Fudge-a-Mania

The protagonist of the story, Peter Hatcher, is approaching adolescence along with his peers, Sheila Tubman and Jimmy Fargo. They have just finished sixth grade and are all on the verge of major changes in their lives, and each has their own reaction to these changes.

The narrative depicts the process of maturation among the friends as being bumpy and uneven. Jimmy Fargo seems most at ease with the idea of growing up, although he doesn’t consider matters too deeply. Still, he has no issue being around Sheila once he sees how ordinary she is, and it takes Peter much longer to warm up to the idea despite being there first. Sheila, in contrast to Peter and Jimmy, seems to want to show the extent of her maturity. She offers to take care of Fudge, which she succeeds at, but she also frequently berates Peter for acting immature and props herself up as the most grown-up of the group. At times, she mirrors her older sister Libby and even Peter’s mother when she acts disapprovingly.

Peter’s reaction to adolescence is the most complex, as he exhibits irritation, nervousness, jealousy, awkwardness, and anger. He feels that by growing up, he is going to lose his freedom and that his life will only become more and more stressful: “Being a baby is so easy, I thought. Riding around on Dad’s shoulders, knowing he’d never let you fall. And doing and saying whatever you please, without worrying about what the other guy will think” (67). Peter often takes his anger out on his siblings and on Sheila. He is sometimes rude to them, teases them, or isolates himself from the group when he cannot cope with his emotional state, such as when Sheila and Jimmy start teasing him about Isobel.

Throughout the narrative, Peter displays moments of maturity interspersed with more childlike behavior. Peter’s crush on Isobel—his first—is an example of how he is growing up, whether he wants to or not. Peter shows maturity early on when he takes Fudge out to find Uncle Feather, taking charge of the situation and using problem-solving and resourcefulness to help his younger brother. At the same time, Peter’s immaturity is frequently evident, such as when he describes Sheila as having cooties and when he pushes Tootsie away in a moment of anger. Peter’s grandmother offers understanding toward Peter in these moments of low character, as she knows that he is attempting to cope with the changes he is experiencing. She knows what he’s thinking without him saying so and is always ready with a hug or words of wisdom to remind him that life will keep throwing challenges at him and that he must find ways to deal with them. By the end of the novel, Peter shows that he is capable of doing so, as he learns to accept disappointment and adjusts his attitude toward Sheila.