40 pages • 1 hour read
Beverly ClearyRunaway Ralph
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1970A 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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The Allure of Rebellion
Rebelling against authority, societal expectations, and adulthood, in general, is an inherently risky but essential element of maturation. Cleary offers a complex picture of that necessary childhood rebellion both in Garf and in Ralph. Although both characters experience negative consequences of their rebellion, it is the rebellion itself that broadens their worlds and allows both boy and mouse to discover new perspectives. Those new perspectives and broadening minds are the hallmarks of the beginning of real maturity. Although The Allure of Rebellion is initially prompted by immaturity, throughout the novel, Cleary demonstrates that rebellion is a natural and necessary part of growing up.
Ralph’s rebellion begins at the bar and culminates with his choice to run away. He breaks the rules by riding his motorcycle into the bar, a place metaphorically linked to adulthood and potential danger. Ralph’s Uncle Lester is angry with him and says, “A bar is no place for a young mouse” (11), while his mother adds, “You will fall in with evil companions” (11). Their reaction to a minor rebellious act is to insist that he share his motorcycle, which impinges on his autonomy, leading him to the larger rebellion of running away from the hotel. When Ralph prepares to leave, he explains to Matt that he is “tired of being bossed around […]. […] I don’t want to grow up to be another crumb-scrounging mouse. I want adventure and excitement, and I’m going to ride off on my motorcycle and find it” (27). The open road and the camp at the end of it offer Ralph the temptation of freedom and full autonomy. Considering his parents’ control, the attraction of rebellion is too tempting to resist.
Garf is a quiet rebel in contrast to Ralph’s dramatic motorcycle journey. Garf’s rebellion is attitudinal rather than active. He insists that camp won’t be fun, even though that frustrates his parents. He breaks the camp rule against being in the craft shop alone to escape the potential judgment of his peers and the sense that he isn’t allowed any autonomy. He tells Aunt, “At home I have to share a room with my big brother […]. […] And after school and on Saturdays it’s always Scouts, or the Y or supervised recreation on the playground” (108). In his daily life, he never gets the opportunity to be alone, to feel a sense of true autonomy. Therefore, the only way he can achieve moments of independence is to break the rules and rebel, and so he does. True to his word, however, when Aunt Jill gives him a way to follow the rules and still feel independent and autonomous, he carefully follows the rules.
In both cases, The Allure of Rebellion carries consequences. The immediate negative consequences for Ralph of finding the camp involve the threat of Catso and Sam; Garf gets in trouble with Aunt Jill for breaking the rules and earns the judgment of his peers. However, because Ralph finds the camp and lives in the cage, he learns to understand and empathize with others’ experiences. Garf finds a way to get the autonomy he wants while following the rules. Although The Allure of Rebellion can be risky, for both primary characters, the result is a maturation that leads them both closer to an independent and successful adulthood.
The Relationship Between Personal Responsibility and Independence
Beverly Cleary’s books are often about the process of growing up. As the middle book in the Ralph series, Runaway Ralph focuses on that middle ground of acquiring maturity. Although Ralph is old enough to ride his motorcycle around the hotel, his clashes with authority or parental figures demonstrate his lack of full maturity. Part of maturation is coming to understand the give and take inherent in most of life’s choices. The decision to be on one’s own and independent comes with the need to take responsibility for one’s actions and the consequences of those actions. Ralph and Garf both struggle to learn that lesson.
Ralph’s first lesson on responsibility and independence comes from Matt on the steps of the hotel. Ralph can clearly articulate why he wants to run away: He’s tired of being told what to do. Matt understands Ralph’s frustration with authority and his desire for freedom. However, as an independent adult, Matt knows first-hand that independence and freedom come with an additional wrinkle: responsibility. When Ralph asks for his help, Matt explains, “If I lifted your motorcycle down the steps, you would be depending on me […] and depending on others is not being independent” (29). Ralph gets frustrated, then angry, and feels betrayed by his friend, but left on his own, Ralph does indeed figure out how to get his motorcycle safely to the ground. Matt presents a definition of independence that includes struggle but allows Ralph to have the struggle and the resulting triumph. The other major lesson occurs when Ralph is in the cage, literally dependent on Garf and the other members of the camp for his survival. He feels safe and cared for at first and tells Chum, “Pretty nice place we have here […]. Plenty of food and water. Interesting things to watch. […] It’s safe from the cat, too” (82). However, as Chum foreshadows in response, the cage is not as safe as it first appears, and being dependent rather than scrounging for food means relying on the kindness and memory of the caretaker. Ralph slowly comes to recognize that the middle ground of independence and responsibility that he had at the hotel is superior to either complete independence or complete dependence.
Garf’s journey to balanced independence starts with catching Ralph with the butterfly net. In catching Ralph and saving him from Catso he takes on a responsibility for the health and well-being of the mouse. Unlike Ralph, Garf craves that responsibility and is frustrated when the other campers try to feed and care for Ralph. Garf already understands that responsibility and independence go together—he reaches out for responsibility to try to gain the independence that Ralph runs away to discover. Aunt Jill points out to Garf that the responsibility he wants comes with another responsibility: to follow the rules. When Garf insists that he doesn’t want anyone else to feed his mouse, she offers him an alternative to sneaking into the craft shop. Garf can take full responsibility for Ralph by making a sign that is reinforced by the camp authority (i.e., Aunt Jill), but then he must follow through. When the watch is stolen and Garf is suspected, he temporarily fails to maintain responsibility, demonstrating the difficulty inherent in acquiring and keeping independence. He, like Ralph, tries to give up the responsibility he has requested to avoid the unpleasant elements of being solely responsible or independent. Aunt Jill insists, like Matt, that Garf accept all the elements of independence and shows him the consequences of refusing those elements. Garf learns that to own something entirely is to take full responsibility for it, even if that comes with unpleasant factors.
The Reciprocal Nature of Empathy
Cleary is often praised for her emotional realism in her novels, and Runaway Ralph is no exception. Throughout the novel, there are examples of one-sided empathy or failures of empathy; there are also several examples of reciprocal empathy, which demonstrate the value of understanding someone from a different place or who has different experiences. Aunt Jill and Matt both show how a mature adult uses empathy to teach valuable lessons and build relationships. In contrast, Uncle Lester and Ralph’s mother fail to empathize with Ralph, just as Garf’s parents fail to empathize with him both in the hotel and before they bring him to camp. Garf is also generally misunderstood by the other kids at camp, which cheats both Garf and the kids out of a possible positive connection. Those failures lead Garf and Ralph to want to distance themselves and demonstrate that when empathy on one side is absent, understanding is much harder to reach.
Uncle Lester, Ralph’s mother, Garf’s parents, and the Happy Acres campers all offer examples of the problems that arise when empathy is expected but not given. Although sharing and being kind to younger siblings is important, when Uncle Lester and Ralph’s mother insist that he share the motorcycle, they refuse even to attempt to empathize with him. His mother insists that it “won’t hurt,” and Uncle Lester tells him to “get that look off your face” (15). Clearly, they know the idea bothers him, but rather than talk it through and explain the value of generosity, they insist he do it anyway, regardless of how much it bothers him. Garf’s parents, similarly, discount Garf’s feelings about summer camp. His mother insists he’ll have fun, and his father says that if he doesn’t, it’s entirely because of his attitude. Instead of asking him why he doesn’t think it will be fun and sharing their experiences, they discount his desires and intuitions. The campers don’t understand Garf’s desire to be left alone and so view him as “mean” and say he has “a funny name” (64). When the watch goes missing and they suspect Garf is the culprit, that unfounded suspicion—which grows from a lack of empathy—means that no one continues to look for the watch. These failures lead to Ralph’s running away, Garf’s social challenges and rule-breaking at camp, and likely missed opportunities for friendship.
Aunt Jill and Matt offer an alternative approach. Matt is a direct contrast to Ralph and Garf’s parental figures when he jokes with Garf about dessert for breakfast and supports Ralph’s decision to be more independent. Although Matt clearly cares for and worries about Ralph, because he actually listens to him and understands his perspective, he’s able to challenge Ralph safely so that Ralph must actually practice responsibility rather than the performance of responsibility his parents demand. Similarly, Aunt Jill is a contrast to Garf’s parents. She shows Garf she cares about his desires and will genuinely listen to his problems. Rather than dismissing his concerns, she validates his frustrations and pushes him to identify his genuine desires so that he has the potential to achieve them. Because Matt and Aunt Jill initiate empathy, Ralph and Garf can accept their lessons, so both sides get what they want.
Cleary provides explanations for and examples of the value of empathy for all parties and shows that empathy is inherently and innately reciprocal: To be understood, one must first attempt to understand others. That mutual understanding is demonstrably beneficial to everyone involved and leads to a broader, kinder, and easier world.
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By Beverly Cleary
