Appearance and Reality

A running theme throughout this novel is that everything is not what it appears to be on the surface, such as the acorn, Lyra, and Gerard. Appearances are often deceiving in La Belle Sauvage and it is only when the author delves deeper beneath the surface that the reader understands the true significance of an object or person. For example, when Malcolm first finds the object dropped by Robert Luckhurst, it appears to be a simple acorn. However, upon closer inspection, Malcolm realizes that it is carved from wood. Inspecting it even more closely, Malcolm sees that it has a hidden mechanism that once popped open, reveals a hidden message - "someone else's secret" (25). Thus, a simple acorn becomes the tool of a spy organization and in a moment, Malcolm goes from a boy who found something to a soon-to-be spy recruit.

Another example...