Bridge to Terabithia

“In the room he shared with the little ones, he dug under his mattress and pulled out his pad and pencils. Then, stomach down on the bed, he began to draw. Jess drew the way some people drink whisky. The peace would start at the top of his muddled brain and seep down through his tired and tensed-up body. Lord, he loved to draw.”

Jess has deep motivations for practicing running every morning. He does not just want to beat Gary Fulcher—he wants his father to be proud of him and connect with him. Jess thinks that excelling at a masculine activity like running will get his father’s attention. This also illustrates how low-income families often experience relational strain. Jess’s father does not want to neglect him, but his strenuous work means he has little energy to spend time with Jess.

“He would like to show his drawings to his dad, but he didn’t dare. When he was in first grade, he had told his dad that he wanted to be an artist when he grew up. He’d thought his dad would be pleased. He wasn’t. ‘What are they teaching in that damn school?’ he had asked. ‘Bunch of old ladies turning my only son into some kind of a—’ he had stopped on the word, but Jess had gotten the message.”

Children internalize their parents’ actions and words more than adults realize. Jess’s father probably did not mean to hurt Jess, but his comment shamed Jess and caused him to hide a part of himself. To fulfill his father’s expectations, Jess must either give up drawing, prove his masculinity, or live with loneliness and distance.

“She said he was ‘unusually talented,’ and she hoped he wouldn’t let anything discourage him, but would ‘keep it up.’ That meant, Jess believed, that she thought he was the best. It was not the kind of best that counted either at school or at home, but it was a genuine kind of best. He kept the knowledge of it buried inside him like a pirate treasure.”

Adults’ words leave a lasting impression on Jess, who greatly feels their approval or discouragement. He clings to Miss Edmunds’s encouragement despite the many discouraging remarks he receives from other teachers and his parents. Bridge to Terabithia shows how adult affirmation is central to a child’s development and self-acceptance. Miss Edmunds’s comments not only encourage Jess to pursue art, but they make him feel special in his uniqueness instead of like an outcast.

“Momma would fix them supper, and when he went in with the milk, he’d find them all laughing and chattering. Momma’d even forget she was tired and mad. He was the only one who had to take that stuff. Sometimes he felt so lonely among all these females—even the one rooster had died, and they hadn’t yet gotten another. With his father gone from sunup until well past dark, who was there to know how he felt?”

Loneliness and connection are woven throughout Bridge to Terabithia. Jess feels singled out and alone in his family. Mrs. Aarons unconsciously scapegoats Jess to vent her frustration, and it wears on him. Jess does his chores without complaining and asks for little in return, yet he lives knowing that if he missteps or someone is upset, his family will blame him. While some of Jess’s anxiousness might be an innate temperament, his familial alienation leaves him alone with his mental struggles, while being included and praised would profoundly benefit him.

“What the heck? There wasn’t any reason he couldn’t. What was he scared of anyhow? Lord. Sometimes he acted like the original yellow-bellied-sapsucker. He nodded and smiled again. She smiled back. He felt there in the teachers’ room that it was the beginning of a new season in his life, and he chose deliberately to make it so. He did not have to make any announcement to Leslie that he had changed his mind about her. She already knew it.”

In this significant moment, Jess consciously acknowledges his fear and decides to act. This is the first of many moments in Jess’s life that help him overcome his fear. While smiling at a stranger might not seem like a grand act, that is Paterson’s point: Small acts of courage are what help us overcome our fears. Jess’s development is not an immediate transition from fear to courage but a slow transformation as he opens himself to new experiences. This quotation also shows Jess and Leslie’s intuitive bond. Even without speaking, they understand each other.

“‘We need a place,’ she said, ‘just for us. It would be so secret that we would never tell anyone in the whole world about it.’ Jess came swinging back and dragged his feet to stop. She lowered her voice to almost a whisper. ‘It might be a whole secret country,’ she continued, ‘and you and I would be the rulers of it.’”

Terabithia’s secrecy is what makes it so special—it is a place “just for us.” The idea of escaping the world appeals to Jess, who feels lonely and helpless at home and school. Secondly, Terabithia is a place where he can be a ruler. His home life disrupts his attempts to be his own person, and at school, every moment of their lives is scripted. Terabithia leaves them free to enjoy life on their own terms.

“How could he explain it in a way Leslie would understand, how he yearned to reach out and capture the quivering life about him and how when he tried, it slipped past his fingertips, leaving a dry fossil upon the page? ‘I just can’t get the poetry of the trees,’ he said. She nodded. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘You will someday.’ He believed her because there in the shadowy light of the stronghold everything seemed possible.”

Creativity is a significant motif throughout the novel. Part of what makes Jess and Leslie special is their imagination. This comes out in Jess’s art and Leslie’s ideas for make-believe in Terabithia, and this imaginative play gives Jess confidence. This quote also shows the friendship’s transformative effect on Jess. Leslie’s reassurance is significant because her confidence is part of what helps Jess’s self-assurance. While Jess sees his inadequacies, Leslie sees Jess for who he can become.

“Leslie was more than his friend. She was his other, more exciting self—his way to Terabithia and all the worlds beyond. Terabithia was their secret, which was a good thing, for how could Jess have explained it to an outsider? Just walking down the hill toward the woods made something warm and liquid steal through his body. The closer he came to the dry creek bed and the crab apple tree rope the more he could feel the beating of his heart.”

Part of what makes Terabithia special is that it allows Jess to get out of his head and embrace life. At the beginning of the novel, Jess is suppressed, trying to push down his insecurity. With Leslie, he comes out of his shell, feeling anticipation, excitement, and a sense of connection with himself. This quotation also shows the whimsical quality of Paterson’s writing. She captures the magic of childhood with evocative figurative language and by showing Jess’s thoughts.

“They stood there, not moving, not wanting the swish of dry needles beneath their feet to break the spell. Far away from their former world came the cry of geese heading southward. Leslie took a deep breath. ‘This is not an ordinary place,’ she whispered. ‘Even the rulers of Terabithia come into it only at times of greatest sorrow or greatest joy. We must strive to keep it sacred. It would not do to disturb the spirits.’ He nodded, and without speaking, they went back to the creek bank where they shared together a solemn meal of crackers and dried fruit.”

Terabithia helps Jess embrace both childhood innocence and mature, deep emotions. More than fun and games, Leslie enjoys poetic tales and fantasies. At first, this type of make-believe intimidates Jess, who is unfamiliar with acknowledging the sacred or moments of “greatest sorrow or greatest joy.” Through moments like this, Leslie helps Jess become more attuned to the wide range of emotions that exist.

“It hurt his guts to realize that it was Brenda who was his blood sister, and that really, from anyone else’s point of view, he and Leslie were not related at all. Maybe, he thought, I was a foundling, like in the stories. Way back when the creek had water in it, I came floating down it in a wicker basket waterproofed with pitch. My dad found me and brought me here because he’d always wanted a son and just had stupid daughters.”

Jess feels like an outsider in his own family, while Leslie is such a close friend that she almost feels like an extension of himself. Jess is more than bothered by this; it “hurt his guts” that he is alone in his family. Jess’s invented narrative—that his father wanted a son because he “just had stupid daughters”—shows his father’s influence on him, and he unwittingly expresses his father’s sexist sentiments. The irony is that Leslie challenges that bias. This quotation also shows how Paterson weaves Jess’s thoughts into the narrative. His thoughts are not usually italicized or marked but flow naturally into the rest of the story. This brings the reader closer to Jess since they hear his thoughts throughout the story.

“But the silly thing kept falling off at the curves until his father was cursing at them with impatience. Jess wanted it to be OK. He wanted so much for his dad to be proud of his present, the way he, Jess, had been proud of the puppy.”

Jess’s friendship with Leslie has positively impacted the rest of his life. Because he experienced desperation to find a good gift and the joy of giving Prince Terrien to Leslie, he knows how his father must feel. Part of Jess maturing is realizing that, while his parents might not treat him perfectly, they are just as insecure about poverty as Jess is. Jess knows what it feels like to be insecure because you do not have much money for gifts, and he empathizes with his father.

“When parents were poor or ignorant or mean, or even just didn’t believe in having a TV set, it was up to their kids to protect them. By tomorrow every kid and teacher in Lark Creek Elementary would be talking in half snickers about Janice Avery’s daddy. It didn’t matter if their own fathers were in the state hospital or the federal prison, they hadn’t betrayed theirs, and Janice had.”

The school’s response to discovering Janice’s father’s abusiveness shows how important a sense of pride is, even for children. Children know that they will be mocked for revealing problems at home, however big or small. In communities where children feel they have little to be proud of, defending their families might be their only source of pride. In such an environment as Jess’s school, children have plenty of incentive to bury their feelings instead of processing them. These feelings inevitably come out in other ways, like bullying or social anxiety.

“He made her swear on the Bible never to tell and never to follow, but still he lay awake a long time. How could he trust everything that mattered to him to a sassy six-year-old? Sometimes it seemed to him that his life was delicate as a dandelion. One little puff from any direction, and it was blown to bits.”

The metaphor of a dandelion being “blown to bits” reflects Jess’s immense anxiety. While he is thankful for his friendship with Leslie, he worries that something could take it away from him. While Jess might not know exactly what would happen if May Belle told his mother about Terabithia, he worries that it would ruin things. Part of Jess’s growing up is learning to accept that he does not have control. This quote also foreshadows Leslie’s death, something beyond prediction or control.

“If there was still water in the creek come summer, he’d ask Leslie to teach him how to swim. How’s that? he said to himself. I’ll just grab old terror by the shoulders and shake the daylights out of it. Maybe I’ll even learn scuba diving. He shuddered. He may not have been born with guts, but he didn’t have to die without them.”

This is Jess’s initial approach to becoming courageous. Up until Leslie’s death, Jess tries to prove his bravery, like when he dares Gary Fulcher to race or makes fun of Janice. When he compares his own fear with Leslie’s bravery, Jess thinks that he can force himself to be courageous.

“It was all Jess could do not to grab them and tell them how to behave in so obviously a sacred place. And then the pictures—room after room, floor after floor. He was drunk with color and form and hugeness—and with the voice and perfume of Miss Edmunds always beside him.”

This quote illustrates Jess’s artistic nature. It also demonstrates how Leslie’s company has rubbed off on him. Jess has always appreciated art, but Leslie helps him recognize the beauty of things sacred and solemn. Paterson shows how, no less than adults, children are capable of appreciating deep and beautiful works.

“There they came upon a display case holding a miniature scene of Indians disguised in buffalo skins scaring a herd of buffalo into stampeding over a cliff to their death with more Indians waiting below to butcher and skin them. It was a three-dimensional nightmare version of some of his own drawings. He felt a frightening sense of kinship with it.”

This scene explains why Jess draws animals in outlandish predicaments. He sees art as a projection of emotions, and the buffalo display represents his fear of loss and death; he feels like he might run over a cliff at any moment. The buffalo also foreshadow Leslie’s death—something that no one sees coming.

“He tried to run faster, but his father passed him and stopped the pickup just ahead, then jumped out and ran back. He picked Jess up in his arms as though he were a baby. For the first few seconds Jess kicked and struggled against the strong arms. Then Jess gave himself over to the numbness that was buzzing to be let out from a corner of his brain.”

This is the first time that Jess receives the embrace he has desperately wanted. Jess has longed for his parents’ care and attention, but they have been too distracted by caring for his sisters or their own concerns. While Leslie’s death is a tragedy, it brings Jess closer to his father. This quotation also shows how Jess wrestles with denial. His running symbolizes an effort to escape his grief.

“Leslie was dead. But he knew now that that had been part of the dreadful dream. Leslie could not die any more than he himself could die. But the words turned over uneasily in his mind like leaves stirred up by a cold wind.”

Jess struggles to accept that Leslie really died. Losing Leslie is not just losing a friend—Jess fears that he has lost a part of himself. Because Leslie represents courage, imagination, and comradery to Jess, he fears that without her he will once more be anxious and alone.

“Something clicked inside Jess’s head. That meant Leslie was gone. Turned to ashes. He would never see her again. Not even dead. Never. How could they dare? Leslie belonged to him. More to him than anyone in the world. No one had even asked him. No one had even told him. And now he was never going to see her again, and all they could do was cry.”

This quote portrays some of the complex emotions that Jess feels after losing Leslie. He is not really upset that Leslie was cremated without his input—he is upset because this makes his loss final. Part of what is so hard about Leslie’s death is that it happened without warning or a chance to say goodbye. This senselessness makes it harder for him to process how much she meant to him and what his life is without her.

“She had tricked him. She had made him leave his old self behind and come into her world, and then before he was really at home in it but too late to go back, she had left himself stranded there—like an astronaut wandering around the moon. Alone.”

For the first time since meeting Leslie, Jess is left with the same loneliness as before. Only this time, he feels more alone because he knows how fulfilling and enjoyable life with friendship can be. Here, Jess acknowledges how much he has changed—and that he can no longer go back to life before Leslie, because her friendship changed him.

“His father stroked his hair without speaking. Jess grew quiet. They both watched the water. Finally, his father said, ‘Hell, ain’t it?’ It was the kind of thing Jess could hear his father saying to another man. He found it strangely comforting, and it made him bold.”

First, Jess was comforted by being held like a baby, symbolizing his healing from being forced to mature faster than his sisters. At this moment, Jess’s father treats him like a man, and his father’s simple comment gives Jess permission to grieve. For a man like his father to admit that losing someone is “hell,” Jess knows that acknowledging grief does not diminish his masculinity, and he feels “bold” and more secure in himself.

“The words came out more steady than he felt. ‘Just hold still. I’ll get you.’ He was not sure the branch would hold the weight of them both. He looked down at the water. It was low enough for him to walk across, but still swift. Suppose it swept him off his feet. He decided for the branch.”

Jess realizes that courage means acting even when afraid. Previously, he thought that people like Leslie were naturally brave and did not feel fear. When given the chance to stay safe or help May Belle, Jess realizes that he can confront his fear. By acting, he does not erase the fear. Instead, he rises above it.

“Maybe some day when he was grown, he would write her a letter and tell her that Leslie Burke had thought she was a great teacher or something. Leslie wouldn’t mind. Sometimes like the Barbie doll you need to give people something that’s for them, not just something that makes you feel good giving it. Because Mrs. Myers had helped him already by understanding that he would never forget Leslie.”

His decision to reciprocate Mrs. Myers’s kindness shows Jess’s maturity. He realizes that she is a complex person with her own loss, not just “Monster-Mouth Myers” (29). He used to think that giving is about feeling pride in the gift, like when he gave Prince Terrien to Leslie. Now, he is learning how to be selfless and see others’ needs. He wants to write a letter for Mrs. Myers’s sake, not to bolster himself.