The Mountain Between Us

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2010

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prelude-Chapter 7

Chapters 8-20

Chapters 21-33

Chapters 34-51

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Ben’s Compass

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child abuse.

Symbolizing Ben’s love for Rachel and the important role that their love plays in his life is the compass that she gave him as a gift after their wedding. Her note read, “So you can find your way back to me,” and she had the inscription “My True North” engraved on the back of the compass (132). Ben uses the compass constantly, and it’s his only source of guidance once the GPS dies. He notes how “staring out at the immense wilderness remind[s] [him]. [He] could lose most everything and still have a chance. But not without the compass. [He] tie[s] it to a piece of nylon cord and tether[s] it around [his] neck” (164-65). In this way, the compass has physical importance to Ben as a tool, guiding him through the wilderness.

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Additionally, the compass also has emotional importance. As a gift from his late wife, it reminds him of her love for him, which is another important tool that he uses to survive. Just as a compass gives the user direction—via a “true north”—Rachel’s love gives Ben direction and purpose in his life. This symbolism helps develop the theme of The Healing Power of Love. As Ben and Ashley struggle, wondering if they’ll survive, Ben often turns to both the compass and Rachel’s love as sources of hope. His recordings to her, his memories of her, and his conversations with Ashley about her heal Ben emotionally and give him the strength to continue.

The Recorder

Ben uses a recorder throughout the novel to talk to Rachel, and this recorder symbolizes hope. She gave it to Ben when they moved from Colorado to Florida. She recorded an entire day of her life on it and then left it for him to listen to as he drove so that she could keep him company. She explained to Ben that she wanted to continue to use the recorder, trading it back and forth and recording messages to each other, so that when they were overwhelmed by work, they would be reminded that they were there for each other.

In the wilderness, the recorder serves as an important tool for Ben’s emotional health. He uses it each day to record messages to Rachel, talk through their situation, and help him make decisions about what to do for his and Ashley’s survival. When Ashley questions him about why he makes recordings—even if they aren’t sure that they’ll survive—he tells her, “We have to look at very bad situations and find ways to make them better. Every day is a chess match. Us against evil. […] Hope. It circulates in our veins. It’s what fuels us” (153). In this way, the recorder emphasizes the theme of Hope as a Driving Force in Humanity. Ben talks into the recorder each day as both a form of emotional support and a way to give himself hope. By continuing his tradition of talking to Rachel—even when it seems like he may never make it back to her again—he maintains normalcy in his life and the belief that he’ll survive and reunite with her.

Running

A motif in the novel that played an important role in the lives of Ben and Rachel was running. Initially, Ben ran because his father forced him to, waking him up at five o’clock each morning to run several miles on the beach. His father constantly pushed him to improve his times, while never giving Ben credit or being proud of what he accomplished. As Ben notes, “[T]o my dad, I was only as good as my last time, and in truth, no time was ever good enough” (53). Their relationship was borderline abusive for much of Ben’s childhood, eventually becoming physically abusive when Ben’s father broke his nose for not breaking four minutes in his last high school race.

Despite the negative connotations that running holds for Ben, it was an important source of love between him and Rachel. When Ben started training with Rachel, he said that “time didn’t matter. No stopwatch. No measurement of our success or failure” (79). This version of running contrasted with what Ben had with his father. For the first time in his life, he enjoyed running and did it to spend time with Rachel, instead of out of the expectations of his father. In this way, the motif of running emphasizes the theme of The Healing Power of Love. As Ben explains, “Dad used pain to rid me of pain. Leaving me empty and hurting. You poured in you and filled me up. For the first time, I felt no pain. You gave me the one thing he never did. Love, absent a stopwatch” (53). Running with Rachel transformed Ben’s life. It was a tool by which he got to know her, fell in love, and repaired the damage that his father did to him.