The Demon's Lexicon Theme of Transformation

From a caterpillar into a butterfly, a tadpole into a frog, a frog into a prince… Okay, so that last one's slightly less likely to occur in the natural world, but transformations are big in life (child to adult, student to master), and they're big in stories, too. Of course, the biggest candidate for transformation in The Demon's Lexicon is Nick, who at first glance appears to be emotionally inaccessible, unkind, and somewhat of a psychopath. When we know his full story, we begin to understand why he behaves the way he does, and we see that he has already undergone one transformation—the one that technically took place before he was even born. But that leaves us with another question: does Nick experience a second transformation? Read on and decide for yourself.

1. Which characters experience some form of transformation over the course of the book? Consider both the ways in which particular characters seem to change and the ways that your views of particular characters change as you learn more about their circumstances.
2. Are there any characters that remain the same from beginning to end? Consider both the characters themselves and your view of them. Explain your answer.
3. Think about the characters that seem to undergo some form of transformation in the story. What factors do you think contributed to their transformations? Were the changes a conscious choice made by each character, or were the characters influenced by someone or something else? Explain.
4. As people grow older, their views and opinions, likes and dislikes, interests and hobbies tend to change. In what ways have you changed over time? In what ways have you stayed the same? Why do you think people change? Is it about choice? Personal growth? A search for identity? Go ahead—pontificate for us.
   

Nick has definitely experienced a transformation by the end of the book, and he is no longer the entity that Black Arthur believes him to be.

(Alan/Mae/Jamie) has a great impact on Nick and is a big part of why his transformation is possible.