Our Souls At Night

The nest of baby mice Louis finds in the corner of his tool shed are a recurring motif in the story and reflect Jamie’s growing emotional resilience. Over the summer, Louis and Jamie periodically check on the mice to see their progress. At first, they are “all pink and still blind, squirming and moiling around and making little whimpers” (68). At this stage, they are the most vulnerable—they are completely dependent and defenseless. This parallels Jamie’s emotional state when he first arrives. He scares easily, has nightmares, and cries at night since he is struggling with all the changes he has experienced: His mother has left him and his father, and his father has sent him away for the summer while he sorts out his financial situation. Jamie has separation anxiety, and he needs nurturing and protection. The next time Jamie checks on the mice, he feels confident enough to walk over to Louis’s by himself. This time, though the babies are still pink, one rises up on the edge of the box and sniffs around. This reflects how Jamie is starting to relax enough to become curious about what’s around him. Later in the summer, when they check on the mice again, the babies have “grown and now [have] dark hair and their eyes [are] open” (99).