The Umbrella

Synopsis

On a windy day, a little dog finds an umbrella in the garden. Just when the dog picks up the umbrella, it catches the wind and pulls the dog up into the sky. This is the start of a fantastic journey around the world. The wind carries the umbrella and the dog all over the world, from the desert to the sea, from the jungle to the North Pole. . .

Summary

Chapter One:
The Umbrella opens with protagonist Sadie Rhymer waking up in a sunny room on a stormy day. Her mother has already left for work, and Sadie is seemingly alone. She plucks her umbrella from its place in the hall closet and, as the wind howls outside, takes its bright colors as a kind of coat of armor as she steps outside. She slowly makes her way to school, with her umbrella as her only companion. The chapter weaves in and out between the exterior and interior environments of a city experiencing heavy rains and powerful winds, while interweaving Sadie’s thoughts and feelings of loneliness as she makes her way through it all.

Chapter Two:
The second chapter of The Umbrella begins with Sadie in school, but still feeling disconnected. Her classmates are all talking and having fun, and answering questions in the classroom, while Sadie silently sits. Afterwards, in the school cafeteria, Sadie is asked to partner up with another student—but her classmates, sensing her awkwardness and shyness, forget her and barrel on ahead. At the end of the chapter, Sadie is sitting alone with her umbrella in the schoolyard, and she comes to the realization that it is her only friend.

Chapter Three:
The third chapter of The Umbrella sees Sadie and her umbrella walking through the city, finding solace in the bright colors of the umbrellas around them. Sadie is filled with an unfamiliar sense of hope and optimism, and imagines conversations between the umbrellas and their owners, seeking an understanding of the journeys they have taken in life. Exiting from the subway station, Sadie stops to take in the sight of the umbrellas swaying in the wind above her, and for a moment she forgets about her loneliness and the sadness of her everyday life.

Chapter Four:
In the fourth chapter, Sadie and her umbrella take a different route from school, and end up in an old cemetery where the tombstones are adorned with bright umbrellas. While standing amongst them, Sadie has a moment of revelation—the umbrellas represent the stories of the departed, and how their memories are remembered. She imagines the umbrellas laughing and singing, and that every color contains a hidden story and experience. For a moment, Sadie feels as though she has found a new family.

Chapter Five:
In the fifth and final chapter of The Umbrella, Sadie comes to a realization—her lonely journey has been changed by her umbrella, and she is not alone. The umbrellas, with their kaleidoscope of colors, protect her from her sadness and bring her joy. She finally understands that life is not a solo journey, but something to be shared. She smiles; she is no longer alone.