November 2006: History (cont.)

Another is that, because Jonathan’s sister is bound to a wheel chair, Jonathan has developed a game in which he imagines himself inside various animals. Then he describes for his sister the way it feels to fly or to move in other kinds of ways. And the final thing to know about Jonathan is that he is lonely. He misses his mother and his sister. He spends lots of time at the zoo, imagining himself inside various animals, and he has, especially, developed a relationship with a tame goose named Mama Goose.

Every one of these facts will affect the choices Jonathan will make in the story. Because he is fascinated by animals—and because he is lonely—he will set out to attract and even to pursue the adolescent brown bear when he shows up at Jonathan’s house. Jonathan knows better. His father has taught him about respecting bears. But his loneliness and his desire to be “inside” this young bear are stronger than his discretion, and so he sets out to build a relationship with Trouble . . . until Trouble encounters his beloved Mama Goose.

Do you see how the story is spun out who Jonathan is? If Trouble had shown up at another boy’s house, he probably would have responded very differently. It is Jonathan’s history that gives him the specific response he has. It is Jonathan’s history that makes him a particular boy, not just any boy encountering a bear. And it is his history that provides the foundation for his story.

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