I've tried a few times to prod some folks into a discussion of George MacDonald's "A Letter to American Boys". I haven't run across anyone who has read the letter yet. G-Mac is a master story teller and wrote MANY stories so it's no surprise. He also wrote in the late 1800's and a small snippet isn't as likely to survive as his other tales. He was especially skilled in the fairy tale and fantasy genre. I do have to toss in that I was especially moved by Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood although it was fiction not fantasy. "Letter.." is fairly short and includes a parable pushing it into more of the fantasy genre. Parables are great word riddles for illustrating a point. It's easy to cheat and read the answer on the parables of Jesus before truly wondering about the meaning; probably too easy. No such luck with G-Mac. My wife may soon call me out on this by providing insight of her own. So here's my thoughts before they get shaped by the views of others. Of course there may be some interpretation that screams of being true and I may have missed it. I'd be happy to read it. That's the point of discussion.
WARNING: my review is full of spoilers - you've had you're whole life to read it (assuming you're less than 132 years old). So read it now before scrolling too far (6-ish pages or 15 minutes).
Text:
Letter to American Boys - text
Or the audio: (about 1/2 down the list)
Letter to American Boys - audio
Here's my interpretation(s).
Characters:
Boy
Mom
Wizard - saves the boy and cares for him for a brief time
Prisoner - character in the boy's dream. imprisoned by his own built chains
The boy is America. Young in age relative to every other character. America is a relatively young country. It's a letter to American boys and the boy is the primary character. No big leap here.
The Wizard is a God or guiding character. I don't think it is any specific country. He's described as being able to impart dreams and visions to people who would listen. Probably more of a trait: freedom, bigger though; a divine freedom.
The tricky part of the letter is that the boy has a dream and now as the reader you're interpreting a dream within a parable. Or is the dream the entire point of the parable?
A)
Mom = England
The ending with the child rebellious to his mother & then reconciliation could point to this view. The boy visits with freedom for a while and then returns home. The weather is stormy and he becomes rebellious towards the mother - "I only want to be left alone". The boy is in misery and the mother returns after she is visited from the wizard. He cleans his room, they reconcile and move forward - "we will go out together." The storm has passed, it is sunny and pleasant. This seems rational with Mother England and the relationship that did develop after the revolution.
What then of the prisoner? It may be a vision of example of oppression or corruption. A prisoner of freedom, he forged his own chains and put them on himself. In being free he can also make poor choices and limit himself. The chains slowly come off as he cleans the area around him and resists being a jailer of smaller animals although in prison himself. A nation shackled with corruption (dirt) and oppression (spider). Set free as it cleans and respects life (bird).
B)
Prisoner = England
Mother = freedom, or lady liberty-ish
The boy in a short time away from home gets a vision of a recognizable person stuck in a self made prison. The prisoner is crying out for it's mother, but the only remaining caretaker is the wizard.
This would serve more as an example parable. The boy should be careful not to lose its relationship with mother (freedom). Learn from the mistakes of the prisoner. Also learn from the success of the prisoner.
I can convince myself of either interpretation - kind of like forcing a checkerboard to be red on black OR black on red (a Chesterton analogy). Whatever the interpretation (and I hope some folks have other ideas) there are excellent pictures painted. MacDonald shows through as a true story teller and weaver of tales.
He also knows how to close a letter:
The Father of all the boys on earth and in heaven be with the boys of America!
and when they grow up, may they and the men of England understand, and love, and help each other! Amen!
