The Expectations of Children

Parents or guardians expect a child to achieve specific goals in their life. If the child shows signs in their early childhood years that they are not heading toward the straight path to these life goals the parent or guardian can become terrified of the unknown and deem them a disappointment. Additionally, this child is often treated unfairly, isolated, and neglected by the same people who are supposed to support him or her with unconditional love and understanding; that they will not conform to the life that their parents expect. In The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, the main character Despereaux is a non-conforming individual who naturally is not born with the mice-like instincts that his mom, dad and two siblings ascribe to. His mother states very early in his childhood to “please look for crumbs. Eat them to make your mama happy. You are such the skinny mouse. You are a disappointment to your mama.” (Di Camillo, 18) Despereaux, being a non-conformed mouse, is expected to be like all the other mice and follow all of the mice rules. When he does not follow the rules she and the rest of the family fear that he will become a disappointment and shame the entire family. This leads to Despereaux’s brutal treatment, isolation and neglect. Why does his family treat him negatively? Their expectations of Despereaux are not met and therefore, they fear that he will bring shame to their family. The author explores the ways in which Despereaux is treated when his parents and siblings don't accept the rambunctious mouse.

Despereaux's sibling Merlot and Furlough were instructed to teach Despereaux all of the mouse rules that pertained to their survival. However, Despereaux being an energetic, music loving, sightseeing, reading, and a falling-in-love mouse, which none of his family members were, could not adjust to the rules. Merlot attempts to teach him how to adapt to the custom of eating paper. While staring at the big book something special happened. He was able to make out the words on the pages, they spelled out “Once upon time.” (Di Camillo, 22) In the stead of munching the paper, Despereaux states that eating the book would “ruin the story.” (Di Camillo, 22) In response to Despereaux, Merlot states, “The story? What story?' Merlot stared at him. A piece of paper trembled at the end of one of her indignant whiskers. ‘It’s just like pa said when you were born something is not right with you.’ She turned and scurried from the library to tell her parents about the latest disappointment.” (Di Camillo, 24) Here it is evident that his own sister is paranoid by the difference seen in Despereaux. She complies with the rules of mice and therefore finds it necessary to tell her mother that her fears are indeed true.

Furthering the separation from the mice norms, Despereaux deeply longed for the sweet fluidity that is produced by music. This led the mouse to wander the castle in hopes of finding where it came from. It came from the room of the Princess Pea and it was played by the King, her father. The princess spotted Despereaux but the King did not. Despereaux and Princess Pea discovered each other and impressed by his civility was comfortable enough to touch Despereaux's little mouse head. Furlough, his older brother who was deeply conformed to the rules, saw this and reported it instantly to his family, who already despise Despereaux for his differences. His family sought to call the Mouse Council for the purpose of punishing him. Lester, Despereaux's father was the one who made the call and insisted that his own son was not normal and should be punished. When the Mouse Council found him guilty of the crime (not being a normal mice) they took him down to the dungeon. In his last moments of seeing his family Despereaux “...looked at his mother. He concentrated on standing before her without trembling. He concentrated on not being a disappointment.” (Di Camillo, 63) It is evident that the entire family was so opposed to Desperaux's nonconformity that they were okay with him being sent the Dungeon. The fear of being isolated as a family made them isolate the very thing that made their family special.

During childhood it is important for parents to allow their children to discover their individuality. If the child does not live up to their parent’s expectations disappointment is the exact term to steer away from. Despereaux constantly deemed that word by his family made him doubt himself and question his belief in himself. Not only did this stagnate his growth but, also made his family treat him negatively, outcasted to a dungeon. Fortunately for Despereaux his differences made him stronger. It allowed him to become confident and positively abnormal, ultimately becoming a great role model for the young readers that encounter Kate DiCamillo's book, The Tale of Despereaux.