39 pages • 1 hour read
Ruth Stiles GannettMy Father's Dragon
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1948A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Having the Courage to Achieve Your Dreams
Elmer epitomizes the old saying, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Throughout Elmer’s adventure, he proves that he is “tough.” Elmer has the strength to overcome difficult obstacles and achieve his ambitious goal. Elmer shows his bravery with both his optimistic mental outlook and physical courage.
Gannett wrote and published My Father’s Dragon shortly after the end of World War II. In many ways, Elmer reflects the “can-do” spirit in America during the war and the post-war sense of optimism and confidence felt by many Americans. Elmer’s longing for an airplane so that he can fly anywhere he wants reveals Elmer’s thirst for adventure and his desire to explore the wider world.
In seizing the cat’s opportunity to rescue the dragon, Elmer shows his self-confidence. He takes on a huge, almost unimaginable goal, and follows his heart. Elmer bravely leaves behind his familiar life to rescue the dragon, revealing his belief in himself and positive worldview. Elmer rejects the easy path of staying safely at home and takes initiative, despite the cat’s caution that the task “wouldn’t be the least bit easy” (10).
As his last name suggests, Elmer reaches for the top. Big risks offer big rewards. Although potentially difficult, the rescue offers Elmer a huge payoff both in the adventure itself, and in the knowledge that he is doing the right thing. Elmer’s optimistic choice of big goals and expectation of success are forms of courage.
Elmer displays mental fortitude, committing wholeheartedly to his mission, and displays physical courage. The adult fisherman whom Elmer questions about Wild Island is terrified to even think about the vanished explorers who were supposedly eaten by the animals. The narrator comments that “this didn’t bother my father” (17). Elmer, even though he is much younger than the fisherman, stays calm and rejects fear.
This does not mean Elmer is not cautious and wary. He recognizes that there are great dangers involved in his rescue attempt, and that he is risking his life. Elmer understands that he is truly the “invasion” that the boars believe him to be. Elmer is a solo operative behind enemy lines. His mission is to infiltrate the island, liberate—though the animals would argue “steal”—his target, and escape. He knows that he must be vigilant. Elmer conquers many natural dangers like the perilous Ocean Rocks, the muddy swamp, and the dense jungle. The wild animals pose even more deadly hazards.
In the face of these threats, Elmer trusts himself and overcomes each obstacle, showing tenacity and pluck. Elmer’s mental and physical fortitude is rewarded: He successfully completes his mission, rescuing the dragon and achieving his goal. On Wild Island, Gorilla does not give Elmer enough time to introduce himself; if he had, Elmer planned to say he was “Elmer Elevator, explorer” (54). His choice of “explorer” as his occupation reveals Elmer’s self-confidence in his new, bold identity.
The Value of Ingenuity and Preparation
Elmer does not embark on his adventure to Wild Island on just a wing and prayer, relying only on optimism and courage. Instead, advance preparation and mental acuity play a huge role in Elmer’s successful dragon extraction. Elmer is not only courageous; he is both clever and creative.
Once Elmer agrees with the cat’s idea of a rescue mission, “they started planning” (10). Planning is a key component in Elmer’s success. Elmer uses the week before his ship sails to the Island of Tangerina to do two things: learn and analyze everything he can about Wild Island from the cat and gather the supplies he needs based on that information. Although it may initially seem like the items Elmer collects are ridiculous things to take to a jungle island, each proves to be carefully curated and creatively tailored to a specific use. Elmer says: “The cat had told him that tigers were especially fond of chewing gum” (34). Elmer learns from the cat which items will help him outwit each wild animal. Advance preparation helps Elmer achieve his goal.
Elmer cannot physically compete with or master the wild animals, so he trumps them with ingenuity. Elmer creatively uses the supplies he brings and advantageously employs new information that he gathers while on the ground. He uses his critical thinking skills and supplies effectively, deducing how to find the river by locating its mouth, and using a compass to find his direction. Elmer is a skilled problem-solver. Faced with crossing the river hand-over-hand, Elmer resourcefully makes the “undependable” crocodiles work for him.
Elmer displays valuable situational awareness. He pragmatically rations his food after seeing there are no tangerine trees on Wild Island. He uses his rubber boots when the terrain calls for them. He monitors the sounds of the monkeys as they pick fleas from the boar. He knows that when their chatter stops, and is replaced by a louder commotion, the gorilla is once again a threat and that an even greater threat approaches.
Elmer’s mental acuity is also evident in his ability to learn from new stimuli. After overhearing the boars, Elmer learns to keep his tangerine peels in his knapsack to help avoid detection. Elmer recognizes that the boars are less easy to deceive than the other animals. While Elmer does not actively seek out any of the animals, he hides from the boars, showing savviness and good judgment. Similarly, Elmer learns from Lion that his mother will be visiting. When Elmer spies the lioness, he reasons that the dragon, having just delivered her, must be on his side of the river. Although he arrives too late to intercept the dragon, Elmer’s deduction is quick and sound.
Flexibility is another useful tool in Elmer’s mental arsenal. Elmer adapts when his initial plans go awry and formulates alternatives. Having lost the river, he follows the animals’ path, inferring that it will lead him to the dragon. When the angry animals approach him while Elmer is still trying to free the dragon, he has a plan B in mind: He and the dragon will fly back to the other side of the river and finish there. These examples show Elmer’s focus, his ability to pivot under pressure, and his ability to process information and changing situations quickly. Elmer’s resourcefulness, intelligence, creativity, and courage empower his success.
Kindness Is Key
Elmer is not only courageous and clever; he also has a kind heart. Elmer’s empathy and social sensitivity create the opportunity for his adventure and help him achieve his goal.
Elmer has a charitable heart and wishes to help those who are vulnerable or helpless, as shown by his compassion for the elderly cat and baby dragon. Elmer is distressed for the old, wet alley cat with no home and empathetically invites her to live with him. When his mother unkindly rejects the cat, Elmer believes she is “rude.” Elmer’s apology to the cat for his mother’s treatment shows that he believes her actions are unfair and wrong, and that Elmer believes his own ethics, his sense of equity and kindness, are correct. Elmer’s anger toward his mother makes him feel justified in running away: Elmer “didn’t feel the least bit sad about running away from home for a while” (10). His outrage at the cat’s unjust treatment reveals that Elmer has a strong moral compass. Even though his mother whips him for disobeying her and sheltering the cat, Elmer shows his moral courage by standing up for what he believes is right.
This same understanding of right and wrong informs Elmer’s decision to help the dragon. Elmer unhesitatingly agrees to the dangerous mission after hearing about the dragon’s plight. While Elmer wishes to save the dragon in the hopes that it will take him flying, Elmer is also outraged by the dragon’s enslavement. There is no question that Elmer will, as the cat stipulates, “be nice to [the dragon]” (10). On Wild Island, Elmer’s sense of justice remains firm. Witnessing the cruelty of the dragon’s captivity—the tormenting gorilla and the viciously knotted and constrictive rope—Elmer “[feels] sorrier than ever for the baby dragon” (62). Elmer’s mission as liberator is a virtuous one.
During his rescue expedition, Elmer responds peaceably to the animals’ violence toward him. Elmer recognizes that one catches more flies with honey than with vinegar, another old-fashioned idiom reflecting Elmer’s approach. Elmer listens to the wild animals and defuses conflicts by offering them what they need and want: solutions to their problems.
Elmer displays social intelligence. The animals have very human-like desires and shortcomings, and share human-like social and cultural mores. Elmer can relate to, commiserate with, and manipulate them. The rhinoceros, for instance, is miserable about his self-image, and leaps at the chance to regain his one beautiful feature. Elmer is non-judgmental, tactful, and respectful. His ability to read the room, as it were, helps him achieve his goal.
Although Elmer appears deferent and submissive to the animals, he is, truly, “the invasion.” Elmer’s social sensitivity and ingenuity give him the upper hand in his interactions. “It’s a trick!” the wild animals shout when they pursue Elmer (67).
Elmer deceives the tortoises by claiming that he is Monkey, and dupes the tigers into thinking the gum is “special.” However, for the most part, Elmer does not misrepresent himself. Elmer’s trickery is grounded in misdirection and distraction. Despite his deceptions, Elmer gives aid to Lion, Rhinoceros, and the monkeys (and Gorilla) and brings desirable treats to the tigers and crocodiles. Thanks in large part to his social intelligence, Elmer liberates the dragon without bloodshed—although whether the animals become dinners for the crocodiles is undetermined.
