Introduction: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Have you ever read a children’s book as an adult and it completely resonated with you? The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster is one of those books. I first learned about it shortly after I completed my first Virtual Literary World Tour, and since that time, I have seen it on lists of must-read books.
Although the book has some profound lessons, I chuckled often because of the inventiveness of Norton Juster, the way he names places and things in The Phantom Tollbooth.
What Is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster About?
The main character is Milo, and he is a boy who is bored and discontented, never being satisfied with anything. Milo is bored with school and he is the perfect example of someone thinking that the grass is greener on the other side. And when he gets to the greener side, he is discontented and wants to return to where he first was. Young Milo is very unhappy with his life.
One day while in his room, he notices a package that he has never seen before, on it there is a note, “FOR MILO WHO HAS PLENTY OF TIME.”
It’s not his birthday or Christmas so of course he is wondering about the gift. Before he even opens up his gift, he is thinking that he isn’t going to like it. Anyway, he assembles his gift and it is a tollbooth, and what good is a toll booth without tokens? Sure enough, he gets the money to pay the toll, and on top of that there is a beautiful map with the names of places that he has never heard of. Milo closes his eyes and points on the map and chooses Dictionopolis, isn’t that a great name for a place ,conjuring wonderful images?
Young Milo jumps into his toy car that had been abandoned in his room, pays the toll and off he goes. Like many people who are not mindful, Milo stops paying attention to where he is going and misses his turn and lands in Doldrums – miles after miles of dreary scenery and weather.
He meets the Lethargarians who live a regimented life, unable to think for themselves, sleep away their lives, never accomplishing anything. Milo meets Tock, a mechanical dog who tells him that he landed in Doldrums because he was not thinking. When Milo starts thinking for himself, his car starts moving again. Tuck, who loves to go for rides accompanies Milo on the trip.
The duo continues to Dictionopolis, which is located in the Foothills of Confusion. Where they arrive in the city, Milo and Tock meet colorful characters such as The Duke of Definition and the Minister of Meaning. The names are funny, but they are carefully thought out and steeped in meaning. Milo and Tock get to sample letters, which have very distinctive tastes. Humbug and Spelling Bee get into a fight and create a mess of everything, knocking down stalls that are selling letters. Spelling Bee leaves in a huff, and Humbug blames everything on Milo and Tock who are sentenced to serve time in prison for a crime they didn’t commit.
While in prison, they meet Which, who tells them the tale of the Land of Null, a desolate place. A prince built the Kingdom of Wisdom. He had two sons, one went south and built Dictionopolis, the City of Words, while the other went north to the Mountain of Ignorance and built Digitopolis, the City of Numbers. As the king grows older, one day he finds twin girls who are abandoned, and he adopts them, and names them Princess of Sweet Rhyme and Princess of Pure Reason.
Unbeknownst to the King, his two sons, King Azaz, the unabridged King of Dictionopolis; and Mathemagician, ruler of Digitopolis, are feuding, and competing with each other. Both feel that his kingdom is better than the other. Or that words are superior to numbers, or that numbers are superior to words. After their father dies, the people rely on the sound decisions of Princess of Sweet Rhyme and Princess of Pure Reason. However, one day they give a sound judgment, but their brothers’ arrogance gets in the way and the two kings banished the princesses, then things start going downhill after that.
Milo and Tock embark on the Hero’s Journey to free the two princesses, and of course they are going to encounter obstacles along the way. And King Azaz tells Humbug to go on the journey with them. As you are reading this review you are probably chuckling. But step back for a second, power corrupts the corruptible, and any day you start believing your own press, is the day you cease to become effective. Because someone makes a decision that you do not agree with, doesn’t mean that you should punish them. It is important for us to have people in our lives who are willing to tell us the truth, even if it is negative. And it is our responsibility to reflect on the information and decide whether we should accept it.
The three do not have all the answers, they unwillingly take up the quest, and they find themselves in very tight situations, but they have to respond. They encounter Alec Bings, a boy in the air who sees all things. They enter the Valley of Silence and have to retrieve the sounds so people can once again speak. Milo, Tock and Humbug venture on the Island of Conclusions where people are always jumping to conclusions. How many times have you made a decision without collecting the proper information and jumped to the wrong conclusion?
On the Hero’s Journey, the trio encounter Dodecahedron who has 12 faces with different facial expressions, the Everpresent Wordsnatcher who takes the words out of your mouth before you can utter them, the Terrible Trivium demon who tries to delay them by giving them trivial and unimportant tasks to perform, and they walk through the Mountain of Ignorance which is ominous and foreboding.
Have you read?
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, Book Review
As I was reading The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, I constantly reflected on what the author was saying as the story unfolded. Five major ideas evolved:
5 Great Ides from The Phantom Tollbooth
- The way you view the world depends on where you are standing.
- The most important reason for going from one point to another is to see what’s in between. The journey is just as important as the destination.
- Learn from your mistakes.
- Do not waste your life on trivialities, but instead focus on the actions that will make a substantial impact.
- Have a reason for learning and apply what you learn.
Milo, Tock and Humbug are able to free the two princesses, despite all the obstacles in their way. And in the end, others come to their assistance when they see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is one thing that struck me, which I reflected on for a considerable amount of time, is that both King Azaz and King Mathemagician had something important to tell Milo about his Hero’s Journey, but they both indicated that they would tell him after his return.
The journey Milo embarked on was an impossible one, and no one really expected him to succeed and release the princesses – the odds are stacked greatly against him. The kings make the correct decision in not saying anything about the impossibility of the task, and he and Tock and Humbug, are able to turn the impossible into the possible.
Final Thoughts: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
How many times have you voiced your negative opinion to someone, and as a result, she experiences defeat before she even starts? With the Hero's Journey, the hero has the option to return home, and Milo returns home now a changed boy. The Phantom Tollbooth disappears, so he cannot return to visit his new friends in Dictionopolis. He gets a message telling him that others need the phantom tollbooth that's why it has disappeared. The most important themes in The Phantom Tollbooth is the value of an education, and that is evident in the naming of things; using common sense; and appreciating life and what it has to offer.
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Annotated Phantom TollboothBy Katherine Paterson: Bridge to Terabithia
