The Chalk Box Kid

“The house was small and it needed paint. It looked as if it had grown out of the sidewalk. There was no yard at all.”

The imagery used to describe Gregory’s new house conveys how disappointing it is: It is not an attractive or well-kept home, and it does not have a yard for Gregory to play. The personification of the house as something growing out of the sidewalk not only reinforces how little space there is around the house—it also portrays the house as utilitarian, cold, and drab.

“He looked at the floor and the walls and the ceiling. He looked into every corner. This was what he had always wanted—a room of his own.”

Polysyndeton—or repeated use of conjunctions—in the phrase “the floor and the walls and the ceiling” emphasizes that each aspect of the room is important to Gregory. This is reinforced by the detail of him looking in “every corner,” as well: Even ordinary details are significant to Gregory, because he has never had a room of his own. Stressing how important this is to Gregory sets up the crushing letdown of the next chapter, when he learns he must share the room with Uncle Max. It also lays groundwork for The Importance of the Authentic Self by making it clear how much it matters to Gregory to have a space that reflects his individual identity.

“The paper in his tablet was too small, but he painted a red house that wasn’t bad. He painted a sunflower that was a little better.”

Gregory’s dissatisfaction with the size of his tablet paper both characterizes him as someone who needs more scope to express himself and foreshadows the much larger works of art he will be able to create in the abandoned chalk factory. His painting of the sunflower introduces a symbolic motif that indicates his yearning for beauty and for growth.

“The air was cold, but it felt good. It felt like spring.”

The sensory detail of the cold air is something that has the potential to be negative. Characteristically, however, Gregory reacts to it optimistically. He sees it as refreshing and as an indication that warmer days are on the way. The upcoming spring is also symbolic: This moment foreshadows that although Gregory still has some difficulties ahead, eventually he will emerge into the “sunshine” he deserves.

“‘Well!’ he said in his loud voice. ‘Here comes the Great Gregory! Here comes the Paintbrush Kid!’”

Uncle Max’s way of speaking to Gregory may well be an attempt at friendly banter, but the pejorative description of his “loud voice” and the use of capital letters to draw attention to the habitual nature of the epithets “Great Gregory” and “Paintbrush Kid” convey that Uncle Max is overwhelming and off-putting to Gregory. Whether Uncle Max means his words to sound condescending and sarcastic or not, his tone makes Gregory feel that he is being teased rather than appreciated.

“‘Don’t you want someone to help you get started?’ she asked.

‘No,’ he said, ‘I’ve done it before.’”

Gregory’s abrupt reply to his mother’s concern conveys both his dislike for Uncle Max and more information about Gregory’s circumstances. He does not want Uncle Max to walk him to his new school and help him register—nor does he need Uncle Max’s help. Gregory has clearly been moved from school to school several times in his young life, suggesting that the family’s financial insecurity is an ongoing issue. Changing schools often is isolating, but it can also create independence.

“After school he walked home alone. Uncle Max was there, watching television.”

The image of nine-year-old Gregory walking home “alone” despite his best efforts to make friends at his new school increases empathy for Gregory and raises the emotional stakes of his situation. Juxtaposing this image with the detail of Uncle Max sitting in Gregory’s parents’ house watching television makes it clear that Gregory’s day is going from bad to worse—he has had a rough first day at school, and now he has to deal with Uncle Max, as well, in the place that should be his refuge.

“He leaned back and looked at the sky. It was peaceful here, and he began to feel better. He was not quite so angry now.”

Gregory is drawn to nature and feels better when he looks up at the sky. That he can only access this little bit of nature by looking up through the collapsed roof of the burned-out chalk factory helps to develop the chalk factory as a symbol of Gregory’s desire to escape the limitations of his resources. His situation makes him “so angry,” but at least temporarily he accesses the peace of the world outside. This moment supports the story’s theme of Not Being Defined by Circumstances.

“Gregory wasn’t sure what it was, but it was there in her face and the way she held her head. It was in the pictures she made.”

Gregory’s attraction to Ivy is not something he is old enough to understand clearly, but he knows that her looks, the way she acts, and her art appeal to him. The importance of Ivy’s artistic side is emphasized by its placement in a separate, shorter sentence. This shows the value that both Gregory and Ivy place on art and helps develop the story’s ideas about The Transformative Power of Art.

“Things weren’t going so well at home, either. Uncle Max was always there. He was always watching television. Or going plink, plink, plink on his guitar. Or sleeping in their room.”

This description of Uncle Max’s activities stresses the way his continuing presence annoys Gregory by using anaphora—the repetition of the word “or” at the start of successive sentence fragments—to create a feeling of abrupt choppiness that shows how Max’s behavior feels: as if it is piling up on Gregory. This is reinforced by the repeated onomatopoeia—or words that sound like their meanings—of “plink, plink, plink,” which uses the unpleasant repeated “k” sound to convey Max’s irritating guitar.

“‘Do you want to see what I made?’ he asked.

‘Some other time,’ she said. ‘Your dinner is getting cold.’”

The fact that Gregory is eager to share his creation with his mother suggests that she does not always refuse his bids for attention. She refuses now for a practical reason, just as she did not create a birthday celebration or walk him to school on his first day for practical reasons. This hints that the family is under more pressure than usual and that Gregory has not always been without the attention he needs.

“‘All the school is proud of you,’ she said, and she gave Ivy the package.”

When Miss Cartwright gives Ivy the prize for winning the school’s art competition, she does not simply tell Ivy that she did a good job or that she should be proud of herself: She makes a point to tell Ivy that the entire school is proud of her. Miss Cartwright understands the importance of letting Ivy know that her peers understand and value her for who she really is, supporting the theme of The Importance of the Authentic Self. The teacher’s belief that the whole school is impressed by Ivy winning the art competition also conveys The Transformative Power of Art.

“‘I mean,’ Ivy said in her whispering voice, ‘There could be somebody better.’”

Ivy’s comment characterizes her and serves as an element of foreshadowing. The hesitant tone conveyed by breaking up her speech with narrative and by the description of her voice as “whispering” help to illustrate her shyness. The meaning of her remark is not yet clear to her classmates, but later it will become clear that she is referring to Gregory. This foreshadows her Chapter 9 attempt to give Gregory her prize because she thinks he is a better artist.

“‘Don’t worry about it.’

‘I don’t,’ he said.”

But he did worry sometimes. He didn’t seem to belong in the new school. He wondered if he ever would.”

Gregory’s feeling of not belonging is sharpened after the party for Ivy in which she is singled out and made to feel special for who she is. For the first time, Gregory’s consistent optimism flags. Vance and Vance’s friends have been ignoring or criticizing Gregory for two weeks and show no signs of letting up, and he questions whether he will ever be seen and valued for who he is at this new school. This moment increases the story’s tension because it seems as if Gregory might finally be defeated by his circumstances.

“As he talked he drew pictures on the blackboard. He drew a bunch of lettuce with curly leaves. He drew a round head of lettuce.”

The description of Mr. Hiller’s drawing is detailed, emphasizing the importance of this moment. Its importance is also stressed by the inclusion of an illustration on the facing page that shows Mr. Hiller in the act of drawing these lettuces. This experience shows Gregory how to unite his interests in art and nature and foreshadows Gregory’s own chalk drawings of a garden on the blackened walls of the abandoned factory.

“Mother was right. He had no place for a garden.”

Gregory’s mother continues to be pragmatic about their circumstances, but doesn’t offer any suggestions about solutions to the obstacles they face. Gregory recognizes that she is right—their living situation is not conducive to growing things. This lack of space symbolically hints that the situation is also not conducive to Gregory’s own growth. Gregory is more than equal to this challenge, however, and he will soon find a place for a “garden” of his own.

“Miss Perry asked him, ‘Don’t you want any?’

‘No thank you,’ he said. ‘I already have a garden.’”

Up to this point, readers have only seen Gregory draw a single row of lettuce in the abandoned chalk factory, which has not explicitly been identified as his “garden.” Therefore, the moment when he is the only child not taking plants from Mr. Hiller seems a sad one, given how excited Gregory was about planting. Quickly, though, this mood is reversed, when Gregory assures Miss Perry that he “already [has] a garden” and it becomes clear that he is in the process of creating his very own, special space.

“Ivy was there, and he said to her, ‘I have poles with sweet peas on them.’”

Despite Ivy’s lack of response to Gregory’s gestures of friendship so far, he keeps trying. He knows that Ivy especially likes sweet peas, so he makes sure to mention the sweet peas in his garden, hoping to interest her.

“He made a pear tree and a walnut tree. He made vines to hang from the branches. He made birds’ nests in the trees.”

The anaphora and parallelism in this passage create a lyrical effect that emphasizes the beauty of Gregory’s garden. By emphasizing the repetitive dedication of his efforts, these rhetorical techniques also convey how hard Gregory is working to make an elaborate piece of art.

“Someone laughed. Someone went ‘Shh!’”

As Gregory listens to his classmates approaching, the phrasing of the passage creates an ominous mood. The mystery of who is speaking is conveyed with the repetition of the vague “Someone.” The short sentences create a choppy, disconcerting rhythm. The first terminates in the sound of laughter in which Gregory is clearly not included. This is reinforced by the termination of the second sentence, with the “Shh!” indicating that the mysterious visitors are deliberately being sneaky and do not have Gregory’s best interests at heart.

“She looked back. She almost stopped. Then she was gone.”

Ivy’s importance to Gregory is emphasized by the two sentences beginning with “She.” Gregory notices each of her movements and longs for her to speak to him, hoping that unlike the others, she does not think his garden is insignificant. This sets up the crushing disappointment of “[t]hen she was gone.” The emotional significance of this moment to Gregory is further emphasized by a large drawing at the bottom of Page 49 in which Gregory faces the viewer, huddling into himself in the dark building, looking dejected, as, in the distant background of the picture, Ivy hesitates in the light-filled frame of the doorway.

“‘Because—because his pictures are better than mine,’ said Ivy. ‘I saw them on the walls. And they’re better!’”

Ivy’s decision to draw attention to Gregory’s art begins a chain reaction that leads to the story’s happy resolution. Because Ivy has won the school’s art competition, she has authority in the eyes of the other students and Miss Perry. Her endorsement gives Gregory courage to speak up and explain himself to Miss Perry and sparks Miss Perry’s curiosity. The phrasing of Ivy’s explanation indicates how difficult the moment is for her, as she starts, stops, and repeats a word before she can get the whole idea out. Ivy is shy and takes pride in her art, but she is willing to speak up for Gregory’s superiority, which indicates her moral courage and determination.

“Miss Cartwright said, ‘It really is a garden!’”

Gregory has insisted all along that his chalk representation of a garden is “real” and that he is not lying when he tells Miss Perry that he, too, has a garden. Miss Cartwright, of course, does not literally mistake the chalk drawings for real plants, water, and animals. Her comment conveys that, like a literal garden, Gregory’s garden is a beautiful and peaceful place that someone is carefully tending. Miss Cartwright’s endorsement of Gregory’s perspective is important in validating what matters to him. It supports both the themes of The Transformative Power of Art, Not Being Defined by Circumstances, and The Importance of the Authentic Self, because she is an authority figure who agrees that Gregory’s expression through art of his desire to thrive despite his circumstances is a “real” and important thing.