Hummingbird

Lending its name to the title of the novel, the legendary hummingbird is the most significant symbol in the text. It is a figure shrouded in mystery and legend throughout the novel; even at the narrative’s end, there is no explanation of its origin or powers. The hummingbird is the most prominent element of the novel’s magical realism conventions and facilitates the characters’ emotional journeys. It symbolizes transformation, enabling Olive and other characters to come to important truths about themselves. These truths form the basis for explorations of the Fragility, Vulnerability, and Strength and Existing with Limitations themes. Descriptions of the hummingbird link it with light—in an almost heavenly sense, evoking its transcendent and magical nature—while simultaneously implicitly likening it to Olive herself. In the original legend of the hummingbird Mr. Watson relays in Chapter 9, Twig Moody describes the creature as having “magic in the bone” (83). This creates an immediate connection with Olive, whose brittle bones are often a source of mixed feelings for her. When Olive finally encounters the hummingbird in Chapter 33, she describes it as “tiny but blinding in its radiant light” (339). Like the hummingbird, Olive is tiny, yet possesses an inner shine that is evident in her resilient and joyful, indomitable spirit.