Whittington

Chapter 10 initiates the novel’s third plot line, Dick Whittington’s story. Dick’s story parallels the other two plot lines in the novel (Whittington’s and Ben’s). Like the latter two characters, Dick faces loss and finds support through a newfound community. As Ben learns how to read, Whittington references Dick’s own trials to reassure Ben that it’s alright to struggle. Whittington’s words relieve some of Ben’s frustrations and help him see parallels between himself and Dick, which will later serve Ben as he internalizes Dick’s Triumph Through Perseverance and uses it to achieve his goals.

Armstrong uses parallels between Dick and Ben in Chapter 11 to introduce Ben’s conflict. Ben asks Whittington how Dick learned to read, opening the door to discussing Ben’s problems. Dick’s story also offers a resolution to Ben’s problem, as the animals decide that they and Abby will teach Ben to read just the way Dick’s grandmother did. This pattern of Dick’s story offering models for overcoming challenges persists throughout the novel to develop Ben’s plot line. This in turn suggests The Power of Storytelling, while the animals’ role in facilitating growth for Ben develops the importance of Finding Healing Through Community and Cooperation.

Whitington’s character develops as he integrates himself into life in the barn. The Lady declares him “the law” (58) in Chapter 13, indicating that he has been accepted into the barn community and taken up a leadership role there. This parallels Dick’s story, as Dick is taken in by a merchant and becomes an important part of Fitzwarren’s business. This develops the theme on the value of Finding Healing Through Community and Cooperation.

The novel introduces reading as a motif alongside Ben’s challenges with dyslexia (See: Symbols & Motifs). Chapter 16 builds on the motif of reading to further develop the novel’s exploration of the powerful role that language and storytelling plays in one’s life. When the animals cluster around for Ben’s first reading lesson, they are likened to religious followers witnessing a miraculous act: “The animals gathered around like the devout witnessing a miracle. It was a miracle” (72). This comparison establishes reading as a transformative force that connects an individual with higher understanding.

The Power of Storytelling in turn develops themes surrounding the value of community and cooperation. Whittington’s story is a unifying force that for once draws the rats into the barn community; in Chapter 14, while the other rats are “entertain[ing] themselves playing chase-my-tail and leapfrog,” the Old One “did not jump or chase his tail but sat rocking on his haunches waiting for the story” (63), indicating how the allure of the tale has already led the Old One to alter his usual behavior. The fable about the lion and the rat that the Lady relates in Chapter 13 further illustrates the importance of cooperation and foreshadows how cooperation with the rats will benefit the animals of the barn: At the end of the novel, the Old One echoes the actions of the rat in the fable by rescuing Whittington’s kitten from strangulation. The fable foreshadows the eventual understanding that the barn animals and the rats come to and the importance of cultivating that cooperation in their barn community.

Dick’s trajectory in these chapters mostly covers the expository elements of his story and contains mostly historically-accurate information as Armstrong depicts Dick’s journey to London. The folkloric elements are introduced in Chapter 18, when Dick meets his cat for the first time. The language that describes their meeting evokes a sense of destiny or a higher power orchestrating their meeting, as “the strange cat eyed [Dick] in a knowing way” in a “stare of recognition” that makes Dick know that he must have this cat (78). This shift in mood signals the shift into the folkloric plot structure in the next chapter set.