Although I’ve heard other people in the class say that they didn’t like how the author was talking to the reader, I enjoyed it. It seemed to make the story more personal. When the author told me to look up ‘perfidy’, I did it right then just because she told me to! Every chapter ended with the author telling me as the reader something. I also liked how everyone’s stories intertwined at the end. I knew that they would have to, so I just read the book and waited for it to happen. Each character wanted more than what he or she currently had, and I couldn’t wait to find out if Mig ever got to be a princess or if Roscuro ever got to the light. DiCamillo uses such wonderful words in this book, like chiaroscuro and perfidy.
This book has a lot of great themes. Even though Despereaux is born into an unfortunate family situation (can you imagine your father sending you into the dungeon with the rats?), he is able to overcome this and save the princess. Because the queen died while eating soup, the king outlaws soup and all of its accoutrements. This is just ridiculous and shows the reader that you have to deal with things directly instead of just reacting on impulse. Forgiveness also plays a large role. Despereaux forgives his father for sending him to his death, and the princess is able to forgive Roscuro at the end of the book and invites him to eat soup upstairs in the dining room.
One connection I made between this book and another book is pretty irrelevant, but I thought it was worth sharing. In one of my favorite books, The Poisonwood Bible, there is a chapter called "The Things They Carried", and there is a chapter in this book called "What Mig Carried". While I don't think that was necessarily done on purpose, I always get excited when I see connections. The story also reminds me a lot of the King Arthur stories. Despereaux is the knight in shining armor who rescues his princess from evil. While King Arthur and Lancelot have swords, all Despereaux has is a sewing needle. He has to summon his courage, but he gets the job done.
5 comments:
The theme of forgiveness is very evident. I didn't comment about it in my post or other responses and when I read your post, it really made me think. Would I be able to forgive my father if he did something like that to me? All of my life, I've had a problem forgiving. I've always been the type of person to hold grudges and I don't think it's a good way to be. It makes me think, when is it okay not to forgive? Is there ever a time?
I also liked how the author "spoke" to the reader. It was very engaging and yes, it did make the story more personal.
Reading your post I realized something I hadn't thought about previously. I was so sad for Despereaux as his family betrayed him - his father, his brother, and even his mother unwilling to really intervene on his behalf. But what I realized as I read your thoughts is that without his family's betrayal, he would not have known how to save the princess. So often you hear people ask why do bad things happen to good people? I have believed for a long time that every bad thing that happens to you prepares you for something else. I think DiCamillo would agree. Each bit of misery that the characters experienced set them up to, in the end, attain that which they most desired - maybe not in the form they had initially expected, but in a form just the same.
It seemed that Mig became a princess in the best way it could be defined - to finally be treated with love and respect from her father. What an honor to have seen her tragic life come to a happy ending! I can't imagine Despereaux ever uttering the word "cripes," because he's such a fine, diplomatic little fellow. I wonder how he were to fit in to the mouse fold and culture once again. But then why would he ever need to?
I agree with your comment about wonderful language. When DiCamillo told the readers to look up the word 'perfidy', I wrote it down so I could look it up later. Then, she used it again a few pages later and I thought, Shoot! I should've looked it up when she told me to! With DiCamillo's comments to the reader, I felt like I could really hear her voice...I had someone in my head the whole time.
With the inclusion of the shortened chapters and the cliffhangers at the end of each of these chapters, I can had a difficult time putting this book down, also. I, too, at first, was not enclamored by the "talking mice and rats" and the idea of a mouse falling in love with a human princess really made me stop and think. However, the author does tie in some excellent themes and she honestly makes you fall in love, cheer for, or want to punish the characters. On of my students has read this book and called it a "must read"! My husband is reading The Poisonwood Bible for one of him ministry peer groups right now, so maybe I will have to grab it from him when he is done!
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