Discussion Topic
Summary and Main Idea of Beverly Cleary's "Dear Mr. Henshaw"
Summary:
The main idea of Beverly Cleary's Dear Mr. Henshaw revolves around a young boy named Leigh Botts, who writes letters to his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw. Through these letters, Leigh expresses his feelings about his parents' divorce, his struggles with school, and his journey of self-discovery and personal growth. The story highlights themes of communication, resilience, and the impact of writing as a form of therapy.
What is the main idea in Beverly Cleary's Dear Mr. Henshaw?
The main idea, or central theme, in Beverly Cleary's
Dear Mr. Henshaw is the need to overcome life's
obstacles, such as the divorce of one's parents, by developing a
positive attitude.
Throughout the story, Leigh must face many problems. One of
his biggest problems is that he doesn't want his parents to be divorced. An
even bigger problem is that, as a result of the divorce, Leigh feels
very lonely because he is home alone a lot and feels cut off from his
father, who breaks his promises that he'll phone Leigh. Leigh gets so upset by
his father's broken promises that he feels forgotten and
unloved. Aside from family troubles, Leigh is unhappy at his new
school because he has no friends and is being bullied by someone who steals
from his lunch. At the turning point in the story, called the climax
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climax, when Leigh complains to Mr. Fridley about not having any friends, Mr. Fridley gives the following reply:
Who wants to be friends with someone who scowls all the time? ("Tuesday, February 6")
Mr. Fridley also underscores the central theme of the story by further pointing out that Leigh is so wrapped up in his own problems that he's forgetting to notice everyone has problems:
So you've got problems. Well, so has everyone else, if you take the trouble to notice. ("February 6")
Because Leigh is only seeing his own problems, nobody else's, he feels isolated from the world when he isn't truly isolated. Mr. Fridley also gives Leigh advice that helps create the turning point in the story and further underscores the central theme:
You gotta think positively. ("February 6")
Once Leigh begins thinking positively, he finds a solution to try to catch the lunch thief by rigging a lunchbox with an alarm. While the alarm doesn't help him catch the thief, it does help him see that the whole school has been having trouble with the lunch thief, not just him, which makes him feel connected to the world and not so lonely for the first time in a long time. He even begins to make friends because of his positive thinking and forgives his father for letting him down, while accepting both his father's good and bad qualities.
How would you summarize Beverly Cleary's Dear Mr. Henshaw?
To write a summary of any work of fiction, start by
identifying the author, title of the work, and main characters. Then, explain
the most important parts of the story, which include the
conflict, the climax, and the resolution. The conflict is the
problem in the story; the climax is the moment that the
conflict reaches its moment of greatest intensity, and the story begins leading
to the resolution; the resolution is the way in which the
story's problem is solved.
In Beverly Cleary's Dear Mr. Henshaw, the central
conflict is that Leigh is unhappy about his parents' divorce. More
importantly, he feels lonely as a consequence of the divorce because he is home
alone more often and because he feels cut off from his father. He is especially
upset since his father breaks his promises to phone, which makes Leigh feel
forgotten and unloved. A minor conflict concerns the fact that
Leigh feels bullied at his new school since someone keeps stealing from his
lunches.
The story reaches its climax when Leigh feels so hurt and
abandoned by his father that he wants to take his feelings out on someone. He
decides to try to take revenge on the lunch thief by grabbing
any random lunch bag and attempting to kick it down the school hallway, but he
is luckily stopped by Mr. Fridley, who offers him some advice
that helps lead towards the story's resolution:
So you've got problems. Well, so has everyone else, if you take the trouble to notice. ... Turning into a mean-eyed lunch-kicker won't help anything. ... You gotta think positively. ("Tuesday, February 6")
After receiving Mr. Fridley's advice, Leigh begins to think
positively and comes up with the idea to use a lunchbox instead of a
bag and rig an alarm for it. While rigging the successful alarm doesn't help
him catch the lunch thief, it does help him in ways he couldn't have
anticipated. Everyone at school is so impressed with his alarm that it makes
him "feel like some sort of hero," because everyone at school is having trouble
with the lunch thief, not just him. Seeing that everyone is having the same
problem makes him feel less lonely and isolated, which helps him make
friends. His making friends is a major part of the story's
resolution.
The final part of the resolution is that, because he is
thinking positively, he comes to see that his dad hasn't truly forgotten him
and will always love him. He also forgives his father because he comes to
understand just how lonely and difficult his father's job as a truck driver
is.