Stick Man

There are various literary and cultural allusions in the story. Consider these Biblical allusions…

  • Stick Man runs away from the family tree. Eve sets out for a walk.
  • A dog plays a trick on him. The snake tricks Eve.
  • Stick Man is happy when posted rules free him from the dog, but he isn’t free, after all; other creatures get him. Moses’s Ten Commandments are not able to get people to treat others kindly.
  • Many people use Stick Man as a tool or a toy. People are treated as objects and real relationships suffer.
  • Stick Man longs to return to the family tree. People long for meaning in their lives.
  • Stick Man is lost and cold, lies down in the snow and doesn’t hear the “sweet-singing choir” because he is about to die. People are dead and lost in their sins.
  • Stick Man is laid by a fire, about to be burned up.  People are without any hope at all.
  • Stick Man hears Santa and helps him down the chimney. People need to invite Jesus into their lives.
  • Stick Man helps Santa deliver toys. People – with God’s help – bring goodness to the lives of others.
  • Santa returns Stick Man to the family tree. God returns people to right relationships with each other.

 

After reading the story for yourself, write an essay using one of these formats:

1. Julia Donaldson powerfully portrays the meaning of Christmas in her picture book Stick Man (Arthur A. Levine, 2008). In the story, …
Similarly, in the original story of Christmas, …
There are many other literary allusions in Stick Man. … While Donaldson’s silly story is for young children, it can be appreciated by readers of all ages.

 

2. Julia Donaldson powerfully portrays the struggles of life in her picture book Stick Man (Arthur A. Levine, 2008). In the story, Stickman’s life is safe until…
In my own life, there have been times that I have jumped off the Bridge of Character and needed help to get back on….
I think that much of life is the story of travelling from the Plain of Innocence to the World of Wisdom….

 

3. Julia Donaldson powerfully portrays the meaning of Christmas in her picture book Stick Man (Arthur A. Levine, 2008). In the story, Stickman is treated as a dead thing…
In my own life, there have been times I have felt dead and other times when I felt fully alive…. [Dead = when you feel used; Alive = when your accomplishments are recognized and you feel you belong somewhere]
I think that much of literature portrays that struggle between feeling dead and feeling fully alive….

 

4. Julia Donaldson has many allusions to other stories in her picture book Stick Man (Arthur A. Levine, 2008). …
I sometimes feel like I live in a story. …
I think that much of literature realistically portrays the struggles all of us face in life….

 

Before you hand in your work, proofread…
– name, date, div.
– indent
– double-spaced
– very neat printing or writing
–  powerful words
–  literary devices
– good grammar
– perfect spelling
– perfect punctuation
– deep thinking
– original ideas of your own
– a connection between all three paragraphs

 

“Julia Donaldson powerfully portrays the meaning of Christmas in her picture book Stick Man (Arthur A. Levine, 2008). In the story, the Stick Man is living in a tree house. Then a dog plays a trick on him and everyone starts treating him like a nonliving thing: a pen, a stick, a twig… Finally, Santa Claus comes and rescues him and helps him get back home. Similarly, in the original story of Christmas, Adam and Eve are living in the Garden of Eden. Then the snake tricks Eve into eating an apple that god has forbidden, and all the men and woman are punished, until Jesus comes and forgives them.
“In my own life, there have been times I have felt dead and other times when I felt fully alive. For example, I felt dead when I was injured and when I had to watch what my soccer team or basketball team were doing instead of playing with them. I felt lonely; nobody paid any attention to me. But when I came back and did something spectacular, I felt fully alive again, and full of absolute happiness.
“While Donaldson’s silly story, Stick Man, is for young children, I think it also requires deep thinking and can be appreciated by all readers.” (Eric in grade eight)

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