28 pages • 56 minutes read
Stephen ManesBe a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1982A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaSymbols & Motifs
Food
Food in many forms features heavily throughout the book, with detailed descriptions of smelly, tempting, or unusual food. For example, in step two, forbidden foods include “chocolate-covered shrimp, […] pistachio ice cream sodas with whipped chili topping” (29). At various points in the story arc, food is used to symbolize imperfection, temptation, and ultimately liberation from the constraints of societal expectations. Broccoli is used in step one to humiliate Milo and thereby teaching him courage, since according to Dr. Silverfish, “[T]here is nothing in the entire world more humiliating than wearing a stalk of broccoli around your neck” (29). Food as a symbol of imperfection is highlighted by Milo’s parents, who criticize the way Milo eats dinner (slurping or rushing). Additionally, the author’s picture of Dr. Silverfish features him eating a hot dog with mustard dribbling down his chin.
Milo tests his willpower by going without food for 24 hours, despite being tempted multiple times. Food features again during the final step of the program, in which Milo learns that being “perfect” is not what he imagined and certainly not what he wants to be. Food—or more precisely, the absence of food—is used to illustrate how boring a “perfect” life would be. Perfect people sip weak tea, and don’t eat smelly or messy food. Dr. Silverfish points out that “[p]erfect people do not eat very often. Eating gives you too many chances to dribble ketchup down your chin” (41-42). When Milo understands the underlying message of Dr. Silverfish’s book—that perfection is not good and that being “good” is not being perfect—the first thing he does is make a smelly breakfast of salami and pickles.
Mustard dripping down a chin is initially used to symbolize imperfection. Dr. Silverfish’s photo looks “stupid” and triggers a negative reaction in Milo, but ultimately, this same visual is used to symbolize self-acceptance, confidence, and a healthy disregard for societal pressure to be “perfect.” The final paragraph in the book describes Milo enjoying a messy sandwich, with mustard dribbling down his chin.
Teamwork
The motif of teamwork underlies the predominant message of acceptance. Milo is tempted by Dr. Silverfish’s promise to make him a perfect person because he is self-conscious about being clumsy. He is teased at school, is constantly corrected at home, and lets his school baseball team down by making mistakes. It is not until Milo completes Dr. Silverfish’s program that he realizes that there is no such thing as a perfect person and that he is just as “good” as everyone else. Milo learns that everyone has quirks and unique characteristics, and everyone makes mistakes. As long as he is willing to embrace his own unique qualities and imperfections, in concert with those of people around him, everything falls into place. This involves working as a team, both at home and at school, where mistakes are made without judgement. After reading Dr. Silverfish’s book, Milo no longer resents his sister’s banter, since he realizes how boring life would be without it, and he appreciates his parents more, understanding that despite their imperfections, they all work well together as a team.
Aiming for perfection is inward-looking, isolating, and rejects the concept of teamwork. Since someone cannot be the “perfect” person and still be a team player, mistakes, however minor, are unacceptable to a perfect person.
