So I have done a fair number of analyses of children’s books- but nothing comes close to this. Because this book is so full of meaning and existential despair that I have decided to show my workings to you all:
Looks heavy doesn’t it. that’s because beneath the seemingly minimalist style is the full weight of nihilistic philosophy. It’s not just about going to sleep- it’s about some severe anxiety and OCD behaviour patterns that underpin a deep seated feeling of resenting existence. It is everything and nothing all together.
Yeah, I know, deep stuff right. No I swear this is not just some claptrap I’m making up on the spot. If you “read between the lines” you’ll see this is chocoblock with symbolism about life and death. I mean clearly night and sleep are just metaphors for death. And the clocks are clearly ticking away in the background, counting down the minutes until we pass out of this world… Plus all those cats are clearly harbingers of doom. Lots and lots of doom.
So I think I’ve sufficiently proved my point- hope you enjoyed that extremely dark reading…
And if just to let you know the Saturnalia is still ongoing- so if you would like to enter- check out my last post for details!
the orang-utan librarian 
Holey Moley!
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haha!
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But, what does the MOON represent? Is it a pale reflection of our inner demon? Or is it a harbinger, a messenger of DOOM?!? Is it a symbolic threat, representing the destroying power of the unseen sun, or is it a literal threat, like in Star Wars where a moon crashed down onto a planet and killed Chewbacca?
*soliloquy*
“Ahhh, Chewie, I knew him well”
This kind of post, so early in the morning, is like gristle. You have to chew on it all morning long…
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hahahhahahaha oh my goodness- it’s definitely Chewie’s murderer- for sure!!
hahahaha thanks!! 😉
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I love this whole idea. 🙂 And the purpose behind it. 🙂
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Aww thank you!!
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…I read this to a group of preschoolers two days ago. Apparently, I didn’t explain the story nearly as well as I though. This is brilliant, though.
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haha thank you!!
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This has basically nothing to do with the existential crisis going on in the book, BUT a new biography about Margaret Wise Brown called In the Great Green Room just got released and every time someone mentions this book I jump through a wall like the Kool-aid Man and shout things like, “DID YOU KNOW MARGARET DIDN’T EVEN LIKE KIDS AND SHE WAS A REBEL BISEXUAL BADASS AND I LOVE HER” so yes.
Your analysis itself is dark and brilliant and brings a whole new level of depth into Margaret’s inner thoughts. I dig it.
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haha wow- well this was a joke, but thanks for letting me know!
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Gold! The marked page is fantastic! :D. Years ago I read a bedtime story to my younger cousin. After I read it, I reflected upon it and realized that it was a plug for communism. No joke. Told his dad and he laughed at me, but I am certain that that book had an ulterior motive!
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hehehehehe well I hope I’m wrong that this is a plug for nihilism 😉 but yeah, you’re probably right- your analysis seems sound- I mean obviously it’s saying all property is evil 😉
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We are thinking to start a library of Saree and Shalwar. Please read the concept here:
https://artthut.wordpress.com/2017/01/24/a-rhapsody-of-ethnicity-the-library-of-sarees/
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Cool! 🙂
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This is just fascinating! It never occurred to me to break any of the children’s books I’ve read down like this. I would love to hear more details about how you break this down. As someone who never studied literature in school to the point of proper analysis, I’d love to hear your thoughts or learn about your thought process.
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haha well my “reading between the lines” schtick is a joke- cos even though I studied literature at uni, I find some people take the whole thing a little too far- if you’re interested, the original piece I did on this is here:
https://theorangutanlibrarian.wordpress.com/2016/08/14/reading-between-the-lines-is-not-a-thing/
It actually goes into the difference between proper analysis and people just making things up (in this case I was just making stuff up for fun 😉 )
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Thanks for sharing!! I’ll definitely check it out.
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You’re welcome!! Ah thank you 🙂
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Holy sh*t. This scares me more than anything. Also quite impressed by the thorough analysis you were able to do of it. The more I look at it, the more I’m starting to believe you.
– Lashaan
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hehehe well don’t take it too seriously!! These are just joke pieces I like to do where I pretend to “read between the lines” of a book. I mean I could be right- but I do actually hope in this case that there aren’t nihilistic messages embedded in children’s books 😉
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This is awesome! WHY ARE WE HERE!!
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Aww thank you haha!
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