The Midnight Gang

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying, illness and death, and ableism.

Though most of the key figures are children, select adults feature as authority figures and hospital staff such as Matron, Mr. Thews, Porter, and Tootsie. The novel clearly delineates between helpful and kind adults who care about the children and aid their goals, and the antagonistic and cruel adults who represent obstacles to Tom’s or the gang’s goals. The children must learn who to trust and how to navigate social situations in which adults are either allies or adversaries, learning more about kindness and cruelty along the way.

Some of the adults teach the children about the importance of kindness and compassion through their allyship. Tom is initially afraid of Porter because of his physical appearance but quickly learns that it is both cruel and wrong to judge people based on their looks. Porter models kindness for Tom by having enormous empathy for hospitalized children. He wants to provide a dose of fun and adventure for them, because he spent many years in the hospital as a child and remembers the impact of bringing his own dream scenario to life. Rosie’s death also taught Porter to value life.