Boys, Bullies, and Bad Guys

One of the first things I thought about with this book was about all the bullying portrayed, and the hierarchy created by the boys, as seen in the order they stand in line to get their canteens refilled. Once Stanley gives X-Ray the golden lipstick tube, Stanley is allowed to move up in line in front of Zero, and so on. I thought it was interesting that X-Ray, though he was one of the smaller boys, was in charge of the group, and that Stanley gets tormented by a boy much smaller then him back at his school. Perhaps it’s got something to do with the Napoleon complex? I thought the fact that Stanley was overweight was important here, because it’s typical to think that the big kid is going to be the troublemaker, while the smaller ones are usually victims, but we often see the opposite in this book.

Going off of this, I thought about what big bullies even the adults are in this book, which made me think about Holes as a book about kids outwitting evil adults for their own good and the good of society. Other books from this semester that fit into this category are Harry Potter, The Golden Compass, and Number the Stars, as each main character saves others (both their peers and adults) from certain doom, (although admittedly, Lyra doesn’t completely fit here as Roger ended up dead). I tried to think of more examples outside of our reading, but all I could come up with off the top of my head was Matilda. Can anybody else think of others?

In this book, Stanley and Zero save the rest of the camp from the cruel living conditions and the overwhelming monotony of digging holes for the rest of their young lives. The Warden, Mr. Sir, and Mr. Pendanski are all pretty despicable adults if you think about it; The Warden scratches people with poisonous nails as punishment, Mr. Sir deprives children of much-needed water in the unbearable heat, and Mr. Pendanski, despite his cliché-filled speeches brimming with “hope” and good advice, is verbally abusive to Zero, who he thinks is stupid, and only capable of digging holes. The end of this book was so satisfying, as all three got called out on their wrong-doings by Stanley’s attorney, and the boys not only survived the lizard incident, but also got justice and money in the end.

I feel that books where children come out on top really gives them an agency and power not often seen in real-life. How often does the oppressed kid outsmart the adult(s) that are mistreating them, and end up saving the day? Most often in reality, kids are the victims, and their size, knowledge, and ability (or lack thereof) often keeps them on the losing end of power-struggles. Perhaps when kids read books like those mentioned they are empowered to do something to stand up to those that are hurting them or are blatantly doing wrong. It may be scary standing up to an authority figure (and it may go badly), but I think it nonetheless encourages children to challenge evil, even if it just means telling a trusted adult about abuse or bullying. Little by little kids can make a difference!

Here is a website that kids can go to, to learn more about bullying and what they can do to stop it. There is also a handy section for adults about what they can do if a child tells them about bullying they have witnessed or are experiencing.

The Tillermans: Carrying on the Tradition of Four (or More)

While thinking about the Tillerman children, I was reminded of numerous other siblings that are largely written into “types,” both to make it easier to differentiate between them all, and also to allow different interactions between each character and the trials they must face. The two most obvious comparisons I thought of were the Alden children of the Boxcar Children series, and the Pevensies of the Narnia series. Both families have two boys and two girls, both go on adventures without parents, and the Aldens in particular, find themselves living with their grandfather after their parents die. A couple of others are the March sisters of Little Women, and basically any of the sister groups from a Jane Austen novel, but the Bennets of Pride and Prejudice in particular.

I know that I, as an only child, am always fascinated by sibling dynamics both in real life and in literature. Having multiple protagonists around the same age and with the same background seems like an ideal way for an author to present a common obstacle, and the many ways a person might deal with that obstacle. Thus, the author can stretch their creativity by creating separate, though equally relatable characters who must make decisions based on their own individual personalities. A reader will engage best with the character they find most relatable, based on how the character deals with that obstacle. Reading a book is pretty difficult when you feel you can’t relate to any of the characters, and I think this is especially true for children who are very egotistical, and often want to read about someone just like themselves.


In Dicey’s Song, probably the main obstacle the children face is fitting into their new lives with Gram. All of the kids go about this differently, and they must all overcome other individual hurtles as well to finally feel “at home”. James, book-reading genius extraordinaire, dumbs himself down considerably in an attempt to fit in with the rest of his average classmates, and though he still gets good grades, his whole outlook is based on what he can do to make himself liked by his classmates. This changes when he essentially “puts himself out there” and makes friends with a peer, just for being himself.

Maybeth, on the other hand, continues down her path as an illiterate third grade outcast in her new home, still unable to read and so terrified of making a mistake and getting ridiculed that she virtually disappears in class. Her love and talent for music, however, shows us a whole other side of her, and the realization that she needs to learn differently than her peers puts her on the right track.

Sammy, meanwhile, tries to turn over a new leaf at school, by becoming a little angel instead of that kid in detention for fighting for the hundredth time. He experiences great conflict between wanting to stick up for his grandmother and letting the rumors and insults roll off his back. It is only after Gram shows him (and the other students) that she is made of tougher stuff than he thinks that Sammy is able to stop trying to protect her.

Finally, Dicey must struggle with her new role as a child (ironically enough), and not as a mother to the other kids, yet must also try to balance her role as a child with her role as a young woman, (whether she likes it or not). Dicey spent her whole life gradually becoming more like a mother-figure to her younger siblings than their actual mother, but then must cede this identity to Gram, and accept her role as someone to be taken care of, and not necessarily someone that has to take care of others. She ends up reconciling her roles as parent and child by forming a sort of co-parenting relationship with Gram.

Thus, by the end of the novel, the children are well on their way to fitting into their new home and new life, but with very different paths to that same end.

For a book about four real-life sibling that lost their parents and each other (at least for a time), you might want to check out The Kids Are All Right by Diana, Liz, Amanda, and Dan Welch, which is told from their alternating perspectives.

Liar Liar, Pants on Fire!

My first encounter with Pippi Longstocking happened one afternoon while I was at my grandparent’s house when I was seven. The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking came on while I was there, and I loved everything about her, (so much so that I dressed up as her that Halloween). To me, she seemed like the ideal friend, one who would stand by you to help fight your battles, and who would break you out of your “shell,” like she did for Annika in the movie. I remember wishing that I could have a friend like her, though her adventures seemed so inconceivable, that I could only think of her in my mind as an imaginary friend, and not as a person that might really exist. I was lucky in this sense, because when I got to middle school I met my soon-to-be best friend Misi during gym, and my next three years were spent with a girl just as freckly, and almost as creative and whimsical as Pippi. I know lots of people who hated all the drama of middle school, but I mostly look back with fondness because of her unique approach to life.

So naturally, after all this long-held Pippi appreciation, I was excited that we would be reading Pippi this semester, and I must say that I’m not disappointed in the slightest. I love how nonsensical and zany Pippi often is, yet also flawed, (as the best protagonists always are). Perhaps Pippi’s biggest flaw is her seemingly pathological lying, which she does so many times during the novel that I stopped marking the pages. Pippi says on a couple of occasions, “how can you expect a little child whose mother is an angel and whose father is king of a cannibal island and who has sailed on the ocean all her life—how can you expect her to tell the truth always?” (18), or “…know how to behave in school?” (58-59). Here, Pippi relates her lying, as well as her inability to behave properly in public, to her lost parents. What I find funny about this implication, is that it means that if both of her parents were around, she would (naturally) be a different kind of person, but ironically, would also be a lot less fun.

If Pippi had had a traditional upbringing, then she might have been very much like Tommy and Annika, and thus nice enough, but also kind of boring. Thus Lindgren, to make Pippi into a more “fantastic” type of character must write her as an orphan, so that even daily activities, like scrubbing the floor or making breakfast, become adventures. Indeed, if Pippi had “known better,” then there would be no excitement for a child reader when they find out Pippi will be going to go to school or the circus for the first time (“What will Pippi do, next?”). If Pippi had the same upbringing as everyone else, then she would likely act like everyone else, and decidedly, Pippi is not like most children—her inhuman strength included. However, by creating her as a near orphan that has been raised on a pirate ship, Lindgren makes her an “other” figure, which instead of making her an outcast that is avoided by everyone, makes her into a character that is exciting and unpredictable for the other characters and readers alike.

Just for fun, I have a couple of clips from the movie I originally watched, The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking. The first is a short movie trailer, and the second is the opening of the movie, complete with the movie’s extremely catchy theme song. (About a minute of watching this clip will give you the gist of the song.)

Family Feud: Weasleys vs. Malfoys

When the Harry Potter books came out, I have to admit that they were completely off my “literary radar.” My first experience with Harry and friends was in my 8^th grade art class, during which we would listen to the audiobook and try to be artistic. My art teacher’s favorite book was Prisoner of Azkaban, so naturally, that was what we listened to that semester, and as Jim Dale read the story, I knew I was a little bit in love.

I think that if I had read Harry Potter when it first came out (I would have been 10), I would have focused on very different parts of the story, and missed other themes completely. But, since I really started to read them when I was 14, I was able to see so much more of the “real world” in this fantasy book. As I’ve grown, second and third (and fourth?) readings of the series have only illuminated more issues not typically focused on in a lot of “children’s” literature, such as social class, race, human rights, and discrimination to name a few. To narrow this discussion down, here I will just touch on the issue of class structure within Azkaban and the series as a whole.

More often than not, Draco Malfoy’s insults at Ron center on Ron’s general poverty and lowliness: “‘I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer, Weasley…Did your mother die of shock?’” (80). These, and other such insults abound in the books, particularly coming from the Malfoy family and aimed at the Weasley family. The Malfoys are from the upper-echelons of wizarding society because they are both pure-bloods (the idea of blood “purity” is also seems closely linked to class in the novels), and are far more wealthy than most other characters in the books. The Weasleys, though also pure-bloods, are considered “blood traitors” because they hang around with muggle-borns (“mudblood” being the deragotory term) like Hermione. Also, to Ron’s chagrin, the Weasleys live a very humble, though family-oriented life, and as a result, he has always worn hand-me-downs from his elder brothers, taken sandwiches for lunch on the Hogwart’s Express, and generally has to deal with a lot of teasing from snooty peers like Malfoy.

It is really not surprising how much class structures come up in these novels, as they are, of course, set in the United Kingdom, where class seems to be (in my experience) much more of an issue than race does. The moment a British person speaks, most native ears can identify roughly where that person was raised, whether it be in posh London, (notably not south London), or from some small town in another region. It is through accents that complete strangers can semi “place” another person in their society, and perhaps adjust how “friendly” to be with that person. So, just as the Weasleys can’t escape the stereotypes of a large family with a small income, neither can many Brits escape the associations with their roots, especially if they have a rural (especially Welsh) accent.

I tried (unsuccessfully) to locate a video regarding social class in Harry Potter on YouTube, but most of what I found were scenes from the movies set to music. (Lame!) Instead, these are three of the most popular fan-created sites about everything Harry Potter, where you can find all sorts of fun ways to waste time. The third link goes directly to an editorial written about the sociology of Harry Potter, and goes into much greater detail about the issues of social class, racism, slavery, and discrimination (among others) that are seen in the Harry Potter series.

http://www.hp-lexicon.org/index-2.html

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/

http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-labozettar01.shtml

Welcome to My Corner of the Blogosphere...

So here goes...

My name is Sarah Livingston, and I am a senior (yay!) English major/British Studies minor from Watauga, Texas (a small suburb of Fort Worth). In case my blog title didn't give a big enough hint as to my plans after TCU, I can tell you that as of August I will be starting at Grad school for Library Science -Youth Librarianship at UNT. I worked at the Watauga Public Library for about five years, then quit last semester to go study abroad in London (Side note: if you have any desire/possible excuse to study abroad, do it, do it, do it!!). After I got back I somehow ended up working back at the WPL--the name all the cool/lazy people call it.

Working in a setting where I am surrounded by books, I get a lot of different types of readers asking me questions about books on certain subjects, books for certain ages, and books "I recommend." I've always found that no matter how old I get, I am still best at finding books for children and teens, because quite honestly, I never "got over" my love of that literature. Sure, books for adults are nice, but I rarely find ones as engaging, unique, and well, as magical as the books in the Children's Section.

So, this abundance of children's books in my life makes choosing just one difficult...and actually, I'm going to choose the whole Harry Potter series. I should say here, that if we were supposed to be talking about our favorite adult books, I would also choose Harry Potter, because honestly, I grew up reading them as they came out, straight through from middle school to adulthood, and thus, I have no line of distinction. If someone asks me for a book to read at work, I always double check to make sure they have read Harry before moving on to other suggestions. In addition, listening to the books on audio makes my commutes to and from school a time of day I actually look forward to, thanks to Jim Dale, who is in my opinion, a black belt at reading out loud. Those audio books are like those wonderful nights I was fortunate enough to have with my mom, who read out loud to me before bed every night until I was old enough to read to her. I won't talk too much about how much I love Harry and the gang, as I'm sure all that will come up when we read Azkaban, but the series is just as great with every reading, and has something for readers of all ages.

Also, to save time I just posted pictures of some of my other favorite books from when I was a kid at the bottom of my page. I wonder if anyone else read them too...