Approach Paper on Jim the Boy by Hannah Kay Hunt

Summary Paragraph
Jim the Boy tells the story of young, innocent Jim Glass, his widowed mother, and her three brothers that serve as Jim’s father figures. This novel displays Jim’s coming of age and key maturing point in his childhood after his momentous tenth birthday and how the boy is faced with real life situations that force him to grow up, such as the potentially violent incident in the alley involving the "King". Jim attends school with another boy, Penn, whose personality is significantly similar to Jim’s, which initially leads to tension and rivalry between them but develops into a deep respect and meaningful friendship. Meanwhile, Jim’s mother struggles with her duties as a mother and making the right decision about how to handle Jim’s need of a strong father figure; her options are marrying the salesman Whitey Whiteside, which is favored by the uncles, or deciding that Uncles Coran, Al, and Zeno already sufficiently occupy the role. This novel exhibits the maturing process and universal rise out of innocent adolescence into the raw, real world.

Character Descriptions
Jim Glass: innocent, competitive, spirited, selfish, caring
Penn Carson: stubborn, prevalent, confident, sensitive
Jim’s mother: confused, weak, loving, torn, firm
Uncle Zeno: reliable, approachable, driven, patriarchic

Jim and Penn got in an enormous fight over Jim’s baseball glove when Jim firmly refuses to allow Penn to use it in a game of catch that was being viewed by Ty Cobb, but when Jim visited Penn after learning Penn had polio, Jim gave him the glove. Explain why you think Penn gave him the glove.

Early in the morning before the carnival began at the school, Jim was anxious to arrive early solely because he wanted to beat Penn to it, but after he went out with Uncle Zeno, his longing to do so had practically disappeared. What do you think his outing with Uncle Zeno did to change his mind?

The first day Penn and Jim met, they played a game of baseball during Recess on opposite teams. At the end of the game, Penn ran for home plate, and Jim threw the ball at him as hard as hard as he could and hit him in his back. Do you think Jim threw the ball at Penn consciously or subconsciously, and what do you think the reasons are for his actions? Explain.

"He [Jim] picked up the baseball and tossed it from hand to hand, measuring its comforting weight, before placing it in the pocket of the glove. He tiptoed away, looked back once, and broke into a run up the hill.

Uncle Zeno pulled the truck back onto the road. Jim slumped against the door.

‘Are you sick, Doc?’ he asked.

Jim kept his eyes closed.

‘Just tired, is all.’ [Jim]

‘How was Penn?’ [Uncle Zeno]

‘He was fine.’ [Jim]

‘Where was everybody?’ [Uncle Zeno]

‘They’re all in the backyard,’ Jim said. ‘I told everybody ’bye in the backyard.’ [Jim]

‘I see,’ said Uncle Zeno, glancing sideways at Jim. ‘Where’s your ball glove? Did you forget your ball glove?’

Jim shook his head slowly.

‘I gave it to Penn,’ he said.

A chord of muscle tightened briefly in Uncle Zeno’s jaw. He took his foot off of the accelerator, but then sped up again.

‘Oh,’ he said. ‘I see. Did Penn like it?’ [Uncle Zeno]

‘Yes, sir,’ said Jim. ‘He liked it a whole lot.’"

Key Passage Explanation
Jim and Penn develop a deep, competitive relationship that evolves throughout Jim the Boy. The two get in a screaming fight shortly prior to Penn’s polio diagnosis when Jim will not let Penn use Jim’s baseball glove during a game of catch that they think Ty Cobb is watching. In this passage, Jim feels remorse for acting that way toward Penn, especially since he now knows Penn has polio, which leads to Jim’s giving the baseball glove and ball to him while he is asleep. This is a difficult decision for Jim because those were his prized and treasured birthday gifts, and his hesitance in giving up those possessions becomes apparent when Uncle Zeno asks, "Are you sick, Doc?" and Jim’s shaking "his head slowly" in response. But, Jim justifies and backs up his giving Penn the glove by saying, "He liked it a whole lot." This action was the right thing to do, but that does not mean that it was the easiest, and this showed maturity and a large step from adolescence toward adulthood, fully displaying the prevailing theme of this book: growing up.

Recommendation
Jim the Boy is definitely a novel I would recommend to other readers because it is a simple, easy read with a real message and theme: the key turning point from childhood to adulthood in a youth’s life. Jim’s life and thought process is so uncomplicated and relatable. Earley’s interpretation of a child’s thoughts, motives, and simply what makes them tick is right on the dot, from the internal argument in Jim about his feelings regarding Penn after winning the dollar to his desire to be a man and work in the fields like his uncles do. The comedic moments out of sheer childhood innocence and outlook on life in this book keeps readers easily entertained, while the plot and storyline keeps the reader wanting more. The most appealing aspect of Jim the Boy was the youthfulness and spunk that made you fall in love with Jim and root for him throughout the novel.