Henry And Beezus

In Henry and Beezus, Henry Huggins comes up with creative ways to earn money on his own to get the bike of his dreams. Instead of waiting for his parents to have enough spare cash to buy him a bike, Henry takes the initiative himself. Through Henry’s perseverance, Cleary explores the importance of resourcefulness and independence. 

Cleary depicts Henry as an unusually self-sufficient young boy. He often does things on his own without parental supervision or help. For example, he does chores and errands for his parents in his neighborhood, such as going to the store or buying food for his dog. He accepts that his parents cannot afford to buy him a new bike and decides to begin his own savings fund to solve the problem himself: “He would start a bicycle fund right away […] he’d get that bicycle yet” (19).

Henry’s strategic thinking is evident from the beginning of the story. While running an errand for his mom, he decides to check an empty lot for bottles that he can return for money. When he finds boxes of gum instead of bottles, he does not merely take it all home for himself but thinks of ways to generate a profit from it: “He would take some to school and see what the other boys and girls offered him. Why, they would probably even give him money for the gum” (26). Henry’s gum business is a short but successful venture, and Henry reflects on what his resourcefulness has earned him: “He had saved over a dollar for his bike fund […] not only had he earned some bike money, he had been famous for a few days, too” (36).

Once he has built up his bike fund, Henry is keen to spend his money on his own as well. Henry asks his mom if he can go to the auction on his own and try to make a purchase: “I’ve got four dollars and fourteen cents saved. I bet I can get a bike for that much” (54). He goes to the bike auction and makes his own bids with his hard-earned $4.04. Even as one of the younger kids there, Henry holds his own and, with Beezus’s help as usual, is able to buy a bike. When his purchase ends up being a disappointment, Henry is as resourceful as ever and tries to fix the bike by himself: “Back home, Henry went to work on his new bicycle in his backyard. First, he slipped off the tires and removed the broken spokes with his father’s plier […] ‘Now I’ve got to find a way to turn it into a boy’s bike’” (78). Henry’s determination to set a goal and achieve it shows that he is capable of acting with decisiveness and resourcefulness in getting what he wants.

Over the course of the story, Henry applies his independent mindset and resourceful nature to his goal, and in the end, he is rewarded with his dream bike. While he does have some help from his friends along the way, he is the driving force, which the novel suggests is the key to his success.