Comparing James And The Giant Peach As An Orphan

Whether one is reading fantasy, a literary tale, or realistic fiction, there is an abundance of orphans. The protagonist usually starts his or her adventure when they become parentless, which generally happens before the story has officially started. As a result, these characters are resilient and frequently become leaders. They also often have to learn more as well, as they do not have parents to teach them how to be good people. James from James and the Giant Peach, Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden, and Gilly from The Great Gilly Hopkins all have adventures and become resilient because they are orphans. James Trotter from James and the Giant Peach becomes an orphan at age four, and has to regress in order to become a functioning member of society. Since he is an orphan, he is able to go on this fantastical journey, which he needs to grow. As James is incredibly lonely, he is drawn to nature, which explains why he uses more
natural ways of going about his journey. Using a peach and with the help of his giant insect friends, James leaves England and reaches America. The peach, which represents the womb, ends up being destroyed, showing that James has successfully grown. As literary critic Mark West put it, “Like a newborn infant who has been detached from the umbilical cord, James makes a sudden entrance into society. “ (West) Without the help of his new companions, James would not be able to be his authentic self. He especially gets help from the Ladybug and the Grasshopper, who encourage him and act as parental guides. The Centipede and Earthworm, the other two main insects, represent James’ id. In the beginning of the expedition, James gives in to his id, as he does not really know any other coping mechanisms. However, as the night goes on, he gains more and more confidence and emerges as the clear leader of the group (West). He shows that he can be a resilient character, even if he has to regress a little first. Due to the fact that James was mistreated by his aunts, James is a little behind socially.
He immediately attaches to the Ladybug and the Grasshopper, as they treat him kindly. However, it takes him a little longer to warm up to the rest of the insects. On Lawrence Kohlberg’s stages of moral development, James starts at Level One, Stage One, where he makes his decisions based on what is best for him. This is because he is in more of a survival mode. He escapes through the peach and finds himself at sea, where he has to save himself and the others. Here, he goes through Level One, Stage 2 and Level Two, Stage Three. The reader sees this when James comes up with his plan to get the peach out of the water. He tells Earthworm “‘I won’t let [the seagulls] touch you. I promise I won’t.”’ (Dahl, 79). This shows that he is thinking of others and how his actions will affect others, as well as getting something out of making Earthworm risk getting pecked by seagulls. Considering that James is only seven, this is remarkable and shows his
resilience. Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden has a very different type of adventure, as it is more realistic. However, unlike James, she starts her journey as a selfish, spoiled brat. She has a lot to learn as she goes through her adventure. However, her resilience allows her to become better and even help Colin. Despite her orphan status, she does not seem to need parents, just peers that see her as someone worth knowing. Since she finds these peers, Mary is able to grow. One of the concepts that Mary has to learn is that following others is not necessarily a bad thing. She is so used to getting her way that it is out of her nature to follow Dicken, but that is what she ends up doing. Since she is able to learn to follow, she teaches Colin how to follow as well, and how to love others. As literary critic Hannah Swamidoss said, “Without the interstitial nature of the garden or Mary, the rapprochement between Colin and his father could not have happened” (Swamidoss). Mary might not need parents to learn and grow, but she does need her inner resilience to be able to get through Colin, as well as to change herself. Mary goes through more of the stages of Kohlberg than James does. While James never really thinks about the law and only really worries about his interconnected relationships, Mary starts thinking beyond that. She does start at the same place, though, at Level One, Stage One. She expects everything to be done for her, and only thinks about herself. After a while at the manor, she goes to Level One, Stage Two up to Level Three, Stage Five. To get to that stage, she had to completely change her mindset. “So long as Mistress Mary’s mind was full of disagreeable thoughts...she was a yellow-faced, sickly bored, and wretched child” (Burnett, 207). It is only after Mary meets Dickon, and learns to love the place she is at, is she able to accept that people and nature are not all bad. She is able to say that keeping the Secret Garden a secret is not helping anyone, which is a Level Three, Stage Five thought. It takes most of the story to get there, unlike James, who goes through two stages in one night. However, this is more realistic. Her resilience allows Mary to get through this slightly difficult part of her life and come out better because of it.