“But the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go-we’ll eat you up-we love you so!” And Max, said, “No!””
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. Illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Harper & Row, 1963. 40 pages.
Descriptive
The children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak explore the imagination mind of a boy named, Max who was sent to bed without supper due to his misbehavior but he soon journeys to a fanciful place with monsters who are declared as the “wild things”. The “wild things” attempt to scare Max at first but are quickly tamed with Max’s magic trick. Max becomes their king and creates rumpus (a noisy commotion), however Max becomes lonely and from across the world smells something good to eat. Max gave up his position as king and sailed back to his room, to his surprised found supper waiting.
Evaluative
An artistic/literary element used to enhance Sendak’s illustration in Where the Wild Things Are include the manipulation of shapes. Before Max ventures out to where the wild things are, he is at home where the images are accustomed to everyday life with defined lines and human made objects such as a hammer, books, and stairs. However, as Max begins to adventure out his bedroom the shapes begins to curve and lose distinctive definition with the illustrations of trees, mountains, and the wild things themselves. The effect of manipulating the shapes represents Max parting from the world of regulations and commands to a world of imagination, where his imagination will not be condemned but rather embraced.
Philosophical
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is not only a whimsical children’s book but also a philosophical insight into a child’s imagination and questioning of reality. For instance, the first illustration is the smallest image and it presents an insight of Max’s imagination with his wolf suit and Sendak’s claim of creating “mischief” as the story continues Max’s imagination grows further as he travels to sea for years and encounters the wild things. As Max’s imagination grows further the images becomes larger and with Max’s imagination growing he is being released from his mother’s regulations and has the freedom to be as wild as he wishes. A child’s interpretation of this may be creating their own place to escape reality by using their imagination similar to Max or questioning if Max really escape to his bedroom and traveled to an unknown location where he found the wild things.
