Down at the Dinghy
Bliss9842@aol.com
Thu, 30 Dec 1999 17:48:35 -0500 (EST)
I remember a long time ago when we were talking about reading to our
significant others at bedtime...I often read poetry to my boyfriend before we
go to bed, and yesterday I read him 'Down at the Dinghy', which he enjoyed
very much. He noted something very interesting at the end where Lionel and
Boo Boo have a race and he wins. Lionel, being so young and oblivious to the
world that is often prejudice, is somewhat better off than his mother. He
doesn't know what a 'kike' is, he thinks it is a kite...something very lovely
and childish, not a thing to do with hatred. Lionel is the 'winner' at the
end because his obliviousness to the anti-semitism his father experiences
somewhat manifests to his mother. She tries to see things i a different
light, through her son's eyes. As they say, ignorance is bliss...and because
Lionel doesn't realize the prejudice in the world he is the winner. I can't
quite express what I am getting at here, but hopefully I didn't sound like a
clueless rambler. Take care all.
-Jocelyn