A Happy Family

“I’ll bet that boy’s father wishes he had a little girl who finger-painted and wiped her hands on the cat when she was little and who once cut her own hair so she would be bald like her uncle and who then grew up to be seven years old and crowned herself with burs. Not every father is lucky enough to have a daughter like that” (2222).

“I have news for you, Ramona,” he said. “We are a happy family.”

            “We are?” Ramona was skeptical.

            “Yes, we are.” Mr. Quimby was positive. “No family is perfect” (2242).

“Her parents loved her, and she loved them, and Beezus, too. At home there was a Christmas tree and under it, presents fewer than past Christmases, but presents all the same” (2247).

I found these three passages from Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary, and I think they sum up the most important theme in the story. The dynamics of a family are never the same from family to family, but one thing usually always is present: love. Like Ramona’s family, none are perfect, every single family and every individual within the family has problems. A perfect or “normal” family, in my opinion, is impossible.

This story does an impeccable job of explaining the family unit through a child’s point of view. I think Ramona’s age is very important to the story as well. I would bet that this family had experienced hard times before, but they go unnoticed by younger children, Ramona, at age seven, is just at the right age to realize when something is wrong. She’s also old enough to want to help in any way she can because she is so concerned about her family. This is why she attempts to become a child actor to earn her family a million dollars. She thinks the large sum of money will solve all their problems. However, there are other problems this family is experiencing that money won’t fix.

Ramona’s sister makes a comment about their father’s smoking, thus inspiring Ramona to try to fix that problem as well. She makes all sorts of signs urging her father to quit smoking because she fears for his life. Eventually, he agrees to “try” to quit. This is another example of the imperfections in every family. Ramona seems to want her family to be perfect, not realizing that a perfect family does not exist in real life.

I think this story explains a child’s concerns about their family very well. Ramona wants a “happy family” and when her father explains that they are, in fact, a happy family, she finds it hard to believe. I think she feels this way because she has grown to an age when she can understand hardships, yet she doesn’t fully understand that they can be overcome and make people stronger. When her father explains that all families have imperfections, I think Ramona begins to grasp the concept a little better. I think Ramona grew from this experience, and by the end of the story she has a lot more knowledge than she began with. At first, she is only thinking of her Christmas presents, and by the end, she is thinking about how her family will have a happy Christmas even with less presents.

The family is a complicated unit, and this book shows that when they all pull together through the hard times, they can survive a lot better than one might on their own.

Dear Diary.... (from the journals of Eilonwy)

I have had many adventures in my life, and have been through a great deal of turmoil, but one adventure stands out in my mind as the greatest.

It started when I was little, I guess. The way things work in life is this: everything happens for a reason. I was sent to live with an evil queen, named Achren, who was supposedly my aunt but I don’t believe it. She was too terrible to be a relative of mine. Anyway, “my parents died and my kinsmen sent me [to her] so [she] could teach me to be an enchantress” (819). Only, as fate would have it, I did not become one. I sort of ended up becoming a hero, or at least an assistant to a hero.

One day, I was outside playing with my bauble, when I saw a boy locked in the dungeons. I went over to talk with him, and though it would be really funny to play a trick on Achren by letting him free! I though he was slow, a little dumb at first. Only later did I realize he was very far from being stupid. I let him loose, and led him through the twisting tunnels under The Spiral Castle where we both almost died. We found our way by helping each other, and in those tunnels I first realized that this boy was special. He said to me, “There was no reason for you to put yourself in danger” (823). He cared about me, and I was pretty happy about that. We found our way out of the tunnels, and when I saw that horrid castle burning to the ground, I decided to join him on his mysterious journey.

I found a very intriguing thing on our small journey. It was sword, and it was named Dyrnwyn. I had an inclination that this weapon was extremely important, so I guarded it with my life. Taran kept trying to unsheathe it, but I would always catch him. I never thought the sword would end up being quite as important as it was, but I knew there was a reason I found it. I still remember its inscriptions: “Draw Dyrnwyn, only though of royal blood, to rule, to strike the…” The rest had been long ago worn away. But we found out exactly who was to be stricken by this mighty sword.

Who would have ever imagined the adventures a girl like me would go on with an assistant pig keeper such as Taran? We met some great friends along the way, like Gurgi, Ffleweddur Fflam, and Medwyn, and we met some really scary enemies too. Those black cauldron warriors almost had our necks! I imagine I always seemed so confident to everyone else, but really, I was worried and there were times I thought we wouldn’t make it.

We did. We did exactly what was meant for us to do. We made it to Caer Dallben with Hen-Wen, the pig, and we saved her, just like we were probably always destined to do. I stayed with Taran at Caer Dallben, and we had many more years of great times together. The day I met that stupid pig-keeper in the dungeon, I never imagined it would have turned out like this. I thought I rescued him that day, but it turns out, he actually rescued me!

The Tale of Despereaux

“’We are not here to talk about love. This trial is not about love. This trial is about you being a mouse,” shouted the Most Very Honored Mouse from high atop the bricks, “and not acting like one!!!’” (54).

“A curse, and insult, a word totally without light. And not until he heard it from the mouth of the princess did Roscuro realize that he did not like being a rat, that he did not want to be a rat” (109).

“She was twelve years old. Her mother was dead. Her father had sold her. Her uncle, who wasn’t her uncle at all, had clouted her until she was lamost deaf. And she wanted, more than anything in the world, to be a little princess wearing a golden crown and riding a high-stepping white horse” (143).

            These three quotes from The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo encompass the story’s most important theme. Most, if not all of the characters in this story were in some way unsatisfied with their existence. They longed for something more, something that was sometimes unattainable. Despereaux was not an ordinary mouse. From the time he was born, he was different. He was meant to be different. “…He showed no interest in the things a mouse should show interest in” (17). Despereaux was persecuted for his uniqueness, yet he carried on. Heroically, he kept being different, no matter how terrifying it might have been.

            Roscuro, the rat, shared this trait with Despereaux. He was not like the other rats. He did not wish to bring suffering to others; he only wanted the light. Roscuro, I thought, was a very dynamic character. Being a villain, the reader is supposed to dislike him. However, I found myself feeling sorry for him. Roscuro could have had a much different fate – one similar to Despereaux’s had that terrible accident not occurred in the dining hall. The tragedy with this character is that he was not inheritably evil. In fact, he was good. The circumstances of his life caused him to be the way he turned out. I think what made Despereaux a hero and what made Roscuro a villain is the way they handled the hardships in their lives.

            The last character I found this theme applied to, in the saddest way, was Miggery Sow. Poor Mig, all she ever wanted was for someone to care what she wanted. She dreamt of a better life, one where she wasn’t abused and she never really got it. She thought she wanted to be a princess, but in the end, all she really wanted was her mother – or a different life. I think Mig didn’t really want to be a princess; she wanted to be what she thought a princess represents – happiness. Of all the characters in this story, I thought Miggery’s was the most heartbreaking. This little girl never had a chance in life, she was destined for a life of misery the day her mother died (and who knows what it had been like before).

            The constant theme in this story is the aspiration to be someone you are content with, without worrying about what other people may think about it. Despereaux succeeded in this mission, but sadly, the other two characters did not. It’s very easy to conform to what others expect of you. The difficult, yet most satisfying thing the world is to be yourself!

A Letter to Hugo

Dear Hugo,

Your adventurous story has been an inspiration to me. I was captivated by your story right away. I wanted to know what was in that notebook! I read your words with a sense of excitement and anticipation, and every page I turned left me wanting to know more.

I felt the sadness you experienced when your father passed away. When you “wanted to fall over, to just lie down on the sidewalk and disappear” (124), I felt your pain. I wanted to join you on that sidewalk. I have also experienced death in my family, and the way you handled it, especially at your age, was amazing. I wish I had the courage you have, Hugo.

When the train almost took your life, I was terrified! I can’t even imagine your paralyzing fear as “the black engine was zooming right toward [you]” (459). I thought to myself, “No! He can’t die! There are too many things he has yet to do in his life, and too many contributions he must make to the world.” I thanked the Heavens when you were rescued!

The line in the story, “Hugo’s future seemed to fall perfectly into place” (507) literally brought tears to my eyes, and sent shivers down my spine. After all of the hardships you endured, and all of the obstacles you had to overcome, you finally got everything you deserved! This is why I found your story so inspiring, Hugo. Even though it was a difficult journey, and you could have given up so many times, you didn’t. You got to where you wanted to be!

You are an amazing character, and your story will live on as a reminder to everyone that the “impossible” can be achieved! You are truly a hero, Hugo Cabret! Thank you for sharing your tale; or, shall I thank your automaton?

Sincerely,

Allie Capobianco, a dedicated reader