Socks

Socks was published in 1973, and the novel reflects the culture of suburban America of the time. Thus, the setting of the novel offers additional characterization that Cleary does not directly cover in her children’s tale. Coming into the 1970s, the United States experienced a housing shortage in the post-World War II period. As a result, owning a home became a standard for achieving the “American dream,” while renting was seen as a sign of failure. (Dougherty, Conor. “Why Suburban American Homeowners Were Accused of Being a ‘Profit-Making Cartel’ in the 1970s.” TIME, 18 Feb. 2020). Bill and Marilyn both teach at the local college, which has afforded them the luxury of buying a home, owning a pet, and having a child comfortably. The layout of the Bricker home, combined with the quiet safety within their neighborhood, suggests the family is financially secure. 

However, the Bricker family’s ability to achieve their slice of the American Dream was not something afforded to all Americans. Beginning in the 1930s, white Americans began to receive private loans from the Federal Housing Administration, which helped them access low-down-payment homes and join middle-class America through home ownership. However, redlining—a practice where color-coded maps created by the federal Home Owners’ Loan Corporation identified where households of color lived and classified those “redlined” areas as unsafe for lending—prevented Black families from obtaining the same benefits and subsidies. In the following decades, Black families continued to face racist housing discrimination. Restrictive covenants stipulated that new homes could only be sold or resold to white families; this led to lenders rejecting Black WWII veterans from receiving loans or purchasing houses. Urban renewal also threatened Black families’ stability, as it leveled Black homes and businesses to create new downtown office developments, civic spaces, and highways; this effectively stripped Black residents of their properties, forcing them to start over. While the 1968 Fair Housing Act prohibited racially restrictive covenants, it did not eradicate discriminatory housing practices. New zoning rules segregated communities by wealth and income, which drove up housing prices and prohibited lower-cost housing options such as attached homes or apartments. Those living in formerly redlined areas continued to be passed over for loans, without affordable entry points to homeownership, and would later be targeted by predatory mortgages and refinancing programs (“Historic housing discrimination in the U.S.” Habitat for Humanity). Housing discrimination continues to impact Black families today. 

While the initial 1973 publication of Socks just features Socks on its cover, subsequent issues of the book include both Charles William and Socks on the cover. These covers—published by Dell and Scholastic, among others—depict Charles William as a white child with blonde hair. These depictions suggest that the Bricker family is white and, based on the segregationist principles within how home loans were given at the time, lived in a predominantly or exclusively white neighborhood. Thus, the setting of Socks is not an “every neighborhood,” nor is the Bricker family representative of all families. However, the emotional journeys present in the novel (such as dealing with new, difficult situations and finding belonging amid changing familial situations) are universal, making the story resonate with diverse young readers.