century term for a young woman who is well-liked but known primarily for being attractive, vivacious, and well-connected. She is usually stylish, sometimes scandalous, and may or may not have a career beyond being famous and the subject of media attention. More recently the term “celebutante” has replaced “It Girl” to indicate a young woman who is usually wealthy, almost always very attractive, and the subject of much public fascination. Unlike entertainers who gain the spotlight due to talents, opinions, or work they have done, “celebutante” status implies a leisurely lifestyle funded by someone else’s money and exploitation of media attention for personal gain.
In keeping with the associations of an “It Girl” or celebutante, Piper describes her occupations in LA as shopping, partying, and sleeping till noon. Before she moves to Westport, the best time of Piper’s life was “the year she turned twenty-one and ran absolutely buck wild through Los Angeles, making herself famous for being famous in the process” (7). As happens with the character of Alexis in Schitt’s Creek, another fish out of water, Piper’s “It Girl” status makes her visibly out of sync with the rustic, hard-working, humble character of Westport, as Brendan observes when he asks Piper if she owns any jeans. However much the It Girl stereotype adds to the comedic conflict, Piper also brings a bit of glamor and style to Westport, as shown when she dressed up Opal for a night out and gives Westport women makeup tips.
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