Discussion Topic
Leigh's evolving attitude towards Mr. Henshaw in Dear Mr. Henshaw
Summary:
Leigh's attitude towards Mr. Henshaw evolves from initial resentment to appreciation. Initially, Leigh is annoyed by Mr. Henshaw's questions and assignments, but over time, as he continues to write and receive thoughtful responses, he begins to respect and value Mr. Henshaw's guidance and support. This relationship helps Leigh cope with personal challenges and grow as a writer.
Why does Leigh's attitude change by the end of Dear Mr. Henshaw?
In Beverly Cleary's Dear Mr. Henshaw, Leigh's attitude changes
toward the end of the book due to excellent advice he receives
from Mr. Fridley, the school custodian.
By February, Leigh is so brokenhearted by his father's treatment that he feels he has to take it out his anger on someone. He tries to seek revenge on the lunch thief by kicking any lunch he comes across down the school hall. Mr. Fridley stops him and says, "I don't want to see a boy like you get into trouble, and that's where you're headed" ("Tuesday, February 6"). When Leigh responds by complaining about not having any friends, Mr. Fridley tells him he "scowls all the time," which isn't very friendly, and tells him he is so wrapped up in his own problems that he's forgetting to notice everyone around him has problems. Mr. Fridley then says, to overcome...
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Leigh's problems, he's "gotta think positively."
It is at this point in the story that Leigh begins to think positively. First,
he is made happy when he sees swarms of beautiful monarch butterflies in a
butterfly tree park. Then, he thinks positively by rigging an alarm inside of
his lunchbox. The rigged lunchbox fails to catch the thief but helps Leigh make
friends because the whole school is very impressed with his invention.
He even begins thinking positively about the lunch thief because he no longer
cares to find out who the thief is; he realizes he no longer wants to judge the
thief:
Maybe he was just somebody whose mother packed bad lunches—jelly sandwiches on that white bread that tastes like Kleenex. Or maybe he had to pack his own lunches and there was never anything good in the house to put in them. . . I'm not saying robbing lunches is right. I am saying I'm glad I don't know who the thief was, because I have to go to school with him ("Thursday, March 15").
Leigh also develops a more positive attitude about his father. Though he still misses his father and feels hurt, he has come to accept that his father will disappoint him and cannot be relied on. He has also begun to feel compassion for his father out on the lonely road, which is why Leigh tells his father he can keep Bandit once Bandit has been found and returned to Leigh.
How does Leigh react to Mr. Henshaw's responses in Dear Mr. Henshaw?
In the letter dated September 20th in Beverly Cleary's Dear Mr. Henshaw, we learn that Leigh's sixth-grade teacher, Miss Martinez, has assigned her students to write reports about authors. Instead of doing research on his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw, Leigh writes Mr. Henshaw a list of interview questions. In the next letter, dated November 15th, we learn that Mr. Henshaw did not respond to Leigh's letter in time for Leigh to include the answers in his report and only gave "silly answers" in reply. The following are examples of Mr. Henshaw's joke answers:
... like your real name is Messing A. Round, and you don't have kids because you don't raise goats. ("November 15")
The one answer Mr. Henshaw gives that clearly reveals his motive for sending joke answers is the following:
... your favorite animal was a purple monster who ate children who sent authors long lists of questions for reports instead of learning to use the library. ("November 15")
In other words, Mr. Henshaw felt that Leigh should be approaching gathering
information for his report the way any sixth grader should,
by using the library for research. Apparently, Miss
Martinez agrees with Mr. Henshaw, because, when Leigh reads the part about
"purple monsters" aloud to the class, Leigh notes that Miss Martinez "didn't
smile."
Leigh is angered by Mr. Henshaw's joke replies, so angered
that he at first refuses to answer the questions Mr. Henshaw took the time to
write Leigh. Leigh doesn't answer the questions until his mother insists that
he should. Even still, Leigh rebels until she explains that the best way for
Leigh to become a famous author like Mr. Henshaw is by taking Mr. Henshaw's
advice: "read, look, listen, think and write" ("November 20").