The mice got to the lake by first Miss Bianca decided to resign from Chairwoman and to keep to her private life. Bernard decided to throw her a party, so then they had a water picnic to celebrate with no speeches on Miss Bianca’s . The mice danced, “The Dashing Brown Mouse, Roll out the Walnuts, Jenny’s Whiskers and then they danced to Hickory Dickory, Mousetown Races, and that oldest favorite of all, Belling the Cat!” They danced on lily pads and Miss Bianca would have liked Le Cambert, but she still enjoyed the other dances. As she admired the view, she noticed an old turret with ivy crawling over the walls, when she looked in the water, she saw the reflection and said “Do observe, Bernard, the reflection of the turret in the moat! It’s quite like Canaletto!”
“The Piazza San Marco in Venice” by Canaletto
When she looked closer she saw a piece of paper, and sent a Boy Scout to scamper up and fetch it. The Boy Scout went and brought down the piece of paper, which in reality, was a piece of linen or fabric. Miss Bianca was a bit angry that mice or people would litter like that! So, she told Bernard to hold onto it until they reached a bin. After she spoke of her going back to her private life, she then cast a backwards glance to the turret after her speech and saw a second piece of paper! She was very quiet on the way home because her thoughts were occupied, but since most mice were quiet too, nobody remarked. Miss Bianca finally told Bernard what was bothering her, “I tell you that the turret has a prisoner inside!” She soon went back to the second piece of paper, realizing it was another piece of fabric, and saw the name that was faintly visible: “Mandrake”. At first, Miss Bianca was not too deeply sympathetic, or sorry, but she soon realized that the Grand Duchess would kill him for letting Patience escape. She soon felt that she had to help and rescue him.
I was so relieved when we finally zoomed back to Sam and the situation he was stuck in with Frodo being taken away and being done who knows what to him. As Sam made his way to find Frodo and access the home turf of Sauron, he seemed to find a new sense of courage and pride within himself. And seeing him do so is renewing, because we already know throughout the last book and now that he was extremely loyal and true to Frodo as a friend, but he needed a little character development with bravery and derring-do. We see him do exactly that in this chapter; inching bit by bit evermore out of his comfort zone. “‘Come on, you miserable sluggard!’ Sam cried to himself. ‘Now for it!’ He drew Sting and ran towards the open gate… Hardening his will Sam thrust forward once again,” (882). This was almost monumental since it’s almost like the leading role of the Ring is up to Sam now – which basically it is as he has the Ring. His fight with terror as he explored the horrid place is admirable, because we must not forget that at the end of the day he was just a hobbit who loved his food, garden and pipe. But now he has cast that aside and whole-heartedly committed to dying, if needed to save Frodo. Adding on to him being a hobbit, we could truly see in moments when Sam decided to put the Ring on that he is almost just as pure and good as Frodo. Of course, all hobbits are strong and have quite an ability to hold against such forces like Gandalf had said. “Already the Ring tempted him, gnawing at his will and reason. Wild fantasies arose in his mind; and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land… In that hour of trial it was the love of his master that helped most to hold him firm; but also deep down in him lived still unconquered his plain hobbit-sense: he knew in the core of his heart that he was not large enough to bear such a burden,” (881). And along the way of exploring, Sam encountered an Orc who was actually afraid of him. It’s some much needed comedic relief in such a tense moment: “For a moment the orc crouched, and then with a hideous yelp of fear it turned and fled back as it had come. Never was any dog more heartened when its enemy turned tail than Sam as this unexpected flight. With a shout he gave chase. ‘Yes! The Elf-warrior is loose!’” (883-884).
Prompt: Read from 74-85 and write about Bando entering Sam’s life. Quote dialogue, and track their meeting from their becoming comfortable with each other, to Bando’s expressing admiration for Sam, to their working together and enjoying the fruits of their labor together. Use quotes, and discuss the human connection in contrast to the many months Sam has ahead of him alone. 250-300 words
Sam and Bando become friends with each other when Bando randomly appears at Sam’s campfire, and as they slowly get to know each other, they share their past and deepen their bond. Sam originally believes that Bando is a bandit, but still shows kindness, “teaching him to live off the land”, (78). Sam is willing to take in an outlaw and help him escape because he wants Bando as a friend, a human that he can connect and live with. While Sam is sheltering Bando, Bando expresses his amazement at Sam’s skills, expressing shock at his abilities to make fire and live in the wild. He is confused by a teenager living all on his own in the forest, with no guardians. And as Bando teaches Sam some of his skills, the two childishly talk about books and relax, watching Frightful fly around. Sam greatly values these little interactions where he has someone to talk to. He forgets his past where his only companion was Frightful, who he couldn’t really talk to, having to communicate without words. He relishes in human interaction and when Bando leaves, he is devastated, even over someone he knew for such a short time, showing his deep care and kindness, and the bond they created over such a short time. “I was so lonely that I kept sewing on my moccasins to keep myself busy” (Pg. 84). Over the few months that Sam is alone he has to make friends with either rodents or birds, not having anyone to really connect with.
Spoiler Alert: do NOT read unless you have already read The Hobbit
After reading “Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire” I had a mixed of emotions consisting primarily of confusion, excitement, and shock. There were so many twists and turns in the chapter that you would think it would end after a climax but Tolkien just put another climax in. It just goes on and on, and I could talk about it all day. What better place to start off than the very beginning when “…Bilbo [stepped] down into the middle of [the company], and [slipped] off the ring”. Everyone was so intrigued on how this not-so-promising hobbit just magically appeared. Everyone was fooled; everyone except for Gandalf who had a thought of it but kept it to himself.
The next part which I loved was when they got captured by the evil wolves just when they thought their worst enemy was hunger. The wolves sent guards to surround the trees that the dwarves and Bilbo were on, “…while all the rest (hundreds and hundreds it seemed) went and sat in a great circle in the glade.” In the circle they discussed how they would wait for the goblins who at the time were their partner in crime would come down at dawn to cut or burn down the trees as goblins were immune to the fire.
Just as it seemed all hope was lost when the goblins came and were burning down the trees waiting for them to either jump down or perish even their leader Gandalf seemed to lose hope. He jumped down his tree but, “Just at that moment the Lord of the Eagles swept down from above, seized him in his talons, and was gone.” Soon the other eagles and they swooped in on the trees getting dwarf after dwarf until all who were left were Dori and Bilbo leaving Bilbo clinging onto Dori for his life while flying through the night sky.
Now this final scare may seem to be kind of silly as it was so short and harmless, but at the time for me it seemed that they had lost it all. It was when one eagle commanded the others to bring their prisoners to the Great Shelf.” At the time I had believed that the eagles were taking them as prisoners of their own and to explain how they had set fire on the wolves. It just turned out that Gandalf had helped them sometime ago when their Chief Eagle was injured so they were just repaying the favor and only called them prisoners because they were the prisoners of the goblins. Overall, I truly enjoyed this chapter with all the twists and turns and mostly the cliff hangers which always kept me on edge.
Finally, can you write about the ending? How does the lineman’s poetry correspond with the poetic murmurings of the kids at the school, and how do these remind us of Margalo’s tender and lyrical style? What characterizes the ending? Meaning, what is the final essence of character that Stuart leaves us with as he presses the tiny little gas pedal down towards the creaking floorboards of his delicate and wee gas-powered micro machine? (250 words).
I think the ending of Stuart Little teaches us to appreciate the little things in life. The lineman’s poetry shows us that happiness comes from simplicity. The children’s small comments reflect to us that happiness and meaning comes from small and ordinary moments. “How many of you know what’s important?… ‘A shaft of sunlight at the end of a dark afternoon, a note in music, and the way the back of a baby’s neck smells if its mother keeps it tidy’”. The poetry of the children ties perfectly to Margalo’s tender and lyrical style which emphasizes small, meaningful actions and reminds us how, after just a few days, Stuart goes through those tiny moments (such as the tiny moment when he removed himself from bed and went and shot an arrow against Snowball, or the tiny moment when he confesses that his ice skates are threatening their lives) that move him so much that he decides to leave everything behind to pursue her. The final essence that Stuart leaves with us is to cherish every moment, no matter how insignificant they are. He shows us that even after abandoning everything he loves in search of something so unlikely, he doesn’t dwell on the past but finds happiness in the journey. Instead of chasing grand victories, he silently values each and every second. When he presses the gas pedal, he shows us all that even without guaranteed results, without a clear plan, without an idea of where he’s going, he isn’t afraid of the future, or regretting the past, because he knows the journey is half the prize. In the end, I think the name, Stuart Little, is actually pointing to Stuart’s way of life, rather than his size.
Isaac, I loved reading your essay of Stuart Little where you share your opinion about a lot of the things he says. I agree with both the sentiments Stuart proclaims as well as the things that you highlight about them.
To be honest, I really liked when you highlighted Stuart’s comments that some of the happiest things are the simple ones; these things could be, “A shaft of sunlight at the end of a dark afternoon, a note in music, and the way the back of a baby’s neck smells if its mother keeps it tidy”. I also like how these small and tiny things affect Stuart as it shows us that everything with a cause will have an effect; you just may not know who it is on. This reveals Stuart’s sensitivity and his ability to connect to universal themes with his students (they know him not).I also like how Stuart goes after Margalo even though it seems to be impossible as she fled and could be anywhere in the world and he could even drive past her and not notice. I especially liked when you said “…the journey is half the prize” as I believe that in a good success the journey is half the prize if not more, as that is where your hard work, dedication, and more things lie. Stuart knows that his chances of finding Margalo are near impossible and he knows that going after her he will lose it all, but he still chooses to risk it for a chance to find her which I find both stupid but also heroic.Overall, I think your final essay answer was very well-written with a lot of quotes that I believe really fit your topic and also your themes of the small things in life were quite meaningful and relatable which made me really enjoy both reading it. I also enjoyed writing this Student Feedback, and I hope you enjoy reading it.~Chris Tian
