By John
Updike
About
the author
John Hoyer Updike was an American writer. He
was born on March 18, 1932, Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S. He was known for his careful craftsmanship and
subtle depiction of “American, Protestant, small-town, middle-class” life.
Updike grew up in Shillington, Pennsylvania,
and many of his early stories draw on his youthful experiences there. He
graduated from Harvard University in 1954. In 1955 he began an association with
The New Yorker magazine, to which he contributed editorials, poetry, stories,
and criticism throughout his prolific career. About this time, Updike devoted
himself to writing fiction full-time, and several works followed. Rabbit, Run
(1960), was considered to be one of his best novels.
Much of Updike’s later fiction is set in New
England (in Ipswich, Massachusetts), where he lived from the 1960s. Updike
continued to explore the issues that confront middle-class America, such as
fidelity, religion, and responsibility. He died on January 27, 2009 in Danvers,
Massachusetts.
Introduction
Little children love to hear stories from their
parents at bedtime. Such stories are mostly fables and have no logic behind
them. Many a time, parents make up stories out of their own head. Little children
take them as literally true. But as the child grows up, he becomes inquisitive.
He begins to ask many questions. He wants to know why and how certain things
happen. He wants to know the reason behind things. Sometimes parents take this
questioning of the child as an affront. They try to discourage it. They want
the child to accept as true whatever is said to him. Is such an attitude
desirable?
This story poses this very question. A father
tells his child a story out of his head. The child interrupts him a number of
times. She raises questions whenever she feels that the story is wrong. The
father feels himself caught in an ugly middle position. He does not know
whether he should accept the child’s version or stick to his own. Thus the
story raises a moral issue and leaves it to the reader to resolve it.
Theme
The story raises a moral issue if the parents
should always decide what the children should do or let the children do what
they like to do. Children dream and live in their own magical world. They are
devoid of despise, ugliness, and petty differences. They are pure at heart.
This story raises a moral question at this point, “Should Wizard hit Mommy?” Jo
feels that he must. Jack says that it would be wrong because a mommy is always
right. She should be loved and respected.
Characters
1.
Joanne:
a four year old girl, lovingly called as ‘Jo’.
2. Jack: Father of Joanne
3. Clare: Wife of Jack, mother
of Joanne.
4. Skunk: a baby creature with a
bad smell.
5. Mother
Skunk:
Mother of baby Skunk.
6. Owl: a wise creature that
solves the problems.
7.
Wizard:
A magician.
Summary
Jack was the father of two little kids – Jo and
Bobby. His wife Clare was carrying their third child. Jack would tell a story
to his daughter Jo out of his head
in the evenings and for Saturday naps. This custom of story-telling began when
Jo was two–year-old and it was continuing for the last two years. Each new
story only differed a bit from the basic tale. There always was a small
creature, usually named Roger, for example, Roger Fish, Roger Squirrel, Roger
Chipmunk etc. He always had some problem and he would go to the wise old owl.
The owl would tell him to go to the Wizard, who would perform a magic spell
that solved the problem. The Wizard in turn would demand in payment a number of
pennies greater than the number Roger creature had. But at the same time he
would direct the animal to a place where the extra pennies could be found. Then
Roger would become so happy that he played many games with other creatures.
Roger then would go home to his mother just in time to hear the train whistle
that brought his daddy home from Boston. Jack then would describe their supper,
and the story was over.
Jack found this story-telling session
especially tiring on Saturday, because Jo never fell asleep in naps any more.
One Saturday Jack asked Jo about whom the story should be today. Roger Skunk,
she said firmly. A new animal; they must talk about Skunk at nursery school.
Jack started the story of the tiny creature Skunk, who lived in the dark deep
woods. His name was Roger Skunk and he smelled very bad. He smelled so bad that
other animals of the jungle would not play with him. They would run away and
Roger Skunk would stand there all alone.
Roger Skunk went to the wise old owl and told his
problem. The owl asked the Skunk why he did not see the Wizard. Then he went to
the Wizard and told that he smelled very bad and all the little animals used to
run away from him. The wise owl had told wizard that he could help in that
manner. The Wizard took his magic wand and asked Roger Skunk what he wanted to
smell like. Roger Skunk told him that he would like to smell like roses. The
Wizard chanted and Roger Skunk started smelling like roses. The Wizard asked
Roger Skunk to pay seven pennies. Roger Skunk said that he had four pennies
only and he began to cry. The Wizard directed Roger to go to the nearby magic
well and he would find three pennies there. Roger Skunk took out three pennies
from the well and gave them to the Wizard. Now all the other animals gathered around him
because he smelled so good. They played various games and laughed. It began to
get dark so they all ran home to their mummies. Jo thought that the story was
all over.
When Roger Skunk went home his mummy said that
the smell was awful. She asked who made him smell like that. Roger Skunk said
that the Wizard did so. She said that they were going right back to that
Wizard. He said that all the other animals would run away with his bad smell.
But his mummy said she did not care. He should smell the way a little Skunk
should have smelled. So she took Roger with her and went to the Wizard. When
the wizard opened door, she hit him with her umbrella and explained how the
wizard’s magic infuriated her. The wizard spelled another magic and Roger smelled
as foul as he did earlier. But she was displeased with this new ending and
wanted her father to make the wizard hit Roger’s mommy. But Jack was not ready
to make any change as he thought Joe should accept him without questioning. Jo
protested but Jack said that it was daddy’s story. He said then Roger Skunk and
her mummy went home. They had supper and when Roger Skunk was in bed, Mommy
Skunk came up and hugged him and said she loved him very much. He told her that
the story ends there.
Jo asked her daddy if the other animals ran
away from Roger Skunk. Jack said no, they finally got used to the way Roger
Skunk was and did not mind it at all. Jo commented that she was a stupid mummy.
He asked her to have a long nap as her brother Bobby was also sleeping. Jo told
him that she wanted him to tell her the story the next day that Wizard took
that magic wand and hit that mummy, right over the head. Jack said that it was
not the story. The point is that the little Skunk loved his mummy more than he
loved all the other little animals. Moreover, she knew what was right. But Jo
insisted that tomorrow he should say that the Wizard hit that mummy. Jack said
that he would see and asked her to sleep.
He closed the door and went downstairs. Clare
was striking the chair rail with a dipped brush. Above him footsteps vibrated.
These were Jo’s footsteps. He threatened to beat her and then the footsteps
slowed down.
Clare observed that it was a long story. He
simply said “the poor kid”. He watched his wife working hard on the wood-work.
She was doing painting work. Thus the writer displays adult authority on one
hand and the child’s inquisitiveness on the other.
Main
Points
1. Jo was Jack’s four year old
daughter. Every evening for Saturday’s naps, Jack told his daughter a
self-composed story.
2. The story always has a character
Roger with other animal name & each new story is a slight variation of
basic tale.
3. In one story Roger Skunk was
having bad smell. No animals played with him. He changed his smell with the
help of wizard.
4. The wizard was hit by Skunk’s
mother as he had changed is smell. Jo didn’t like the end as she wanted that
wizard should hit mommy.
Short Answer Type Questions
Q1. What was usually the basic storyline of the tale that
Jack told Jo almost daily?
Ans. The
stories that Jack used to tell Joe were the slight variation of the basic tale
about a small creature usually named Roger. Roger would go to the wise owl
whenever in trouble. The wise owl would ask him to go to the wizard who would
finally solve Roger’s problem.
Q2. How
was the Skunk’s story different from the other stories narrated by Jack?
Ans. Jack was a perfect
story teller and could change his subject at the spur of the moment to keep the
interests of the listener. All his stories revolved round an animal Roger. He
changed them with a slight variation but the basic tale remained the same. This
time it was about a baby Skunk who smelt very badly whenever he went to play
with others. They used to tease him and never cooperated with him. He could
feel racial segregation.
Q3. What
new phase has started in the custom of the story telling?
Ans. A new phase has
started in the custom of story-telling. In the beginning Jo used to listen to
the story quietly and used to sleep after that, but from sometime she had
started listening to the story cautiously and started showing curiosity to know
about many things she did not know. She had also started asking some moral
questions like: Does God really exist? Are magic spells real? Now she wants to
know everything and has even started stressing upon her own point of view.
Q4. Why
did Roger Skunk go to see the old owl?
Ans. Roger Skunk would go
first to the wise owl for help. He had sad expressions on his face. The owl
lived on the tip-top of the tree. Roger Skunk would complain to him that the
other animals had left him alone because of his bad smell. None was ready to
side with him rather they remarked “Stinky Skunk.” The wise owl listened to him
carefully and gave a deep thought over it. At last he advised Roger to go and
meet the Wizard.
Q5. Describe the wizard’s room.
Ans. The
wizard’s room is a white house over the crick. Inside it are all magic things.
All jumbled together in a big dusty heap as the wizard did not have any
cleaning lady.
Q6. How did Roger Skunk’s mommy react when he smelled like
roses?
Ans. When
Roger Skunk smelled like roses, his mommy asked what that awful smell was.
Roger Skunk replied that the wizard had made him smell like that. She got angry
and with Roger went to the wizard and hit his head with an umbrella.
Q7. How did Jo react to Jack’s storyline?
Ans. Jo did
not agree with Jack’s version of the story in which Roger Skunk’s mommy hit
that wizard right over his head for changing Roger Skunk’s smell. Instead she
wanted that the wizard hit Skunk’s mommy.
Q8. What
does Jack actually want Jo to know and understand in the story?
Ans. Jack
actually wants Jo to know and understand that parents always love their
children as they are. Smelling good or bad is immaterial against the natural
biological bond. But this thing is Jo’s beyond understanding. She understands
what she sees around; but not beyond that.
Q9. Who
is Jo? How does she respond to her father’s story-telling?
Ans. Jo is Jack’s
four-year-old daughter. Every evening and for Saturday naps, Jack tells his
daughter a self-composed story. Each story is a slight variation of the
original. Jo is captivated by each story and gets so involved in it that she
asks questions on it and even predicts the next move or development in the
tale.
Q10. What
do you think was Jo’s problem?
Ans. Jo was mainly
concerned that Roger Skunk should be accepted by other animals. She was annoyed
that the mother had not understood Skunk’s misery. So, she wanted the wizard to
teach his mother a lesson. She wanted her father to change the story to suit
her taste.
Q11. Why
was Roger Skunk’s mother angry? What did she finally tell him?
Ans. Roger Skunk was very
happy on having the rose smell. His mother got perplexed at that awful smell.
She asked who had done that. Roger told about the Wizard. She grew angry on
both Roger Skunk and the Wizard. She finally told him to go back to the Wizard
and ask him to convert him to his original smell. She told him that she would
hit the Wizard with an umbrella. She hit the wizard and the later changed Roger
Skunk into its foul smell. Now, Roger Skunk had no smell of roses and he began
to smell very bad again.
Q12. Why
does Jo call the Skunk’s mummy stupid?
Ans. Roger skunk had an
ugly smell. He met the Wizard and got it changed but his Mommy did not like it.
She visited the Wizard and urged Skunk to the original position. Thus mummy was
unable to understand the problems of Skunk. Thus Jo calls Skunk’s mummy stupid.
Q13. How
did Jo want the story to end?
Ans. Roger Skunk’s Mommy
hit the Wizard hard on the head. She did not wish the stinky Skunk to smell
like a rose. Jo did not approve of her mother’s silly action. She wanted the
Wizard to hit Mommy Skunk back on her head to end the story. He should not have
restored Roger Skunk’s stinky smell.
Q14. Why
does Jack insist that it was the Wizard that was hit and not the mother?
Ans. In reality Jack wants
that the children should obey their parents since the elders are always right.
Jack thinks that the only mother Skunk knows what is good or bad for her son.
Since, the baby Skunk loves his mother more than anything else so it is correct
that Wizard should not hit the mommy.
Q15. How
did the ‘mommy’ behave when Roger Skunk got the usual smell?
Ans. The Wizard turned
Roger Skunk in his original condition. The mother was much elated and they
returned home. They heard the sound of the train bringing Daddy Skunk home from
Boston. Then they had lima beans, pork chops, celery, mashed potatoes ad
Pie-oh-My for Dessert. She hugged Skunk time and again and showered affection.
Now Skunk smelled like her little baby again.
Q16. What
makes you ascertain that Roger suffered “racial segregation?”
Ans. A Skunk is a small
black and white American animal. Here Roger Skunk smelled very badly. Due to
his foul smell, no other animal was ready to play or mix with him. They teased him
and called him ‘Stinky Skunk’. He would stand alone and weep with tears in his
eyes. Thus he was deeply pained at the segregation and indifferent attitude of
other animals.
Q17. What
makes Jack feel caught in an ugly middle position?
Ans. Jack feels caught in an
ugly middle position as Jo’s non-acceptance of the ending of his story has
taken him by surprise. To him, this is almost like an act of defiance and he
feels that Jo is questioning his authority. This causes confusion in his
mind and he does not really know how to react to his little daughter who
has suddenly started asserting her opinions, most contrary to
her behaviour in the past.
Q18. Why
does Jack insist that it was the wizard that was hit and not the mother?
Ans. Jack insists that it
was the wizard that was hit and not the mother for he wants Jo to understand
that the Skunk’s mother knew what was best for him. Also, Jack is taken aback a
little to find that Jo has actually dared to question him. This appears like an
act of defiance to him and he suddenly feels that he is on shaky ground, and
needs to re-establish his authority. When he had started this story about the
poor stinky Skunk, he had been reminded of all the humiliations of his own
childhood and in a way the stand that he takes regarding the Skunk’s mother is
in defence of his own mother.
Q19.
Which do you think is a better ending of Roger Skunk’s story, Jo’s or her
father’s? Why?
Ans. Jack presents a decent
as well as appropriate ending since a child cannot think as a mother. Skunk’s
mother wanted that Skunk should have originality. In this context Jack tries to
make Jo understand his view-point. He has no desire that Jo should form a
negative opinion about Mommy. He tries to explain that she should be loved,
respected and well behaved by her child.
Long answer type questions
Q1. What
is the moral issue that the story raises?
Ans. The story examines
adult attitude to growing children. The issue that it raises is whether
children should be allowed to use their abilities to reason and question or be
forced to remain mere shadows of adult influence and thought. Jo dared to question
her father’s interpretation of how the story of the stinky Skunk should end.
This came as a shock to Jack who was used to a complacent Jo who always enjoyed
the story session designed by her father. Jack had failed to appreciate the
fact that Jo was growing up and was bound to have thoughts of her own and may
not always agree with the way he viewed things. Jack found it hard to come to
terms with this.
Q2. What
is your stance regarding the two endings to the Roger Skunk story?
Ans. Children see facts as
they are, as did Jo. She thought it was unfair that the Skunk’s mother should
go back to the wizard and force him to change the Skunk back into his stinky
old self. This way he would lose all his friends and be lonely and sad. When he
smelt of roses, he was more acceptable and had friends.
Adults, on the other hand, are coloured by
biases or sometimes base their conclusions on the wisdom of their experiences,
as did Jack. He felt that the Skunk’s mother knew what was best for him. This
can be translated to mean either that adults know what is best for their
children or that adults are in the habit of imposing their will on children.
Thus, how the story should end would depend largely on how each one interprets
the facts of the story and their underlying implications.
Q3. Why
did Jo think Roger Skunk was better off with the new smell?
Ans. Roger Skunk was very
happy on having the rose smell. His mother got annoyed. She thought that a
Skunk was a Skunk and he must smell like a Skunk. She decided to make the
Wizard give him back his original smell. Jo thought Roger Skunk was better off
with the new smell. He could play and have the company of other animals.
Jack wants to stress that for a mother her son
has got more prominence than anything else. She views that Skunk never smells
bad. Other animals may keep away from the stinky Skunk but for the mother, the
rose smell becomes a distinct mark of recognition. She finds it strange to see
Skunk in an awful smell of roses since she has the same bad smell of Roger
Skunk. She feels elated when good smelling Roger becomes a stinky Skunk again. Thus,
Jack insists that the Wizard should not hit the Mommy.
Q4. Why
does Jo want that the Wizard should hit the mommy? Does her stand reflect a
child’s perspective on life?
Ans. It is an acceptable
fact that adults have refined and mature view than that of a child. They are the
better judges to form a very judicious view on every matter. On the other hand
children are ignorant, innocent, unexperienced and immature. They rather wander
in the romantic world of their own. Accordingly we can say that a child symbolizes
innocence and spontaneity while an adult has a practical approach.
In this story Jo wants Wizard to hit Mommy as
she has forced the Wizard to change the foul smell in Skunk rather than the
rose smell. The girl does not think appropriate that the Mommy should hit the
Wizard from her perspective, it has been worthy if the Wizard Hits Mommy since
Skunk too needs the company for playing.
Q5.How
does Jo want the story to end and why?
Ans. It is very important
to note that the children have different view on life than that of the adults.
They live and dream in their own their imaginative world. They have no malice and
remain away from petty differences. Here in the story, Jo is a very sensible girl.
She does not like the ending that Mommy should hit the wizard. Rather she wants
that the Wizard should hit the mommy for her failure to realize the problems of
Skunk. She calls her “Stupid Mommy” and insists for a change in the story.
Since Roger Skunk is the hero of the story, Jo does not want her hero to face
any complications. She does not imagine Skunk roughly and stinky. She has got
every sympathy for Skunk. She thinks it unfair on the part of Skunk’s mommy to
go and get Roger’s smell bad again. She wants the ending must be changed.