George's Marvelous Medicine

These middle chapters center on the effects of George’s first batch of medicine. The tone and style emphasize the humor and suspense of the event:

Grandma yelled ‘Oweeeee!’ and her whole body shot up whoosh in to the air. It was exactly as though someone had pushed an electric wire through the underneath of her chair and switched on the current. Up she went like a jack-in-the-box…and she didn’t come down…she stayed there…suspended in midair…about two feet up…still in a sitting position…but rigid now…frozen…quivering…the eyes bulging…the hair standing straight up on end (32).

The use of ellipses mimics Grandma hanging in the air. Just as she is caught in limbo, the prose is suspended, without any periods or other end punctuation. Moments later, as Grandma begins to swell, short sentences, frequent paragraph breaks, and exclamation points are employed to match the increased urgency and tempo of the scene:

Then she began to bulge.

She was swelling.

She was puffing up all over!

Someone was pumping her up, that’s how it looked!

Was she going to explode?

Her face was turning from purple to green! (35).

In addition to heightening the suspense of the moment, these rapid-fire sentences further emphasize George’s perspective, his panic and wonder are illustrated firsthand. These and other similar passages reveal the keen manipulation of syntax and pace for dramatic effect, signaling the rising action of the plot.

In terms of character development, these chapters further reveal Grandma’s contradictions and hypocrisy. Grandma’s pride at her sudden growth after taking the medicine contradicts her earlier statement that growing is bad. She also takes credit for her growth instead of admitting George’s role. In an inversion of their earlier conversation, George even asks Grandma to stop growing at one point. Grandma’s contradictory behaviors reveal that she is not bound by any principles. Instead, she does and says whatever best serves her interests.

George also exhibits contradictions, but they arise from internal conflict rather than willfulness. After preparing the medicine, he administers two doses to Grandma, but hesitates to administer a third. Though George generally defers to his parents and Grandma, he also stands up for himself, both as he contradicts Grandma’s assertion that she caused her growth and as he convinces Mr. Kranky to send for a crane. Overall, George’s views fall between those of his parents. Mrs. Kranky is concerned for Grandma, whereas Mr. Kranky seems happy to see her suffer. Their influences combine in George, along with George’s capacity for magic, which he possibly inherits from Grandma. The convergence of family traits in George sets the stage for him to carve out his own identity.

Some terms have different meanings in British and American English. In this section, the comparison between the hen’s egg and a football refers to a ball known to American readers as a soccer ball. Similarly, the last name “Kranky” resembles the word “cranky.” In British English, the word “cranky” refers to something or someone out of the ordinary, not someone who is ill-tempered, as is the case in American English. Thus, the Kranky family can be considered as a strange or unusual family, as their brush with magic confirms.