43 pages • 1 hour read
Natalie Savage CarlsonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Armand is the protagonist of the novel. He is unhoused by choice because he likes the freedom of his lifestyle on the streets. Armand is initially very isolated: Though he knows many of the people in the neighborhoods where he shelters, he has no family or close friends. As a dynamic character, Armand changes significantly over the course of the novel; though he first reacts negatively to the sudden presence of children in his life, he becomes more nurturing and self-sacrificial as he grows to care for them, emulating the theme Change as a Catalyst for Growth.
At the beginning of the story, Armand is proudly uncommitted. He is pleased with his small number of possessions and his lack of bills, like a mortgage. He claims an aversion to kids, though his friend Mireli says this is just because he knows he is soft-hearted and weak to them. Armand is accustomed to filling his days with walking and “begging,” then sleeping in a location along his rotation of “homes.” Though many characters in the book treat him with derision and prejudice, Armand values his free way of living.
The changes in Armand’s character begin when he meets the Calcets, illustrating the theme of Found Families. He is happy to live on the streets, but he worries about the children’s safety and comfort. Armand cares for them using his expertise as an unhoused person; he finds them food and better shelter despite the protests of their mother, and he does his best to keep their spirits up, distracting them from their circumstances by making finer things—like fancy cakes and new toys—sound undesirable.
By the end of the novel, Armand has grown willing to surrender his aimless life in favor of a stable job, fully embracing his role as the Calcet children’s “grandfather.” Where he was once proud of his lack of attachments, Armand finds new pride in becoming a “workingman” and providing for a family. His love for the young family changes him, his priorities, and the long-held way of life that he so loved. He comes to realize that his Bohemian lifestyle is no longer suitable for what he truly wants: the ability to care for his found grandchildren.
Suzy is the eldest and most responsible of the Calcet children. Suzy is an optimistic and positive young girl who sees the best in everyone. She is somewhat naïve: Suzy easily believes Armand’s changing stories about Father Christmas’s plans to bring them a house, despite how implausible and outlandish they are. Her bold, brave personality is established in the first few moments of meeting Armand—though all three children are surprised when Armand finds them, it is Suzy who jumps up and challenges him: “She had direct blue eyes and they matched her determined chin and snubbed nose and bright red hair. ‘You can’t take us away,’ she cried, clenching her fists. ‘We’re going to stay together because we’re a family, and families have to stick together’” (10).
Like her mother, Suzy is very concerned with the family living a “proper” life. Suzy is very invested in the children’s education and speaks of school often. When the Calcets are staying with the Roma people, Suzy emphasizes the importance of education by holding “school” for the Roma children. However, Suzy does not share her mother’s discriminatory views, which allows her to freely embrace others no matter how much their lifestyle deviates from what she knows. Suzy accepts Armand easily, differentiating herself from the adults who only see the Social Stigma and Discrimination of unhoused people. Suzy and her siblings easily claim Armand as their “grandfather,” showing that they feel family extends beyond blood relations. Additionally, Suzy is willing to accept her own ignorance of the greater world: When her Roma friend Tinka challenges the French school system and shows Suzy symbols in the Roma language, Suzy realizes that there is more to the world—and to education—than she thought. In the last few chapters, Suzy helps her mother get Armand ready for his interview, and she is enchanted by his new appearance.
The children’s mother, Madame Calcet, is an important character in the novel. She is a dedicated and hard-working person who is determined to keep her family together. After the death of Monsieur Calcet, the family finds themselves destitute and evicted, despite Madame Calcet working long hours at the laundry. Madame Calcet could allow the children to live separately from her in a charity house, but it is so important to her that the family stays together that she moves them under the bridge instead. She is a proud person, and she maintains that they are different from the other unhoused people. She credits her status as a working person for this difference, claiming that they are not “beggars.”
Her character and growth develop the themes in the novel. First, she provides a lens through which to see the Social Stigma and Discrimination that marginalized people in the novel face. Her early responses to Armand and the Roma people mirror the commonly held beliefs of people of her time: She claims that they are dishonest and feels that living without a stable home is shameful. As the novel develops, Madame Calcet’s attitude softens. When the Roma people treat her with kindness and generosity, she recognizes that she was wrong about them. She also warms up to Armand, eventually accepting his help despite her lingering sense of pride and independence. Once she embraces his role in her family, she jumps into action to support Armand however she can. This shows that Madame Calcet is a fundamentally good and caring person and that her negative assumptions about marginalized peoples were based in ignorance. Once she gets to know Armand and the Roma people, she sees them for who they are and treats them accordingly.
Madame Calcet is a foil to Armand—a character who is similar yet opposite to him. Armand’s pride in his unhoused lifestyle is mirrored in Madame Calcet’s pride in a stable home and family. Her acceptance of Armand and the Roma people grows alongside Armand’s increasing fondness for the Calcets. By the time he is attached to them enough to offer to give up his way of life, Madame Calcet has reached the point where she is willing to let him help, even if they both have a few final moments of hesitation. By the end of the book, both Madame Calcet and Armand are united in their desire to provide the best life they can for the children.
Paul is the middle child and the only son of Madame Calcet. From the beginning, Paul tries to embody a masculine caretaker: “The boy swaggered a little. ‘If I was bigger, I’d find a new place for us to live,’ he boasted” (13). However, he is still very much a child—he longs for toys and treats, and he quickly grows attached to Armand, just like his siblings. Like Suzy, Paul has no care for social stigma and easily befriends the Roma; unlike his sister, he grows enamored with their unburdened, nomadic lifestyle, to the point where Armand and the others fear he has run off with them when they lose track of him.
Despite his desire to be a Roma child, Paul places family above all else. He returns to Armand and the others and confesses that he tried to get a job pushing carts since the Roma people’s departure meant a return to truly being without a home for the Calcets. Paul’s noble, but failed, attempt to help his family inspires Armand’s change of heart, finalizing the theme of Change as a Catalyst for Growth and leading to Armand’s full transformation into a family man.