CCBC-Net Archives
[CCBC-Net] Short Sammy Himself
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Gappa Richard J <gappa.rich>
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:52:59 -0600
Brian,
It is interesting that you ask this question. I feel, yes, Short Sammy is the type of person who would use "scrotum" rather than an "unsavory euphemism." We find out later that Sammy is a caring, thoughtful, intelligent individual who has been to France (60). He has adopted a highway and cleans the right of way each week (90); pulled fifteen cactus spines from HMS Beagle (59); and unlike some of the people who objected to this book without reading it, Sammy is a reader, since as Patron points out nicely, he "had a crate full of books with his guitar on top." (56) In addition, he is perceptive of other people's feelings and tells Lucky "a strange thing": "Brigitte's all right. She just needs something to do. She's bored." (58) Such a person attuned to other's feelings would avoid using language that might shock others. This book is extraordinarily well crafted. Patron has done some wonderful things with the snakes' symbolism- both the rattler and the Red Racer. There are nice touches that parallel the scrotum strike in the cactus spines in HMS Beagle and the cactus spines in the foot of Miles, as well as the bug in the ear of Lucky. In all of these instances there is a positive outcome because of a higher power of love and caring. This novel is filled with such beauty about people on the mend; about the need for community and the necessity of survival based on others. What's not to like about this book? It is worth noting that after Lucky runs away, it is Sammy again who seeks to comfort Brigitte by telling her how many times he had run away, and how everything turned out okay.(126) One touch that is truly an "Amazing Grace" is the chapter by the same name in which Sammy leads the singing of the hymn just as "Suddenly a breeze came, a little after thought of the storm, as if, Lucky thought, some Higher Power was paying attention and knew what was needed." And what is needed is for more children to be exposed to the beauty of this and similar books that do not hide behind a feigned morality and outrage over a perfectly accurate and necessary word. Kudos to Ms. Patron for her ten years of loving labor, and to the Newbery Committee for selecting this Book.
Richard Gappa
Professor
Department of English
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
That being said, I have a related question that I haven't seen addressed
yet. Ms. Patron has been praised for her use of the anatomically correct
word, but is Short Sammy the kind of character who would actually use the
anatomically correct word?
I've seen descriptions of the book include a "hard, dusty life" in a
"plain-spoken town." I've read that this is a "character-driven novel," but
does this fit the formally hard-drinking character? Maybe I am wrong, but
Short Sammy seems like the kind of person who would use any of a number of
unsavory euphemisms instead of the anatomically correct word.
Received on Tue 20 Feb 2007 02:52:59 PM CST
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:52:59 -0600
Brian,
It is interesting that you ask this question. I feel, yes, Short Sammy is the type of person who would use "scrotum" rather than an "unsavory euphemism." We find out later that Sammy is a caring, thoughtful, intelligent individual who has been to France (60). He has adopted a highway and cleans the right of way each week (90); pulled fifteen cactus spines from HMS Beagle (59); and unlike some of the people who objected to this book without reading it, Sammy is a reader, since as Patron points out nicely, he "had a crate full of books with his guitar on top." (56) In addition, he is perceptive of other people's feelings and tells Lucky "a strange thing": "Brigitte's all right. She just needs something to do. She's bored." (58) Such a person attuned to other's feelings would avoid using language that might shock others. This book is extraordinarily well crafted. Patron has done some wonderful things with the snakes' symbolism- both the rattler and the Red Racer. There are nice touches that parallel the scrotum strike in the cactus spines in HMS Beagle and the cactus spines in the foot of Miles, as well as the bug in the ear of Lucky. In all of these instances there is a positive outcome because of a higher power of love and caring. This novel is filled with such beauty about people on the mend; about the need for community and the necessity of survival based on others. What's not to like about this book? It is worth noting that after Lucky runs away, it is Sammy again who seeks to comfort Brigitte by telling her how many times he had run away, and how everything turned out okay.(126) One touch that is truly an "Amazing Grace" is the chapter by the same name in which Sammy leads the singing of the hymn just as "Suddenly a breeze came, a little after thought of the storm, as if, Lucky thought, some Higher Power was paying attention and knew what was needed." And what is needed is for more children to be exposed to the beauty of this and similar books that do not hide behind a feigned morality and outrage over a perfectly accurate and necessary word. Kudos to Ms. Patron for her ten years of loving labor, and to the Newbery Committee for selecting this Book.
Richard Gappa
Professor
Department of English
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
That being said, I have a related question that I haven't seen addressed
yet. Ms. Patron has been praised for her use of the anatomically correct
word, but is Short Sammy the kind of character who would actually use the
anatomically correct word?
I've seen descriptions of the book include a "hard, dusty life" in a
"plain-spoken town." I've read that this is a "character-driven novel," but
does this fit the formally hard-drinking character? Maybe I am wrong, but
Short Sammy seems like the kind of person who would use any of a number of
unsavory euphemisms instead of the anatomically correct word.
Received on Tue 20 Feb 2007 02:52:59 PM CST
