I know I read William Steig’s SYLVESTER AND THE MAGIC PEBBLE as a kid, more than once or twice or Iwouldn’t remember it, and I must have liked it or my mom wouldn’t have picked it out as a present for my little cousin. But re-reading it recently (before it got mailed off to aforementioned little cousin), I felt such distress and empathy for the parents, who for a whole year believe something horrible must have happened to their child because he went missing and couldn’t be found, that I couldn’t really enjoy it at all. I mean seriously, how awful for those poor parents. Yes, in the end, there’s a happy reunion, but still, a whole year.
It occurs to me, though, that perhaps as a child my empathy didn’t naturally focus on the parents (although there are quite a few pages devoted to them and their sorrow), but rather on Sylvester, the child, whose plight of being stuck in the form of a rock is also quite miserable. The Sylvester story line somehow seems less inappropriate to me, more in keeping with common fairy tale themes (hero/heroine stuck in unhappy situation with no apparent way out, in the end finds way out or is rescued). This of course raises the question: when I begin identifying more with the parents in a story than with the kid? How did that happen? What is this creeping, insipent adultness that keeps happening to me???
-->Feed me text
February 27, 2009 at 10:34 am
Wow, I’d forgotten all about Sylvester, but I think I remember loving the story (his name and the illustrations certainly help). It is hard to imagine now reading it without just feeling the tragedy of it, but I guess that’s a lot of what childhood reading is.
And you know, my identification with parental characters began alarmingly early. I think I remember arguing with you, Emily, in high school about whether we identified with Patty (the mom in My So-Called Life, for those of you reading along who are not on a first-name basis with all the MSCL characters). I did; you were still stuck on how she reminded you of your own mom, and that obviously limited the empathy.
This may have something to do with all the time I spent in middle school reading parenting books in Barnes & Noble. Counter-intelligence and all that.
February 27, 2009 at 10:43 am
I’d forgotten that argument about Patty. Its true – I sympathized with her, but I couldn’t quite get to empathy – I identified so strongly with Angela in that relationship.
February 28, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Yes! The Speak edition we are giving away is the 10th a. edition.
February 28, 2009 at 5:18 pm
I so want it! Thank you for telling me.
March 3, 2009 at 2:52 pm
What an interesting question! I don’t think I’ve had a Sylvester-like experience, but there was definitely a point when I started considering how well-rounded the adult characters were in any given book, and appreciating it when they were people and not stock characters.
March 3, 2009 at 4:42 pm
The story of Sylvester freaked me out a lot. Actually, it still does–the idea of being a rock and being so close and yet so far to something that can save me. Makes me shudder.
And I feel like this MSL conversation is probably off topic, but I did want to add (since I was obsessed with this show) that at first, I really disliked Patty (and liked Graham way better), but I got to like her a lot more as the show progressed. Especially that episode on vacation, where everyone seems to think she’s no fun and she gets hammered.
March 4, 2009 at 10:30 am
Jessmonster: Its funny, I never really started thinking about the adults in kid/YA books – I re-read old favorites all the time and still really experience the story through the kid(s), and tend to see the parents, teachers, whoever as peripheral. Which is why it was such a shock to have this revelation about Sylvester.
Sadako: MSCL conversations are inherently topical. MSCL relates to everything, always.
April 8, 2009 at 5:00 pm
This is kind of old but I just rewatched MSCL again (miss it!) and was definitely looking at the character of Patty a lot more closely. I really dislike the way she acts…she’s so cold to Ricky and Rayanne when she first meets them, she’s so, so, so patronizing to Graham in general…I don’t know, just uptight and cold. But then I look at stuff like the way her dad treats her in the Father Figures episode, or relationship with her mother, and the fact that she’s looking for her bio parents (was adopted). Also the fact that she has issues with her self-image/looks (very attractive in high school, and Graham was…less so, and now he’s sort of coming into his own/getting that kind of attention). I don’t know–I see why she’s sort of insecure. Does that make sens?
April 12, 2009 at 2:06 am
Oh, Sadako, that makes perfect sense. Patty makes me cringe (like when she gets so angry about Rayanne eating the cheese Patty offered her! — Let’s just say I can relate to the one overconsuming cheese in this exchange), but I feel really intense empathy for her too.
April 16, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Oh hells yeah. I overconsume cheese like nobody’s business. I also kind of wanted to smack them when Ricky came over and clearly needed a place to go and then left, and then again later when he was like, “I’m going to live with my aunt and uncle.” Uh, no, he’s NOT. Don’t let him go! The Ricky situation always made me so sad. It’s very realistic, but heart breaking that one of the most giving, sweet, and just plain wonderful characters is the one in the worst family situation. But I’m even more off topic now.
I was listening to the DVD commentary for MSCL and the creator said she would’ve had Graham leave the family to be with Hallie. He might have come back, but Patty would have been in a deep, deep depression. That makes me so sad. I want Graham to be happy but obviously seeing Patty so sad would be awful. Side note–Bess Armstrong, on another commentary, was saying that all the actors playing the kids were really rude to the actress playing Hallie Lowenthal because they felt like she’s splitting the family in two. Haha!!