The
moving picture book Fox by Margaret
Wild and Ron Brooks describes the perils of two animals who have lost
something. One of them, Dog, who has lost one eye, eagerly helps Magpie, who
has burnt her wing and thus lost her ability to fly. Magpie is at first
resistant, but eventually she allows Dog to be her companion. Every day, Dog
runs so fast with Magpie on his back that she can imagine that she is flying again. However, a fox
comes and persuades Magpie to ride on his back, saying he can run faster than
Dog and that she will thus be able to better imagine that she is flying. However, the fox abandons her
in the desert with the intention of showing Magpie and Dog what it feels like
to be as lonely as he is. Throughout this book, the authors use masterful word
choices, to deepen the emotional impact of the story.
In
the beginning of the story, the authors set the scene in a mood of loss. Using
words like “charred forest,” and “hot ash,” the authors create a burnt and despairing mood,
suggesting that there was recently a forest fire, and that was how Magpie’s
wing was burned. The authors follow this up with a feeling of grief, using words
like "melting into blackness," and "nothing." This
beginning sets the scene for the rest of the book.
In
the middle of the book, there is a hopeful feeling, when a new creature is created.
"I will be your missing eye, and you will be my wings," says Magpie to Dog.
She feels that under Dog’s caring hand she will continue to
recover from the shock of her terrible injury. This development also shows that rehabilitation
is possible for someone who has lost something, and it contributes to the mood of new possibilities. Another line that even more shows the creation of something new is
this one: “I see a strange new creature,” Magpie says while looking in the
river, and Dog replies, “That is us.” This shows that the two have become much
closer thanks to Dog's efforts and have become a "new creature." This
joining of Dog and Magpie strengthens Magpie's resolve and hope for her new
life in spite of her injury.
Later
in the book, Fox comes into the story. Immediately we are placed on alert to
his movements, as the book says "he [the fox] flickers through the trees
like a tongue of fire." The authors bring back the theme of fire, and we
remember the beginning of the book and the fact that Magpie was burned. As Fox
appears, he is described as having "haunted eyes" and
Magpie says, "'He belongs nowhere . . . He loves no one.'" However,
Dog is too trusting of Fox, and soon Magpie, at Fox's constant coaxing, decides
to try riding on Fox's back instead of Dog's, and she says, "'At last I am
flying! Really flying!'" when she rides on Fox's back, who is much faster
than Dog. As the book says, "Fox runs so fast that his feet scarcely touch
the ground." However, soon Fox shakes Magpie off his back and leaves her
in the desert. He says, "'Now you and Dog will know what it is like to be
truly alone.'" This makes us remember Magpie's feeling of despair at the
beginning, when she had felt herself "melting into blackness."
Instead of resorting to anger like Fox does, though, as the book says, "Slowly,
jiggety hop, she begins the long journey home." Magpie chooses that instead
of allowing herself to die, she will go back to Dog, for fearing that he will
wake up alone.
Fox by Margaret Wind and Ron Brooks is a powerful story of loss, which has many layers to it. Through the evocative word
choice of the authors, they weave a moving story which holds important lessons. This
story teaches us that even though someone may appear as unhurt, they may be
wounded on the inside, and bitter as a result. It teaches us that we should not allow loneliness to consume us,
but should walk, in the words of the novel, "Slowly, jiggety hop," and
begin the long journey back to our loved ones.
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