The Enormous Egg

“For about a week I noticed that one of the hens was looking pretty queer. She had swelled out quite a bit, and was lopsided, and her feathers stuck out all over, the way a hen gets when she’s too worried to smooth herself down. Pop thought she was just broody and wanted to set, and he told me to keep shooing her off the nest, but I had an idea it was something more than that.”

When Nate notices one of the family hens acting strangely, he wonders if there might be something wrong. Pop, however, argues that the hen will soon settle. Pop’s dismissiveness foreshadows Nate’s long-term struggle against skepticism; at this early stage, Nate must cope with adults who simply don’t believe him, symbolizing Perseverance in the Face of Adversity. Luckily, Nate’s intuition encourages him to keep faith.

“‘Nothing good, I’m certain of that,’ Mom said. ‘It would probably be something horrible. But just remember, if it’s a crocodile or a dragon or something like that, I won’t have it in my house for one minute.’”

In stressing her wariness of the egg, Mom voices her characteristic fear of the unknown. Though Mom doesn’t really expect a dragon or crocodile to emerge, her guesses foreshadow what eventually hatches: a Triceratops, which despite her protests becomes a fixture in her home.

“And the hen would get fidgety if I stayed away too long. I guess she expected me to be right on time. I was afraid for a while that she wasn’t going to stay on the job, but she did. And so did I.”

In their mutual care of the egg, Nate and the hen develop an unusual relationship; the hen, suddenly, is less like Nate’s pet, and more like a partner that can be relied upon for assistance. This example of empathy suggests Nate’s deeper connection to animals, which allows him to develop a meaningful relationship with Uncle Beazley.

“I got up and went out to the henhouse to turn the egg, since I was awake anyway, and who should I meet coming out of the henhouse but Pop. He kind of coughed in an embarrassed way and said he couldn’t get sleep because it was so hot, so he’d just come out to see that everything was all right.”

Up to this point, only Nate has been officially tasked with rotating the egg, and he’s assumed that he’ll shoulder the burden alone. However, late one night, Nate catches Pop returning from the henhouse, and Pop admits that he’s checked on the egg. Though Pop later insists that it was a one-time visit, his willingness to help proves that the egg—and later Uncle Beazley—is a family affair; all of the Twitchells, in their own way, eventually pitch in to help.

“Here was a little rowboat coming along towards me, with a short, sort of round-shaped man in it. He was wearing a white shirt and a white hat, the kind that summer people wear. He stopped rowing about fifty feet off and swung his boat around so he could talk to me.”

This quote introduces Dr. Ziemer, as he approaches Nate on Loon Lake. Noticing Dr. Ziemer’s white shirt and hat, Nate decides that Dr. Ziemer is likely a tourist, visiting Freedom for the summer. Of course, Nate is correct, as Dr. Ziemer has recently traveled up from Washington, DC. Though Dr. Ziemer develops as a major character, and though his relationship with Nate is friendly, here, he’s an omen of the foreignness that will come to disrupt Freedom’s routine.

“I thought at first that it was a rat or something that had busted the egg and eaten it. But after I got a good look I could see that it wasn’t any rat. It was about the size of a squirrel, but it didn’t have any hair, and it’s head—well, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it. It didn’t look like anything I’d ever seen before. It had three little knobs sticking out of its head and a sort of collar up over its neck.”

This quote narrates Nate and Uncle Beazley’s first meeting. When Nate notices that the egg has hatched, he can hardly believe his eyes. At first, Nate defaults to a conventional explanation, imagining that a rat has attacked the egg. Quickly, however, he starts to recognize the situation’s uniqueness, admitting that the creature is entirely strange. This is the first moment Nate encounters of believing in the unbelievable that will characterize his journey with Uncle Beazley.

“[T]his thing that had just hatched out looked kind of cute to me. Maybe that was because I had taken care of the egg for so long. I felt as if the little dinosaur was almost one of the family.”

Though Uncle Beazley is admittedly strange-looking, with horns, leathery skin, and a tail, Nate can’t help but feel affection. In suggesting that Uncle Beazley is “almost one of the family,” Nate suggests that family is fluid, encompassing friends and pets as well as blood relatives. By the novel’s end, Dr. Ziemer, too, has been initiated into the Twitchell family, helped by his closeness to Nate.

“Naturally, we haven’t been able to be sure about many things, because up to today nobody has ever seen a live dinosaur. As a matter of fact, no one was even sure that dinosaurs hatched out of eggs until Roy Chapman Andrews found some dinosaur eggs in the Gobi Desert in 1923.”

Here, Dr. Ziemer explains the recent developments in paleontology, dating the discovery of the dinosaur egg to 1923. Assuming the novel takes place around 1956—the year that it was published—this would mean that in little over 30 years, paleontologists went from discovering a fossilized egg to studying a living, breathing dinosaur. This quick turnaround emphasizes just how rapidly scientific knowledge expands, highlighting Science as a Force of Change.

“Dr. Ziemer looked around at me. ‘How about it, Nate? Would you let your dinosaur go to a museum?’”

As the family considers the potential hullabaloo that might descend on Freedom, Dr. Ziemer suggests that Uncle Beazley be relocated to a museum. Tellingly, Dr. Ziemer refers to Uncle Beazley as Nate’s dinosaur and turns to him for a decision. In allowing Nate a say, Dr. Ziemer credits his opinion as equal to that of any scientist; in caring for Uncle Beazley, Nate has earned respect.

“Oh no, Nate, we don’t have to bottle-feed a dinosaur. You see, dinosaurs are reptiles, like snakes and turtles, and when they hatch out of the egg, they’re all ready to eat the same kind of food that adults eat.”

To better illustrate this lesson for a confused Nate, Dr. Ziemer draws connections to familiar reptiles like turtles and snakes, emphasizing Uncle Beazley’s similarity to modern fauna. Dr. Ziemer will later employ the same tactic, when he offers Nate, Joe, and Cynthia an impromptu science lesson; ultimately, as Dr. Ziemer argues, the past and the present aren’t entirely remote.

“‘Oh, cut it out Kennedy,’ Dr. Ziemer said. ‘Can’t you see we’re not fooling? This is no joke, I tell you. Help us find this thing before he gets away. We just can’t lose him. It would be a terrible loss to science.’”

As they attempt to introduce Dr. Kennedy to Uncle Beazley, Dr. Ziemer and Nate realize that Uncle Beazley has escaped from his pen. This marks the first major threat to Uncle Beazley’s safety; as they search around the yard, Dr. Ziemer and Nate realize just how vulnerable Uncle Beazley is to all kinds of contingencies. This foreshadows the greater dangers Uncle Beazley faces as the novel progresses and the stakes become higher.

“‘Well, it’s a nice quiet street,’ Dr. Ziemer said. ‘Besides, I don’t recall hearing of any hotels in the Gobi Desert, or at the Wyoming fossil beds.’”

Though Dr. Kennedy worries that Freedom doesn’t have ample accommodations for the inevitable rush of scientists, Dr. Ziemer is quick to remind him that science is often unglamorous. Scientists are used to roughing it, accepting research and innovation as more important than their personal comfort. This highlights the theme of Science as a Force of Change.

“And the strangest news tonight, folks, comes from the little village of Freedom, New Hampshire, where they claim a dinosaur has hatched out of a hen’s egg, at the home of Mr. Walter Twitchell…Now, folks, when it comes to soap, the first thing we look for is…”

In this quote, Nate is listening to the local radio station, which is currently airing a news story about Uncle Beazley. When the story winds down, the announcer transitions to an advertisement about soap. This transition foreshadows a pivotal tension between science and consumerism, noting that Uncle Beazley is already mentioned alongside money and advertising. This episode also helps develop the theme of Discovering Value Apart from Consumerism.

“The dinosaur had been growing like anything, and by the middle of August he was a good five and a half feet long, counting his tail, and about two and a half feet high. He’d gotten too heavy for the kitchen scales when he was five days old, and after that we had to get two bathroom scales and lay a plank over them, and then get Uncle Beazley to stand on the plank.”

As the novel progresses, Uncle Beazley continues to grow rapidly. Here, Nate and Dr. Ziemer are already having to improvise, as they reimagine their usual method of weighing Uncle Beazley. Of course, new challenges will only continue to emerge, and Nate’s willingness to adapt suggests Persistence in the Face of Adversity.

“The only thing I can suggest is to ship him to a zoo, or a museum, where he can get proper housing and food. The whole thing has been a lot of care from the start, and you’ve worked hard at it, and you’ve made a real pet out of this dinosaur, but the situation is getting too big for you to handle by yourself. We’re just going to have to ask other people to help us.”

When it becomes clear that Uncle Beazley can no longer remain in Freedom, Dr. Ziemer explains the logical next steps to Nate. However, though Nate worries that he’ll never see Uncle Beazley again, Dr. Ziemer is careful to hint that Nate needn’t be separated from Uncle Beazley entirely; instead, they merely have to ask for help. Later that night, Dr. Ziemer will make good on this subtle suggestion when he invites Nate to join him in Washington, DC.

“Mom and Pop and Cynthia were standing around to see us off, and Mom was asking if I had my extra pair of pajamas, and Pop was telling me to write some letters home.”

In preparing to leave for DC, Nate says goodbye to his family. It’s a meaningful moment, as this is the first time, presumably, that Nate will be far from home. Also, though the Twitchells are supportive, they inadvertently reveal their anxiety: Mom double-checks that Nate has his pajamas while Pop asks that he write home often. This symbolizes a crucial moment in Nate’s coming-of-age journey. Though his parents care about him, they cannot protect him from the events to come.

“After New York, […] it got kind of confusing, and I couldn’t tell where one city left off and the next one began. I never saw such a lot of houses and chimneys and factories and things.”

As Nate joins Dr. Ziemer and Michael Finney in their journey to DC, he beholds all different kinds of landscapes, admitting that the urban areas are especially unfamiliar. Symbolic of their personal journeys, both Nate and Uncle Beazley are surrounded by a new, modern environment: Nate adjusts to being away from home for the first time while Uncle Beazley copes with the urban ambiance. In mirroring their two experiences, the novel suggests just how deeply Nate and Uncle Beazley are connected.

“Well, we decided that the best time to exercise Uncle Beazley was early in the morning, before people were out on the streets. So every morning I would get out of bed at about five o’clock, while it was still pretty dark outside. Then I’d get dressed and eat some breakfast and walk over to the museum.”

Each morning, Nate wakes up early to walk Uncle Beazley around DC, before the crowds arrive. Though Nate is away from home and excused from school, he still has a keen sense of personal responsibility; even without adult supervision, Nate knows better than to slack off. It’s a key moment in Nate’s character development, emphasizing just how significantly Uncle Beazley has helped him mature.

“Then Uncle Beazley went into action. He never did like horns being blown at him, and he swung right around and came over beside the pickup truck, and he put his big head down and just pitched that truck over onto its side as if it was no trouble at all.”

Uncle Beazley’s angry reaction to a car horn further suggests his incompatibility with modern society. It’s fitting, too, that a dinosaur—a common metaphor for old age—should approach technology with hostility. Furthermore, this quote emphasizes Uncle Beazley’s brute strength, as he easily topples a pickup truck. However, despite witnessing Uncle Beazley’s reaction, Nate isn’t at all afraid, suggesting his confidence in Uncle Beazley’s affection.

“There’s a big economy drive on now. They do that every now and then. So there’s a big squeeze on the Department of the Interior, and especially on the National Park Service. That’s where the National Zoological Park comes in. Their budget has been cut way down.”

As Dr. Ziemer explains the challenges associated with Uncle Beazley’s rehousing, he again stresses the influence of money. As before, money is totally at odds with science. This time, the National Zoo appreciates the scientific value of Uncle Beazley but struggles against budgetary concerns. Such tension will only heighten once Dr. Ziemer and Nate face off against Senator Granderson.

“‘Well,’ the other Senator said, in a sort of draw voice, ‘my constituents in Nebraska would be happy to have him eat all the alfalfa he wants, Senator. Why wouldn’t it be a good idea to feed him government stores of surplus grain and alfalfa? We could feed the animal for years on that, and it wouldn’t cost us a cent.’”

In this quote, a fellow Senator responds to Granderson’s concerns about Uncle Beazley’s food costs. The Senator suggests a reasonable and cost-effective solution, but Granderson eventually denies it. In denying such a compromise, Granderson reveals his selfish motivation: He’s not interested in problem-solving, or the welfare of the American public but instead wants his own chance to grandstand.

“Maybe we’d better take a lesson from Uncle Beazley. I don’t think we’d get anywhere trying to run away from the trouble. It would catch up with us sooner or later. We’ll keep thinking.”

As Dr. Ziemer and Nate realize their slim chance of defeating Granderson’s Dinosaur Bill, Nate wonders if it’d be reasonable to give up. However, Dr. Ziemer points to Uncle Beazley as a source of inspiration, noting that Uncle Beazley never backs down from a fight. Ultimately, Dr. Ziemer and Nate follow Uncle Beazley’s example, emphasizing Persistence in the Face of Adversity.

“I was just hoping that some of you people that are listening would want to save my dinosaur, though now he’s really your dinosaur too, and if you do want to save him, would you please tell your Senators and Representatives to vote against the Dinosaur Bill.”

To better counter the Dinosaur Bill, Nate appears on Capital Sidelight, stressing Uncle Beazley’s importance. Notably, Nate refers to Uncle Beazley as “our” dinosaur; throughout the novel, Nate has generally considered Uncle Beazley to be his dinosaur, but here, he’s willing to accept Uncle Beazley’s importance to all Americans. It’s an example of selflessness that again emphasizes just how significantly Nate has matured.