The Goldfinch Ending Explained

The best way to start any explanation is by giving context. The Goldfinch is about Theo Decker, a child whose life quite literally blew up one day when someone bombed the Metropolitan Museum in New York. He survived the blast, but his mother didn’t. The rest of his life is spent stumbling into different roles, haunted by that day.

After all, he took a token from the museum that he can never take back.

You see, when Theo woke up after the blast and left the museum, he took with him his mother’s favorite painting, The Goldfinch. No matter how out of control the rest of his life seemed to be, he always held onto that painting. At least, so he thought.

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