Fuzzy Mud

“‘SunRay Farm is now growing these man-made microorganisms—these tiny Frankensteins—so that they can burn them alive inside automobile engines.’”

Dr. Humbard objects to Fitzman’s ergonyms. He raises the novel’s first allusion to Frankenstein, equating the ergonyms with Frankenstein’s monster, as he considers both “an abomination of nature” (9). This allusion foreshadows the danger posed by the ergonyms. Humbard’s comment also raises the question of whether killing other creatures for the benefit of humankind is morally acceptable.

“The school was supposed to teach them how to be good people. When Tamaya was in the second grade, she had to memorize a list of ten virtues: charity, cleanliness, courage, empathy, grace, humility, integrity, patience, prudence, and temperance.”

Tamaya not only memorizes the virtues taught by Woodridge Academy but lives them. Throughout the novel, Tamaya demonstrates each of these virtues, living up to the school’s motto, “Virtue and Valor.”

“They weren’t supposed to act like friends around school.”

Marshall pretends not to notice Tamaya or be friends with her around school even though they’re neighbors and have been friends for years. She gets frustrated with Marshall because other older boys talk to her without embarrassment. Marshall’s “rule” shows how peer interactions change in middle school and reveals his insecurity and lack of self-confidence.

“Ms. Filbert had once said that courage just meant pretending to be brave. ‘After all, if you’re not scared, then there’s nothing to be brave about, is there?’”

Tamaya is scared to break the rules and go into the woods. She “pretends” to be brave and show her friends she isn’t the goody-goody they think she is. Although Tamaya thinks she’s just putting on a brave front, she later shows true bravery: first by standing up for Marshall against Chad, then in sacrificing herself to help Chad, and later in her personal battle to conquer the rash.

“‘You’re either with me or you’re with Buttface.’”

Chad intimidates other students to turn them against Marshall, pressuring them to bully Marshall rather than be bullied themselves. Here, Chad calls Marshall “Buttface.” Later, Chad shows how much his experience with the mud and the rash—and his interactions with Tamaya and Marshall—have changed his outlook on life. Instead of maintaining an angry, tough-guy front, he’s comfortable enough to call himself “Buttface,” alluding to the location of his skin transplants.

“She was who she was, and that was all.”

At a young age, Tamaya passed an aptitude test and earned a scholarship to Woodridge Academy, but she doesn’t let her intelligence make her vain. Tamaya sensibly accepts that her intelligence is simply a part of her, which shows a mature self-awareness and humility.

“‘Marshall! Marshall, we’re saved!’”

Tamaya’s exclamation is ironic. Although Tamaya doesn’t know it, the narrative has revealed that Marshall chose to take the shortcut to avoid Chad—so Chad is not the savior Tamaya thinks he is.

“‘You’re next, Tamaya […]’”

Chad threatens to beat Tamaya up when he has finished with Marshall, a threat that he repeats in Chapter 37 on Page 175. The menacing words have different effects on Tamaya and Marshall. Tamaya doesn’t think Chad would seriously harm her, while Marshall agonizes over his own potential cowardice: Marshall doesn’t know whether he’d help Tamaya against Chad. At the novel’s end, Chad turns his former violent threat into a threat of affection when he tells Tamaya he’ll hug her next, revealing his change in attitude and his newfound friendship with Tamaya and Marshall.

“As much as Chad had tormented him, he tormented himself even more.”

Chad’s outward bullying causes Marshall to inwardly beat himself up. Marshall’s self-talk is negative: He criticizes himself for his cowardice and feels ashamed and guilty for treating Tamaya badly. Marshall “torments” himself, worrying about what Chad will do and what others think instead of asserting his self-confidence.

“‘Expose an ergonym to oxygen, and poof!’”

Jonathan Fitzman makes light of any possibility that ergonyms could be dangerous. His playful “poof!” reflects his arrogance and overconfidence, which is the opposite of Tamaya’s attitude toward her own intelligence. Fitzman’s hubris contributes to the epidemic.

“Maybe it was one of those things she was just supposed to know.”

Tamaya’s three friends know what boys like to talk about and what impresses them. Tamaya doesn’t. Despite her book smarts, Tamaya is just learning to navigate boy-girl interactions. When her friends plan to sit with the older boys again at lunch, Tamaya anxiously recognizes what she sees as a shortfall and feels left out again.

“He was a bad kid, and bad kids do bad things, and then bad things happen to them.”

While Chad’s stories and swagger impress the students at Woodridge, they’re quick to believe that Chad’s disappearance is his fault. When Chad and his intimidating influence are gone, the students turn against him, imagining wild and terrible things that may have happened to him, restoring their friendship with Marshall, and admitting to Mrs. Thaxton that Chad was mean to him. The students’ quick change of allegiance reveals that they’re as guilty as Mrs. Thaxton of not getting to know Chad beyond his tough exterior and assuming the worst about him.

“‘You can’t tell anyone, ever.’”

Marshall uses Tamaya’s friendship and loyalty to him to pressure her to lie about their shortcut in the woods and the fight with Chad. Tamaya agrees, but the deception weighs heavily on her. Marshall is more concerned about not being punished than about Chad’s welfare or the moral bind he puts Tamaya in.

“He’s still out there, and it’s all my fault!”

Tamaya knows she’s responsible for hurting Chad with the mud. She not only wants to right the wrong she has committed but is anguished by the thought of how terrible Chad’s suffering must be. Tamaya channels her emotional response into action, demonstrating both virtue and valor as she assumes the sole responsibility for helping Chad while protecting Marshall.

“They pleaded with him to do the right thing.”

Tamaya’s pleading eyes don’t sway Marshall; they irritate him. Marshall resists Tamaya’s entreaties to tell the truth to help Chad. Marshall declares that he knows what the “right thing” to do is but resists because he’s “scared and ashamed” (92). Also, everything is finally back to normal for Marshall, and he—selfishly—doesn’t want to ruin it.

“No one was worried about poor Marshall.”

If Marshall knew that Mrs. Thaxton didn’t notice when he went missing, it would only add to the pileup of Marshall’s woes and increase his self-pity. The narrative’s use of italics suggests sarcasm, indicating that Marshall needs to start thinking about others.

“‘The whole time I’ve been out here […] I’ve just kept thinking, No one knows, no one cares.’”

Chad expresses his sense of isolation and reveals his vulnerable side to Tamaya. He realizes that his behavior cuts him off from others and his family—and makes him lonely and (now) helpless. His comment indicates self-pity but also an uncomfortable truth: Only Tamaya and Marshall know that he was in the woods. The school is concerned about Chad’s disappearance and tries to find him, but only Tamaya knows enough—and cares enough to help.

“The real question was this: Why hadn’t he stuck up for himself?”

Marshall resents the attention and concern that Chad’s disappearance creates at school, feeling that he, as a “victim,” deserves that special notice instead. This mentality makes leads Marshall to blame others for letting Chad bully him—but Marshall now realizes he’s largely to blame for not asserting and valuing himself.

“‘Why should we celebrate the day you were born?’”

His dad’s comment reveals that Chad’s family coldly considers him a disgrace and embarrassment and wants little to do with him. Discovering that he and Marshall have the same birthday, which Marshall’s family celebrated with Marshall’s favorite meal, Chad takes out his anger and disappointment toward his own family by bullying Marshall.

“‘You’re not scared of anything.’”

Although Tamaya says she’s afraid to climb Chad’s tall trees, after all she has endured and accomplished in the woods, he doesn’t believe her. He admires Tamaya’s grit. She bravely brought him food and guided him to safety despite her fear of the woods—and of him. Chad’s praise indicates that he now views Tamaya as a friend.

“In case she didn’t get better, she wanted to be able to face the world with courage, patience, and grace.”

Tamaya again shows her strong moral identity. She selects three of Woodridge’s key virtues by which to lead her life if the rash and her near blindness are permanent. Tamaya’s mental preparation for the worst reveals both her virtue and valor.

“‘I wanted to help people, not start a worldwide epidemic.’”

Fitzman genuinely regrets the suffering caused by his ergonyms. At the same time, Fitzman’s product, Biolene, is accepted by the Senate Committee on Energy and the Environment as a future energy source despite the Heath Cliff disaster, validating Fitzman and making him rich. The narrative implies hope that Fitzman won’t allow his hubris to enable another tragedy.

“2 x 1 = 2”

When the CDC announces that the “frankengerms” are all dead from the cold, Tamaya is suspicious. Sachar’s single equation at the end of the chapter seems to confirm her fears. The same equation appears at the beginning of the novel, showing how a single mutated ergonym exponentially grows to epidemic proportions. The equation ominously implies that scientific disasters can and will continue to occur.