May 19 2009
Contest Winner, Second Place: The Phantom Tollbooth
Review by Andrea B., Age 12
“I suppose you know why you got stuck.”
“I guess I just wasn’t thinking,” said Milo.
“PRECISELY, shouted the dog as his alarm went off again. “Now you know what you must do.”
“I’m afraid I don’t,” admitted Milo feeling quite stupid.
“Well,” continued the watchdog impatiently, “since you got here by not thinking, it seems reasonable to expect that, in order to get out, you must start thinking.” Phantom Tollbooth p. 31
Through a lighthearted fantasy, Norton Juster presents thought provoking ideas. Published in 1961, The Phantom Tollbooth tells the story of Milo, a boy “who didn’t know what to do with himself—not just sometimes, but always”(p.1).
Milo hurried home from school and sat dejectedly looking around him. Books, balls, a small electric automobile, and many other things—all of them were too much trouble to play with. Then he saw it. The package was quite large, and shaped very strangely, and he had no idea where it came from or why it was there. He wondered about it for a while; then opened the envelope on the side. The envelope said it contained a map and a tollbooth to assemble. He had nothing better to do, so Milo assembled the tollbooth and looked at his map. He had never heard of the places on it, and he felt sure there were no such places, so he closed his eyes and pointed randomly on the map. “Dictionapolis,” he murmured to himself. He decided that was as good a destination as any, so he dusted off his electric automobile, hopped in, and drove through the Tollbooth.
Suddenly he found himself driving down an unfamiliar road, and his house was nowhere in sight. It was a beautiful highway, with trees and flowers lining it. Soon he came to a small house, with a sign telling travelers to park there for advice, so he stopped. Out rushed a little man “speaking as fast as he could and repeating everything several times” (p. 17). The little man quickly welcomed Milo “to the land of Expectations.” “‘What kind of a place is Expectations?’ inquired Milo. ‘Good question, good question,’ he exclaimed. ‘Expectations is the place you must always go to before you get where you’re going. Of course some people never go beyond Expectations, but my job is to hurry them along whether they like it or not’” (p.19). But Milo was eager to push on to Dictionapolis.
As he sped down the peaceful highway, however, he fell to daydreaming and took a wrong turn. The landscape got duller and duller; the road curved around and around and around and got nowhere; the car went slower and slower, and Milo got sleepier and sleepier until the car finally stopped. “Where am I?” wondered Milo sleepily. “You’re in the Doldrums,” replied a voice. “What are the Doldrums?” asked Milo. “‘The Doldrums, my young friend, are where nothing ever happens and nothing ever changes’” (p. 23). This time the voice that spoke was quite close to him, for all around Milo were Lethargins, small creatures who lived in the Doldrums and were careful to do “anything as long as it’s nothing and everything as long as it isn’t anything” (p. 26). Milo was almost lulled to sleep.
Suddenly a watchdog came running up, growling. To Milo’s surprise, he had the head, legs, and tail of a dog; but his body was a loudly ticking clock. “‘What are you doing here?’ growled the watchdog. ‘Just killing time,’ replied Milo apologetically. ‘You see——’ ‘KILLING TIME!’ roared the dog—so furiously that his alarm went off. ‘It’s bad enough wasting time without killing it’” (p. 30). Milo explained that he was stuck and asked the asked the dog for help. The dog replied, ” ‘I suppose you know why you got stuck.’ ‘I guess I just wasn’t thinking,’ said Milo. ‘PRECISELY, shouted the dog as his alarm went off again. ‘Now you know what you must do.’ I’m afraid I don’t,’ admitted Milo feeling quite stupid. ‘Well,’ continued the watchdog impatiently, ‘since you got here by not thinking, it seems reasonable to expect that, in order to get out, you must start thinking.’ And with that he hopped in the car. ‘Do you mind if I get in? I love automobile rides’” (p. 30-31). Milo began to think, the wheels began to turn, and the car left the Doldrums.
When they arrived at Dictionapolis they found it was market day. At the market there were venders all selling words: fancy words for royal proclamations, everyday words for normal speech, foreign words; indeed, every word you can think of. But soon Milo learned that Dictionapolis had a problem: all was confused and illogical, for Rhyme and Reason had been banished. Only the return of these twin princesses could help. So Milo set off to try and rescue the princesses. Would he succeed?
The Phantom Tollbooth is an excellent allegory. While the setting is fanciful, it often gives the reader the uncanny feeling that they have met the characters before. We do not know Milo, yet he sounds just like many people we meet, indeed, like ourselves. As he struggles to get out of the Doldrums, we remember the many times we have worked long and gotten nowhere because we did not think. Truly, we all need someone to come and wake us up, to watch lest we waste our time.
Another factor that improves the allegory of The Phantom Tollbooth is that Juster has mastered the art of presenting ideas in a thought provoking yet easily readable way. Ideas that have become commonplace to us are presented in such a different way that we are forced to think about the way we do things. At Dictionapolis they speak of words as objects that can be bought and sold. Letters are grown in the Dictionapolis orchards, assembled into words, and then sold. Indeed, you can eat the letters: “He gave Milo an I , which was icy and refreshing, and Tock a crisp, crunchy C .” (p. 50) Now we do not usually think of words as objects, but as ideas, so the thought that words are assembled for use allows us to look at words from a different perspective and understand them better.
As you reread the book the allegory becomes more and more apparent. Thus the ideas are there, but you will not realize it until you are ready to ponder them. What the Doldrums were did not strike me for several readings, and when it did, I understood that the Doldrums represents an actual thing that has happened to me many times. But I did not fully understand it, yea, on another reading, I discovered that thought was not just a way that somehow got Milo’s car to work again, but was actually an effective means of getting out of real Doldrums. And on yet another reading I understood still more. For the book has layers of ideas, each more revealing than the previous, and each leading to the next. It is the familiarity of the characters, unusual presentation, and layers of meaning, combined with the joyous, lighthearted style that makes The Phantom Tollbooth so much fun to read, and read again.
It is ideas that will change the world. However, in order for people to think about those ideas, they must be presented in an engaging way. As an author, I would like people to be encouraged to think, while enjoying the book. Double meanings place things in a different light and lead you deeper and deeper into thought, but they also keep the story light and airy and are often downright funny. It is Juster’s talent for layers of meaning that I would like to imitate in my stories, for I wish to present deep ideas that can change a culture.
Rachel’s Note: Andrea’s review, which is full of quotes, illustrations, personal application, and insight, was a runner-up for winner in her age category. I especially enjoyed her final paragraph, which speaks to us both as readers and as writers. Well done, Andrea!
