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.

As an ally to the Midnight Gang, Porter fulfills dreams in ways highly attuned to the child’s needs (such as providing a flag for Amber to claim the North Pole), while also being concerned for their safety (e.g., he hands George balloons one at a time). Tootsie also supports the children: Although she cannot supply sustenance through food because of budget constraints, she offers optimism and cheer through make-believe. She also offers Sally hearty food she purchases herself and warns Amber when her wheelchair markings were discovered. Both Tootsie and Porter thus teach the children what selfless kindness towards others looks like.

Matron and Mr. Thews, by contrast, are antagonistic adversaries in the story who alert the children to how cruel some people can be, showing by their own example how not to behave. Matron uses ridicule, sarcasm, and insults to control Tom in the ward along with harsh rules (e.g., only bedpans for overnight bathroom needs). Mr. Thews attempts to strong-arm Tom back to the horrible St. Willet’s just when Tom is finally accepted by his peers. He also pursues Tom when he flees and laughs about destroying Tom’s parents’ letters to him. He and Matron pride themselves on keeping control of young people through cruelty. These adults are comically awful in their opposition to Tom’s goals, but their behavior serves as an important contrast to the kindness modeled by Porter and Tootsie: Tom and the other children’s disgust at the hurtful behavior teaches them how cruelty impacts others.

While Porter, Matron, Tootsie, and Mr. Thews each maintain an individual status as an ally or adversary in the novel, Sir Strillers makes a significant change, from an antagonist who reprimands the gang and fires Porter to a Midnight Gang supporter after he sees Sally’s dream come true. He reinstates Porter and allows Sally to return to the children’s ward for the night. These actions prove that adults, just like children, are also capable of healthy change and are never too old to learn the importance of empathy and kindness.