1. Chapter 1
1.1. Sophie Amundsen finds a small letter in her mailbox that asks the question "Who are you?"
1.1.1. She can't explain this.
1.2. She contemplates this, then goes toreturd the letter to the mailbox where she finds another one that asks "Where does the world come from?"
1.2.1. Even if God created the universe, he himself must have come from somewhere
1.2.2. Sophie contemplates the concept of life and death.
1.2.2.1. "You can't experience being alive without realizing that you have to die, she thought. But it's just as impossible to realize you have to die without thinking how incredibly amazing it is to be alive."
1.3. Sophie also finds a postcard from Lebanon addressed to Hilde Knag.
1.3.1. It wishes a happy birthday to Hilde, and tells her that he is sending this card through Sophie.
1.3.2. There is no Hilde Knag in the phonebook.
2. Chapter 2
2.1. Sophie turns down the invitation to play with Joanna
2.2. She does'nt tell anyone about the letters.
2.3. When she gets home from school the next day she finds another letter written to her, describing philosophy
2.3.1. The letter says that philosophy is one of the most important parts of our lives. Attempting to understand our role in society is a good excercise.
2.3.2. There are not many philosophical questions, but there are many ways to answer each one.
2.4. After reading that letter she goes back to the mailbox and finds yet another letter.
2.4.1. To be a philosopher, all you need is the capacity to wonder.
2.4.1.1. "The only thing that we require to be good philosophers is the faculty of wonder."
2.4.2. The writer of the letters NEVER wants Sophie to lose her sense of wonder.
2.5. Sophie then tries to discuss philosophy with her mom, but it only leads her to question whether of not Sophie has been doing drugs.
3. Chapter 4
3.1. Sophie ponders philosophy
3.2. Her mom finds another letter and thinks it is a love letter so Sophie lets her think that to keep her privacy.
3.2.1. There are three letters.
3.2.1.1. "Is there a basic substance that everything is made of?"
3.2.1.2. "Can water turn into wine?"
3.2.1.3. "How can earth and water produce a live frog?"
4. Chapter 3
4.1. After school the next day Sophie finds a letter from her dad, working far away, and then another on philosophy.
4.1.1. The philosophical letter describes the time leading up to western philosophy.
4.1.1.1. People explained things through myths.
4.1.1.2. Greek philosophers questioned these myths
4.1.1.3. Sophie realizes that these ideas ^^ the myths are not so stupid after all, and if she didn't have her own explanations already, she would have made up stories to explain them as well.