Cruel violence by rebels and military troops that are supposed to protect you once again has a profound influence in this 2008 Best Book for Young Adult Top Ten winner. MISTER PIP by Lloyd Jones takes you to an island shortly after it has been overtaken by rebels because of its copper mine. The military (redskins) are there to defeat the rebels and "protect" the island villagers.
Matilda lives in a tiny village on the beach. The only white man on the island, whom is believed to be very awkward by the villagers, volunteers to become the children's teacher. He is an oddity due to his white skin, the way his eyes stick out, the red clown's nose he sometimes wears, and the fact that he pulls his nonspeaking black wife through town as she stands in a trolley. But this strange man, Mr. Watts, takes the students through the book GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens to another place and time. The students are engrossed in learning about the outside world, since their world has so little. It doesn't matter that it occurs long ago. Matilda is especially touched by the book. She feels a connection with it. Some of the women feel the book is not teaching things properly and determine that Mr. Watt's does not believe in God. Mr. Watt's tries to make the village parents more comfortable with him by asking them to come and share what they know of the world. It doesn't help Matilda's mom who sees Mr. Watts as an enemy.
The military want to know who "Pip" is that is written in the sand thinking it is a rebel they are harboring in their village. When the villagers give them an answer they don't believe, the military burn their things, then their homes upon their next visit when they are not pleased with the answer. When rebels come and the village is fearful for their lives, Mr. Watts tells them he will tell everyone who he is but he can't be interrupted for 7 days (secretly a boat is coming then to rescue them) or asked questions. Then Mr. Watts proceeds to intertwine his embellished life story, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, and the stories shared by the parents into an elaborate tale of his life. It holds off the rebels from killing them. But on the last evening when they will finally find out about what happened to Mrs. Watts to make her they way she was, the rebels have disappeared and the military come. They brutally kill Mr. Watts, thinking he is Pip. They brutally kill Matilda's mother, when she states she will be God's witness to what they have done to a white man. Matilda lives, gets off the island, manages to be sent to her father, and lives to become the "writer" of the story.
Amazing how Lloyd Jones is able to write to the point that you truly believe this is Matilda's story, not fiction. Teachers of secondary and high school will love to use this book to show how a book could take these children to another place and time. How a book saved their lives. How becoming a part of a book through acting gives you the freedom to become someone you are not. Wonderfully powerful story!
No comments:
Post a Comment