42 pages • 1 hour read
The Story of Arthur Truluv
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Symbols & Motifs
Mr. and Mrs. Hamburger
The Mr. and Mrs. Hamburger figurine that was a part of Arthur and Nola’s home appears several times throughout the novel. This motif represents their love and commitment to one another, and its inclusion in the present action underscores how significant and enduring that relationship is for Arthur. First, Arthur notices them in the back of the drawer and decides to put them on display on the kitchen table, which stirs up a memory and connects him to Nola, remarking, “She was a cornball, that one. But who didn’t love her?” (13). Arthur later decides they will make the perfect gift for Maddy because she loves all the vintage items in the home; he bridges past and present with the idea of this gift.
When Arthur doesn’t see Maddy for some time, he places Mr. and Mrs. Hamburger on Nora’s gave instead. Later, when he sees that the figuring has been taken from Nola’s grave, he is shocked, but his response is gracious: “whoever did it, he hopes they take care of the Hamburgers. He didn’t want them ever to be thrown away in his lifetime” (120). When Maddy reveals that she took them, she tells Arthur how much she likes them and proudly displays them in her room, giving a new life and purpose to the figurine. The Hamburgers represent the transformation of Arthur and Nola’s love over time and the power of giving it new life.
Cemetery and Epitaphs
The cemetery and the epitaphs Arthur read there represent the connection between the living and the dead for him. Arthur communes with the dead at the cemetery, vividly imagining their stories and lives. He tells Maddy, “I stop at certain graves because…Well, because I seem to hear these folks. Or feel them…when I stand there, things about them come to me” (54). The inclusion of the epitaphs in the novel also situates the reader in the cemetery with Arthur; this experience comes full circle when the reader learns of Arthur’s death through his epitaph at the end of the novel.
The cemetery serves as a refuge for Maddy; she goes there to escape torment at school and then for solace and comfort among the dead when she runs away. For her, it represents a safe haven and escape from difficult life experiences, and also as a place where her creativity and artistic self can flourish. In both of these situations, Berg takes a place that could be considered morbid, dark, or depressing and crafts it into something restorative and beautiful for her characters.
Names
The names Arthur Truluv and Nola are symbols of the connection that Arthur and Nola shared and are threaded throughout the novel. Maddy gives her daughter the name Nola in honor of a woman whom she had never met but who was so special to Arthur, which indicates the depth and significance of Maddy’s relationship with Arthur. It is also significant that Maddy creates the nickname Truluv because of Nola and Arthur’s love story, and it is how she introduces her baby, Nola, to Arthur for the first time. In the final section, she calls out to her daughter, “Nola! Get up and come to Mommy…Show me a happy girl” (217). In Maddy’s new role as a mother, she carries with her the stories of Arthur and Nola, which she will pass down to her own daughter, and in this way, she continues their legacies. This continuation is important because it demonstrates one of the key considerations that Berg explores in the text—what has been loved can never be truly lost. There is a double entendre in the closing line of the novel, as Maddy places a rose on a grave and remarks how its scent will linger, noting, “Truluv taught her that” (218). This could also be read as “true love,” which reinforces the lessons she learned from Arthur and how his true love transformed her life and brightened her future.
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