Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews March 30, 2023 March 23, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
Mick, with her rebellious and courageous spirit as she moves from childhood into adolescence, is the other strong focal point of the narrative—indeed, though Singer is the focus, it is arguable that Mick is the protagonist. There are more chapters devoted to Mick's point of view than to any other character in the novel, perhaps because her character is somewhat autobiographical of McCullers herself. Like Mick, McCullers had serious ambitions of becoming a concert pianist when she grew up. Mick's attachment to music is important not only as a defining character trait but also because McCullers' musical sensibility shapes the entire structure of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter; indeed, she once referred to the book as a three-part fugue. Throughout the novel, music symbolizes Mick's energy and her pursuit of beauty; she stores it in the "inner room" of her mind, to which only she and Singer have access. Mick's plans to build a violin from scratch, for example, arise from her "inner room." Consequently, her frustration when the violin does not work is more violent than if the idea had been conceived in her "outer room"—the part of her that she allows to interact with the outside world.
Mick is the most positive and hopeful character in the novel. The fact that Mick is a child at the beginning of the novel provides McCullers the opportunity to portray the funny and poignant moments that accompany Mick's coming of age. At her worst, Mick frightens her little brother Bubber into running away after he accidentally shoots Baby in the head with a BB gun; at her best, she heroically offers to quit school so that she can work at Woolworth's to help her poverty-stricken family. At the end of the novel, Mick's final words indicate to us that her inner world remains intact and that she will continue to fight to achieve her ambitions.
Please wait while we process your payment