Where the Wild Things Are
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. Harper, 1963. 40 pages.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak allows the reader to journey to an imaginative world and escape the realities of maturity. Max, a troubled boy, finds himself at odds with his mother more times than not. His free-spirited mind opposes the harsh reality of responsibility in his life. Max’s mother does not seem to understand her son, and strongly disciplines him. Max finds comfort in the monsters he idolizes and travels to the place where he feels he can be understood and appreciated. He discovers not everything is as it seems, and journeys home after becoming homesick. The final page of the story emphasizes the mother’s love for her child and Max’s true comfort at home with his family.
Sendak uses his illustrations to further engage the reader and expose the message behind his story. The story begins with Max’s imagination being narrowed, as seen in the confined space given to the illustrations on the page opposite the text. As Max is able to express himself and use his imagination to travel, the illustrations expand on the page. The peak of his journey is shown through three pages of illustrations, lacking any text at all. The growing pictures begin to shrink again at this point, due to his desire to return home. Although the growth of the illustrations contributes significantly to the story, the manner in which Sendak created the pictures also proves very important. The use of line and color dramatically affects the illustrations by adding depth and making them vivid and realistic. The illustrator utilizes various types of line such as straight, curved and cross-hatching, to add texture to the pictures.
“And he sailed off through night and day. And in and out of weeks. And almost over a year to where the wild things are.”
Where the Wild Things Are could be used to teach children about the metaphysical branch of philosophy. As Max makes a journey to the land of the wild things, it forces the reader to ask oneself a few questions: Was a forest truly growing in his room? Did he really travel on boat to this far away land? Was he dreaming? All of these metaphysical questions can be left up to interpretation of the story. There is no way to prove one idea or another. After analyzing this story, children may be able to comprehend the complexity behind the question “what is real?”.
