M.C. Higgins the Great

I must admit, I am having a hard time figuring out what to write about for this post. This book was much more dense than most of the other books we have read in this course, and it is a struggle to decide what to discuss. I was hoping to get some direction from some criticism, but the MLA bibliography is sadly lacking in Virginia Hamilton scholarship. That in itself is fairly interesting to me. We have been reading Newbery Medal winners lately, and we have briefly discussed the impact these awards can have (or I think we discussed this, maybe this is just a conversation I had with myself). Winning a Newbery award often promotes the books because it literally puts a nationally recognized stamp of approval on the book, and often these books are taught in schools more after they receive the award. From my searches in the MLA bibliography, however, it does not seem that this award necessarily promotes scholarship for these books in the academy. Children's literature is still a relatively new, and growing, area in the academy, and hopefully these books will eventually be getting the academic attention they deserve.

So, why does M.C. Higgins deserve such attention? Not that "adultness" necessarily makes something good, but I think it should be acknowledged that this is a fairly "adult" children's book. Not only is it fairly difficult, but it also deals with adult themes and issues. We have read other children's books that have "adult" themes, but still, this book struck me as particularly mature. I think this is partly because of the violent images that repeatedly come to M.C.'s mind. As he is hiking or stalking through the hills, the narrator reveals that he is often haunted with disturbing images related to his rugged mountain life. For example, on page 94, it is not enough for M.C. to tell Ben that he would prefer to skin the rabbit himself. Instead, he tells Ben that he likes to skin the rabbits and "He pictured the act of slitting the back fur; with both hands, tearing it down and pulling the skin over the hind legs." Skinning a rabbit is practical, and when hungry, necessary. M.C., however, also has images that are less natural or necessary. For years he has been terrified that the pile of waste that is slowly sliding down the mountain will topple down on his house and crush his entire family. Up until the very end of this novel, M.C. does not have a solution to this problem, so the image and the worry is constant. Possible death is literally hanging over his head for almost he whole book, which makes the overall tone dark and somewhat disturbing. I think Hamilton has done an excellent job of introducing a different kind of community and setting to her readers, and she also sustains complex and sophisticated themes through an effective use of images. This book creates several powerful images that deserve further exploration such as: M.C.'s pole, the journey through the tunnel, the misty ravine, the children playing on the mound, and the mountain itself.

What images especially struck you in this novel? Do you think they are insightful/important/profound? Does this novel warrant serious study and scholarship?