Stuntboy, in the Meantime

Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | Middle Grade | Published in 2021

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Episode 1

Episodes 2-4

Episodes 5-7

Episodes 8-10

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Superheroes

Superheroes are the most significant motif in Stuntboy, in the Meantime, supporting the theme of Understanding and Experiencing Anxiety. Stuntboy is a superhero alter ego that Portico created for himself and keeps secret. Stuntboy’s main superhero task is to keep all the other heroes safe by performing amazing stunts like kickflips, jumps, and rolls, each of which Stuntboy gives a unique name. Reflecting on the day he met Zola, Portico realizes that Stuntboy was within him long before he got the official title. Portico stepped in when Zola was being bullied by Herbert, and they became friends immediately. Zola and Portico bonded over their love of Super Space Warriors, a cartoon that features two sibling heroes, Mater and Pater, who are in constant conflict with one another. Zola and Portico each created their own superhero identity, but Portico’s is the one that the narrative features as he slowly comes to unite his superhero self, Stuntboy, with his real self, Portico.

Portico sees everyone in his life as a hero, each with their own special ability, like his father’s waste-collecting skills and his mother’s precision with hair-trimming scissors. He feels obligated to help all of the “heroes” in his life and regularly attempts to intervene in his parents’ arguments. Zola is always reminded of an episode of Super Space Warriors when Portico talks about his parents because Mater and Pater tend to argue until disaster strikes rather than solve problems together. Portico’s parents never seem able to resolve their conflict, instead increasing Portico’s anxiety. When Portico discovers that Stuntboy allows him to let go of his anxiety, his behavior begins to change from panic to calmness and understanding. Rather than yelling at or attacking his parents, he sits down in the middle of the floor and waits for them to calm down. In the story’s conclusion, Portico manages to overcome his anxiety in the middle of a tense moment in order to save his cat as Stuntboy. Stuntboy and Portico begin as two separate identities but end as one united boy who is gaining confidence in who he is.

Television

Television is a key motif in the story that is used to characterize Portico, provide a unique form of narration, and give Portico a voice through which to talk about difficult subjects, like anxiety and The Effects of Family Conflict on Children. On the very first day that Portico meets Zola, she takes him up to her apartment and shows him how to breathe and calm himself. Zola tells Portico that her mother always says that “life is just a TV show, and we’re all characters in it” (27). She encourages Portico to think of his life in the same way. Portico and Zola both love the same cartoon, Super Space Warriors, and base much of their play and discussions on the show. When Zola reminds Portico of something that happened on the show, he often takes it literally and applies it directly back to his own life. Portico loves to draw and illustrate the show as it plays, while Zola loves to create stories and rewrite the dialogue as it is carried out.

Television also shapes the narrative structure. Portico narrates the story of his life in the third person as though he is living through the television. He includes “commercial breaks,” which provide sidenotes and useful, often humorous tips for the reader. In this way, the narrative structure mirrors Portico and Zola’s reliance on Super Space Warriors as a metaphor for Portico’s life. For Portico, television provides both a lens and language for understanding complex family and mental health conditions.

Skylight Gardens

Portico’s apartment complex, Skylight Gardens, is both the novel’s primary setting and a motif that illustrates themes of community. Portico has an optimistic vision of where he lives. He sees living in an apartment rather than a single-family home as a positive thing, picturing the apartment building as a mighty castle full of heroic people: “Don’t know if you would consider it a castle or nothin’ fancy like that, but to Portico, it sure seems like one” (5). This optimism is mirrored in Portico’s excitement over the little things in life, like seeing the view from the 10th floor or watching his Gran Gran DJ at the block party. Portico’s life at Skylight Gardens is shaped by community. His best friend, Zola, lives in the building, and he knows most of the building’s residents, even getting advice from Mr. Mister in the laundry room. Events like Cut Day and the block party are important days that bring the community together. Everyone in the apartment complex gets along and contributes to making the place feel like home.

Unlike Portico, Herbert has a pessimistic view of apartment living. He used to live in a house with both of his parents, and having to move into an apartment with his mother and stepfather was a major change in his life. Portico doesn’t understand why Herbert can’t see the good side of apartment living but tries to show his communal spirit, even though Herbert is often nasty toward Portico.