Dory Fantasmagory

“My name is Dory, but everyone calls me Rascal.”

This is the opening line of the novel and Dory’s introduction. It is immediately suggested that the way Dory sees herself and the way her family sees her will diverge. The nickname “Rascal” indicates that Dory’s behavior is seen as unruly.

“‘Why do you always call me a baby?’ I complain.

‘Because you talk to yourself,’ says Violet.

‘And you have temper tantrums,’ says Luke.

‘And you play with monsters,’ says Violet.”

In this quote, Dory’s siblings lay out why they consider her immature and express their understanding of what maturity means. This passage introduces one of the main themes, Defining Maturity, by indicating that Luke and Violet see realism and self-control as indicators of maturity.

“Mary always wants to play with me. She thinks I’m the greatest.”

Dory’s imaginary friend, Mary, represents what Dory wants from her siblings but can’t seem to get: attention and affirmations. Dory has created Mary to alleviate her loneliness and to be a like-minded friend.

“‘Sorry, Mary. I’m playing with Violet.’

‘NO YOU AREN’T.’”

This passage comes from the dialogue in an illustration showing Dory attempting to reject Mary to play with Violet but discovering that Violet doesn’t want to play with her. Dory tries to mimic the power her siblings have over her by temporarily rejecting Mary.

“I follow them upstairs, skipping steps. I’m so excited. What can it be?”

In this passage, Dory’s siblings invite her upstairs to tell her something important. Her yearning to be included is palpable. However, the previous illustration revealed that Violet and Luke plan to do something about Rascal’s bad behavior. The reader knows they do not intend to play with her and include her as she so earnestly hopes, creating a sense of anxiety and dread as the reader waits for these events to progress.

“Then I kick and bang and throw some things. I cry so hard the room looks blurry and upside down.”

This passage describes Dory’s first temper tantrum in the novel. During this expression of intense emotion, Dory forgets about her game and describes the world more simply and realistically, from her vantage point upside down the floor, with her eyes full of tears.

“Stupid old baby Cherry, I think. Using my scariest voice, I clench my teeth and warn her, ‘Just wait, one day I’ll get you.’”

This passage appears after Violet and Luke choose baby Cherry to play the role of the baby in their game of house, instead of Dory. Dory reconstructs the power dynamics from her own imaginative games, casting herself as the role of the scary villain like Mrs. Gobble Gracker, and baby Cherry as the unwitting victim.

“I have to tell Luke and Violet! They should know that I shot Mrs. Gobble Gracker, because I was so quick and tricky and I had such good aim. They should know that no baby could do what I did.”

This passage points to one of the story’s main themes, Defining Maturity. Unlike her siblings, who view maturity as realism and self-control, Dory constructs a slightly different definition that can coexist with her imaginative world. Dory’s definition of maturity seems to include dexterity and skill at winning the game or vanquishing the imaginary foe.

“‘Where did Rascal come up with this crazy Mrs. Gobble Gracker game?’ I stop to listen.

‘I have no idea,’ says Violet.

‘How would we know?’ says Luke.”

In this passage, Dory hears her siblings lie to her mom about the origin of the Mrs. Gobble Gracker game. Dory doesn’t know exactly how to react to this betrayal, so she becomes even more staunchly committed to the game.

“No. Yes. I don’t want Mrs. Gobble Gracker to recognize me.”

This dialogue represents the loose logic of Dory’s mind. She has fixated on the cow costume as a way to avoid being discovered by Mrs. Gobble Gracker even though Mrs. Gobble Gracker is theoretically asleep and Dory is sweating inside the costume. The more her siblings and family push back on her commitment to the game, the more she doubles down.

“I am boiling mad!”

This quote has a double meaning: Dory is both physically hot in her cow costume and furious that her family continues to interrupt her game. This moment is a strong example of the novel’s humor, using imaginative yet accessible wordplay to communicate the goofiness and playfulness of Dory’s voice.

“Maybe I am a baby. I think of all the babyish things I do: I still smell my bunny and suck my fingers to fall asleep. I still put my clothes on inside out. I still can’t whistle.”

After another tantrum, Dory goes outside to reevaluate her behavior. Again, she mulls over what maturity means. Dory works through a few different approaches to immaturity. Most elements on this list point to the ability to accomplish a goal, like going to sleep or putting on clothes properly.

“I have too many problems as a human.”

During this first interaction with Mr. Nuggy, Dory’s fairy godmother, Dory tries to think of a solution to the problems she is having with her family. Her only idea, however, is to double down on the imaginative games and attempt to escape her own human life.

“It turns out Luke really wants to be a dog owner. I never knew.”

This moment signifies a change in Dory and Luke’s dynamic. For the first time, Luke is excited to play with Dory and loves engaging with her when she pretends to be a dog. As a result, Dory connects more deeply with Luke and learns a new detail about him that she didn’t know.

“And that’s how I became a dog named Chickenbone, and how Mrs. Gobble Gracker was left hanging around my house looking kind of bored and confused.”

This passage describes how Dory narrativizes things around her, including her own game. In reality, Dory describes how she has so much fun playing her new game that she has abandoned her old game. In the narrativized language of her imagination, Dory imagines Mrs. Gobble Gracker feeling bored and abandoned, personifying the imaginary villain as a person capable of feeling emotions like boredom and confusion.

“Yuck, I hate this stupid dress. Grrr.”

Dory expresses her raw distaste for wearing a dress and participating in the public world that steps on her playful, imaginative nature. Ironically, Dory expresses more disgust at wearing a dress than she does about sticking her hand in the toilet in a scene later in the story.

“The doctor listens to my heartbeat, looks inside my ears, takes my blood pressure and my temperature and makes my knees jump, and I am a good little puppy for all of it.”

This passage points to the contrast between Dory’s mom and the doctor. While Dory’s mom constantly commands Dory to drop her imaginative game, the doctor indulges it, giving Dory affirmations about being a cute puppy. As a result, Dory is more accommodating, allowing the doctor to examine her. In her eyes, she can both be “good,” or well-behaved, and maintain her imaginative play.

“Alone in my room, I suddenly don’t feel like being a dog at all.”

Dory reaches another emotional low after getting in huge trouble at the doctor’s office. Her embarrassment, rejection, and guilt cause her to stop having fun playing the imaginative game, and she quickly dismantles it.

“She is eating popcorn with my family!”

This moment inspires Dory to return to her face-off with Mrs. Gobble Gracker. Dory imagines a scenario that speaks to her deep insecurity; she worries that her family doesn’t like her so she imagines Mrs. Gobble Gracker usurping her familial role. Dory doesn’t know how to win over her siblings, but she can conceptualize vanquishing Mrs. Gobble Gracker.

“Suddenly I realize I don’t need anyone’s help. I can save myself.”

This moment represents a big step for Dory toward empowerment. Instead of looking to her siblings for validation or inclusion, Dory steers the game in a direction that allows her to control the outcome.

“But what did I REALLY ACTUALLY do with her?”

This moment shows Dory acknowledging that she understands both the true reality of these experiences and her imaginative reality. This is the first time it is clear that Dory can separate these two interpretations consciously, and she acknowledges this fact in order to help her sister.

“Thanks, Violet, that was a fun game. But it got a little scary at the end.”

Even when she acknowledges that Mrs. Gobble Gracker was a game, Dory feels real emotions like fear and excitement. This moment shows how Dory has grown in her self-awareness about her feelings and her relationship with her imaginative games.

“All these pictures come rushing in my brain at once.”

This quote shows the reader the way Dory’s mind works, in a rush of images and ideas that chaotically arise when she uses her imagination. This quote appears alongside an illustration of Dory’s mind, featuring a mishmash of images that appeared earlier in the novel with a few completely new and unrelated images.