THE DREAM HOUSE
Summary, Themes, Quotes, Symbols and Character analysis.
CRIAG HIGGINSON
,The Dream House Craig Higginson
Contents
Themes ............................................................................................................................................................. 1
Memory: ........................................................................................................................................................ 2
Relationships: ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Truth and Reconciliation: .............................................................................................................................. 8
Racism/Reference to apartheid: .................................................................................................................. 10
Duality: ........................................................................................................................................................ 11
Language and power: .................................................................................................................................. 12
Loss and disappointment:............................................................................................................................ 14
Betrayal: ...................................................................................................................................................... 14
Character Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 15
Patricia Wiley:.............................................................................................................................................. 15
Patricia Quotes: ........................................................................................................................................... 15
Looksmart / Phiwayinkosi Ndlovu: .............................................................................................................. 16
Richard Wiley: ............................................................................................................................................. 15
Richard Quotes: ........................................................................................................................................... 16
John Ford: .................................................................................................................................................... 17
Beauty/Togo: ............................................................................................................................................... 17
Beauty Quotes: ............................................................................................................................................ 17
Bheki:........................................................................................................................................................... 18
Grace: .......................................................................................................................................................... 18
Rachel: ......................................................................................................................................................... 18
Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 19
The setting: .................................................................................................................................................. 20
The setting quotes: ...................................................................................................................................... 20
The car: ........................................................................................................................................................ 20
Further Analysis............................................................................................................................................. 21
Grace’s death:.............................................................................................................................................. 21
More: ........................................................................................................................................................... 21
Looksmart’s purpose for returning: ............................................................................................................. 22
Symbols .......................................................................................................................................................... 22
Dogs:............................................................................................................................................................ 22
Fish: ............................................................................................................................................................. 22
Landscape: ................................................................................................................................................... 23
Rachel’s grave: ............................................................................................................................................. 23
More Quotes .................................................................................................................................................. 24
1|P age
Rachel Jones
, The Dream House Craig Higginson
Themes
Memory:
Richard has dementia
• This makes Richard very confused at times and distorts his memory.
• His dementia causes him to dig up Rachel’s grave.
• The dementia causes him to remember things differently to how they happened, or
whether they happened at all.
• Despite his dementia, Richard still knows that he did something terrible. “That he has
done a monstrous thing”. (Killed Grace)
Quote/s:
• “Are we dead yet” – Richard is uncertain of his surroundings.
• “Richard…nothing makes much sense to him anyway.”
Patricia and Looksmart remember the fishing incident very differently.
• Patricia remembers that they caught the fish and then let it go, but Looksmart recalls
that Patricia made him kill the fish.
• Looksmart recalls that like the fish “[she] woke something up and then [she] killed it
— [she] killed it as surely as [she] made [him] to kill that fish!”
Quote/s:
• “At least - that is how I remember it”.
• “I simply cannot remember”.
Beauty, Looksmart and Patricia all remember Grace’s death differently. (See further
analysis)
• Patricia never investigated Grace’s murder herself, she just believed what her
husband had told her, and the dogs attacked her because she was “taunting the
dog”.
• Looksmart believes that Grace’s death was Patricia’s fault because if she did not
make such a big fuss about Grace’s blood on her car seats, they would have made it
to the hospital in time.
• Beauty is the only one who truly knows what happened, she knows that Richard
allowed the dog to attack Grace.
2|P age
Rachel Jones
Summary, Themes, Quotes, Symbols and Character analysis.
CRIAG HIGGINSON
,The Dream House Craig Higginson
Contents
Themes ............................................................................................................................................................. 1
Memory: ........................................................................................................................................................ 2
Relationships: ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Truth and Reconciliation: .............................................................................................................................. 8
Racism/Reference to apartheid: .................................................................................................................. 10
Duality: ........................................................................................................................................................ 11
Language and power: .................................................................................................................................. 12
Loss and disappointment:............................................................................................................................ 14
Betrayal: ...................................................................................................................................................... 14
Character Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 15
Patricia Wiley:.............................................................................................................................................. 15
Patricia Quotes: ........................................................................................................................................... 15
Looksmart / Phiwayinkosi Ndlovu: .............................................................................................................. 16
Richard Wiley: ............................................................................................................................................. 15
Richard Quotes: ........................................................................................................................................... 16
John Ford: .................................................................................................................................................... 17
Beauty/Togo: ............................................................................................................................................... 17
Beauty Quotes: ............................................................................................................................................ 17
Bheki:........................................................................................................................................................... 18
Grace: .......................................................................................................................................................... 18
Rachel: ......................................................................................................................................................... 18
Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 19
The setting: .................................................................................................................................................. 20
The setting quotes: ...................................................................................................................................... 20
The car: ........................................................................................................................................................ 20
Further Analysis............................................................................................................................................. 21
Grace’s death:.............................................................................................................................................. 21
More: ........................................................................................................................................................... 21
Looksmart’s purpose for returning: ............................................................................................................. 22
Symbols .......................................................................................................................................................... 22
Dogs:............................................................................................................................................................ 22
Fish: ............................................................................................................................................................. 22
Landscape: ................................................................................................................................................... 23
Rachel’s grave: ............................................................................................................................................. 23
More Quotes .................................................................................................................................................. 24
1|P age
Rachel Jones
, The Dream House Craig Higginson
Themes
Memory:
Richard has dementia
• This makes Richard very confused at times and distorts his memory.
• His dementia causes him to dig up Rachel’s grave.
• The dementia causes him to remember things differently to how they happened, or
whether they happened at all.
• Despite his dementia, Richard still knows that he did something terrible. “That he has
done a monstrous thing”. (Killed Grace)
Quote/s:
• “Are we dead yet” – Richard is uncertain of his surroundings.
• “Richard…nothing makes much sense to him anyway.”
Patricia and Looksmart remember the fishing incident very differently.
• Patricia remembers that they caught the fish and then let it go, but Looksmart recalls
that Patricia made him kill the fish.
• Looksmart recalls that like the fish “[she] woke something up and then [she] killed it
— [she] killed it as surely as [she] made [him] to kill that fish!”
Quote/s:
• “At least - that is how I remember it”.
• “I simply cannot remember”.
Beauty, Looksmart and Patricia all remember Grace’s death differently. (See further
analysis)
• Patricia never investigated Grace’s murder herself, she just believed what her
husband had told her, and the dogs attacked her because she was “taunting the
dog”.
• Looksmart believes that Grace’s death was Patricia’s fault because if she did not
make such a big fuss about Grace’s blood on her car seats, they would have made it
to the hospital in time.
• Beauty is the only one who truly knows what happened, she knows that Richard
allowed the dog to attack Grace.
2|P age
Rachel Jones
