My Father's Dragon

“This made my father very sad, and he apologized to the cat because his mother had been so rude.”

Elmer’s response to his mother’s discourtesy shows how important justice, fairness, and respect are to Elmer. He views the cat as an individual worthy of respect. Elmer has a strong sense of right and wrong.

“When I grow up I’m going to have an airplane. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to fly just anywhere you might think of!”

Sharing his dreams of flying with the cat sets Elmer’s quest in motion. Elmer’s longing to explore the world shows his eagerness for adventure, as well as his confidence and optimism. These are all traits that the cat knows will be needed to rescue the dragon. Elmer’s language is childlike, with short, simple sentences and exclamations.

“Now the animals there are very lazy, and they used to hate having to go all the way around the beginning of this river to get to the other side of the island. It made visiting inconvenient and mail deliveries slow, particularly during the Christmas rush.”

Gannett gives the animals of Wild Island relatable, human qualities and weaknesses. The animals, like people, enjoy getting their Christmas packages on time. This is comic, but the animals’ “laziness” also allows them to justify their enslavement of the baby dragon.

“Now, I’m quite sure that if you were able to rescue the dragon, which wouldn’t be the least bit easy, he’d let you ride him most anywhere, provided you were nice to him, of course.”

The cat gives Elmer his quest. It is for a noble cause. It will be difficult. It will reward Elmer with what he most desires: flight. Elmer eagerly accepts the cat’s adventure. The cat, notably, includes the condition that Elmer be kind to the dragon, and not take advantage of him like the animals of Wild Island. This shows the novel’s value of kindness.

“He took chewing gum, two dozen pink lollipops, a package of rubber bands, black rubber boots, a compass, a toothbrush, and a tube of tooth paste, six magnifying glasses, a very sharp jackknife, a comb and hairbrush, seven hair ribbons of different colors, an empty grain bag with a label saying ‘Cranberry,’ some clean clothes, and enough food to last my father while he was on the ship.”

The above quote is an example of a catalog, or a list of items. The mix of nonsensical and practical items that Elmer packs in his knapsack proves vital to Elmer’s success and illustrates Elmer’s childlike logic. Elmer’s advance preparation, and his ability to think on the fly and know what item is best for each dangerous encounter, show Elmer’s cleverness and resourcefulness.

“The other sailors looked at the bag too, and my father, who was in the bag, of course, tried even harder to look like a bag of wheat.”

This quote captures the story’s droll humor by conjuring a silly image. Odds are, the reader has never pretended to be a bag of wheat, and wonders, how does one act when pretending to be a bag of wheat? The quote also builds suspense; while it presents an amusing image, the moment is tense: If Elmer is discovered, his adventure will come to an end.

“It was a very black night and my father could hardly see the rocks ahead of him. Sometimes they were quite high and sometimes the waves almost covered them, and they were slippery and hard to walk on. Sometimes the rocks were far apart and my father had to get a running start and leap from one to the next.”

Elmer faces difficult and potentially deadly dangers before he even gets to Wild Island. He shows great courage and determination, an important theme in the story, as he crosses the dangerous rocks alone, in the dark, with no one to help him if he falls. His efforts explore the importance of Having the Courage to Achieve Your Dreams.

“My father slept all that day and only woke up late in the afternoon when he heard a funny little voice saying, ‘Queer, queer, what a dear little dock! I mean, dear, dear, what a queer little rock!’”

Though animals are not treated as fantastical in My Father’s Dragon, Mouse sees Elmer as an “exotic” creature, finding him “queer,” or odd. Mouse’s speech uses repetition—“Queer, queer” and “dear, dear”—to create emphasis.

“He ate three tangerines, making sure to keep all the peels this time, and put on his rubber boots.”

Elmer shows his ability to learn from and adapt to his surroundings when overhearing the boars contemplating whether Elmer’s left-behind tangerine peels are evidence of an invasion. Moving forward, Elmer packs his peels instead of discarding them so that he does not give his presence away. This indicates Elmer’s resourcefulness, one of Elmer’s key character traits, and The Value of Ingenuity and Preparation.

“One doesn’t contradict a hungry tiger.”

Elmer tactfully refrains from telling the tigers that the cat was the one explorer who did escape the Island. Elmer “had too much sense to say so” (32), realizing that proving the tigers wrong could cost him his life. In this way, Elmer reveals his social sensitivity; he quickly figures out the tigers’ mood and understands how they will act. Elmer’s social intelligence is an important personality trait that helps him succeed on his quest. The short, declarative sentence—“One doesn’t contradict a hungry tiger”—adds drama through simplicity.

“He kept a sharp lookout in front and behind and went on.”

Elmer takes a risk by using the animal trail—which could be heavily used and more dangerous—instead of following the river to find the dragon. Elmer’s decision reveals his ability to change plans and improvise to achieve his goal, signs of his resourcefulness.

“I have some things that will make your tusk all white and beautiful again. Just let me down and I’ll give them to you.”

Rhinoceros angrily tosses Elmer in the air, but instead of showing fear or responding in kind with violence, Elmer uses his social intelligence, listening to Rhinoceros’s complaint and offering to help him. Giving Rhinoceros the ability to clean his horn not only calms Rhinoceros down, but solves his problem and makes him happy. Elmer’s actions allow him to escape and continue his mission: He outwits the rhino, but not at the rhino’s expense.

“Very suspicious—tigers too busy chewing gum, Rhinoceros too busy brushing his tusk—must get hold of that invasion. Don’t like it one bit, not one bit! It’s upsetting everybody terribly—wonder what it’s doing here, anyway.”

The boars are suspicious and alert. They are protective of the island and its order and routine. They lead the investigation into the “invasion” and quickly find evidence of Elmer’s presence in the items he gave the tigers and Rhinoceros. The boars are the only major animal characters that Elmer does not have a tool for in his knapsack; this suggests that the boars are not as easily sidetracked as the others, and are potentially more of a threat, which will prove true.

“He hadn’t gone very far when he heard an angry animal roaring, ‘Ding blast it! I told you not to go blackberrying yesterday. Won’t you ever learn? What will your mother say!”

The lion’s self-recrimination is comical because he sounds like an adult scolding a small child. Lion’s words may resonate with readers and help them connect with Lion emotionally. Many have been on both sides of a similar situation, either as an adult admonishing a child, or as a child, receiving that reproach and worrying about its consequences.

“Oh, please, Lion, before you eat me, tell me why you are so particularly upset today.”

Elmer again uses his social sensitivity to draw Lion out and listen to his problem. Elmer communicates with Lion, acknowledges what he is feeling, defuses his anger, and solves his problem. Elmer’s ability to peacefully resolve conflicts with Lion and the other animals shows his cleverness and empathy.

“Oh, that’s wonderful, really wonderful!...Let me have the comb and brush and see if I can do it.”

Elmer not only gives tools to help Lion and Rhinoceros solve their problems, but teaches them how to use them and empowers them to help themselves. Lion is thrilled with the solution and his ability to fix his mane. While Lion is pleased with his new look, Chrisman Gannett’s illustration shows that he looks silly, adding humor.

“Rosie! Rhoda! Rachel! Ruthie! Ruby! Roberta! Come here and get rid of this flea on my chest. It’s driving me crazy!”

The Gorilla shows his dominance when he commands the six female monkeys to do what he tells them: Rid him of his flea. Although Gorilla is fearsome and aggressive, the monkeys get an upper hand. Elmer shrewdly gives them the magnifying glasses, rather than Gorilla. This leaves Gorilla in the monkeys’ hands and allows Elmer to escape. Each of the flea’s names comically begins with an R and has two syllables, making them interchangeable.

“TO SUMMON DRAGON, YANK THE CRANK / REPORT DISORDERLY CONDUCT TO GORILLA.”

The sign at the river crossing reveals the animals’ callous treatment of the baby dragon. The word “yank” directs the animals to pull sharply and jerk the rope around the dragon’s neck. Elmer knows that this must hurt him. The baby dragon is seen as an enslaved creature, rather than an individual. The Gorilla’s role as overseer is evident from the language on the sign. Additionally, the instructions on the sign suggest that the animals have similar, flawed societal structures as humans.

“What a life for a baby dragon!”

Elmer empathizes with the baby dragon’s misery. Elmer’s exclamation shows his strong moral compass: He is outraged at the injustice of the animals’ treatment of the dragon. Kindness Is Key, as Elmer’s compassion allows for the dragon’s rescue.

“The water’s lovely, and I have such a craving for something sweet. Won’t you come in for a swim?”

Crocodile slyly invites Elmer into the river to be eaten, but he cannot outwit Elmer. Instead, Elmer satisfies the crocodile’s appetite for something sweet and uses him and the other crocodiles to his advantage—to make a bridge. Elmer again shows his superior ingenuity.

“Lollipops last longer if you keep them out of the water, you know.”

Elmer’s advice about lollipops illustrates the childlike creativity behind each of his solutions and exemplifies the story’s humor. While one should keep lollipops out of the water, one rarely needs to ask a crocodile to lift its tail to attach a lollipop to it. The lollipops, along with Elmer’s tactful and respectful manner (but primarily the lollipops), win the crocodiles over. Elmer’s dialogue emulates the way that people speak in real life, such as his casual “you know.”

“Then he could hear seven furious tigers and one raging rhinoceros and two seething lions and one ranting gorilla along with countless screeching monkeys led by two extremely irate wild boars all yelling, ‘It’s a trick! It’s a trick! There’s an invasion and it must be after our dragon. Kill it! Kill it!’”

The story climaxes as the animals, now aware that Elmer is on the island to liberate their dragon, pursue Elmer with the intent of killing him. Gannett ratchets up suspense: Elmer has no supplies left in his knapsack, will not be able to face down the entire angry mob, and the approaching danger is the greatest that Elmer has yet faced. The above quote features polysyndeton, where items are connected by conjunctions, in this case “and” (bold guide’s emphasis): “Then he could hear seven furious tigers and one raging rhinoceros and two seething lions and one ranting gorilla led by two extremely irate wild boars […].” This is also an example of a catalog, or list. In this case, the animals are the items on the list; they escalate in menace and absurdity, climaxing in “two extremely wild boars.”

“Steady, old boy, steady. We’ll make it. Just stand still [...].”

Elmer again shows his courage, staying calm in the face of danger and revealing that he, though just a boy himself, is more levelheaded than the baby dragon. Elmer also demonstrates his resourcefulness: He makes a contingency plan in case he does not finish cutting the rope by the time the animals arrive.