The Phantom Tollbooth
posted in fantasy, classics, book review, children's literature |
I thought I’d start out my reviews with one of my all-time favorite children’s fantasies–Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth. Originally published in 1961, the story has become a bona fide classic and remains as good as ever (I looked at the edition illustrated by Jules Feiffer and published by Dell Yearling, 2001). It was even made into a movie, but take my advice and just read the book. So here’s my take on Juster’s phenomenal tale…
The Phantom Tollbooth envelops readers in an educational, entertaining, and empowering journey—the coming of age of the young protagonist, Milo. At the beginning, Milo exudes apathy towards his life and his world; he “can’t see the point” of living and learning. When a tollbooth appears in his room, he finds himself transported to a magical realm where he must transform into a boy who embraces life and learning in order to fulfill his quest and return home.
Text and illustration combines to enhance the effect of Milo’s adventures. Milo’s mercurial feelings, as he both struggles and succeeds at various points in his journey, will resonate with child readers who also experience a gamut of deep emotions.
Children will likely identify with Milo’s boredom, loneliness, and fear of the unfamiliar as well as his courageous spirit, new friendships, and burgeoning competence. The ultimate goal of Milo’s quest is to locate and reinstate the Princesses Rhyme and Reason, thereby reuniting the kingdoms of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis and restoring the Old City of Wisdom.
Milo’s quest follows the monomyth pattern (see Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth) where he leaves behind the known and plunges into the unknown, he undergoes a series of trials, and he emerges victorious with transformed knowledge about himself and about what can be known.
Milo’s adventures sum up to tell a tale in which knowledge is one of life’s most valuable, relevant, and interesting endeavors (rather than being the greatest time waster of all as Milo thinks at the beginning). Supporting characters act to exemplify a central theme: the joy of learning. For example, the most ridiculous characters, such as the kings, are people who abuse their learning and waste their lives in frivolous arguments, while the princesses, Rhyme and Reason, demonstrate the richness of life that emanates from the proper use of wisdom. Tock, the watchdog, champions the value of time. Each encounter with other characters helps Milo to strengthen his own character as he moves forward toward successful culmination of his quest.
Yet, even as Milo discovers anew the merits of education and reason, it is play and imagination that set the overall tone of this romp into the unknown. Imagination appropriates reason in its service to continuously create laugh-out-loud situations, such as the myriad plays-on-words that manifest the slipperiness of language and communication. For example, when Milo purportedly commits a crime and asks for a short sentence, Officer Shrift hands him the shortest sentence he knows: “I am.” Officer Shrift effectively adds humor to the story while also serving to model the way in which ignorance inhibits effective communication.
Cumulatively, Milo’s adventures amalgamate to create a whimsical fantasy. The title and the giant watchdog on the cover entice entrance into the world, the map preceding the title page aids in navigating the world, and the first sentence about a bored boy who has not a clue what to do provides the final hook. The action begins immediately, and the adventure-filled plot drives the pages to turn. While some readers might be turned off by the educational undertones, more likely than not, the ode to education and homily regarding the artifice of entertainment and commodities will be permitted on account of the majority of the book being just plain hilarious.
In the end, Milo recognizes all of life to be an ineffably glorious adventure; he need only use the tools that are inside of him already—his own imagination, experiences, and education. Entrance into Juster’s fantastic world engenders the possibility that readers will rejoin their own world with renewed engagement and empowerment. Readers of The Phantom Tollbooth should be led to question the validity of ever stating, “I’m bored” again.
