The Indian in the Cupboard

An Iroquois chief’s son by birth and a leading warrior in his mid-1700s community, Little Bear is transported magically into Omri’s cupboard, where he embodies a small toy figurine and must work with Omri to obtain food and shelter. A bit conceited but extremely smart, courageous, and fair-minded, Little Bear’s personality fills Omri’s world with a new and different outlook and attitude. The Iroquois, in turn, learns to appreciate that his gigantic child overseer is genuine in his attempts to help him. He also opens his heart to a biased white man, Boone, who becomes his blood brother. Little Bear is the book’s example of a member of a historically oppressed class who, despite his lack of political power—symbolized by his tiny size—merits respect, compassion, and friendship.

Omri’s best friend is Patrick. They have known each other at school for years and spend lots of time together playing, especially with small plastic figurines. When one of them comes alive, Patrick wants in on the action, but his over-excitement about having tiny people to play with causes him to behave selfishly. He nearly gets Boone and Little Bear killed during a school fight and, later, gives them up to the headmaster, who fortunately refuses to believe his own eyes. Patrick suffers remorse for these acts and finally understands that Boone and Little Bear are real people. He stands as a warning that too much ambition can cloud a person’s judgment.

A cowboy transported from 1889 into a tiny toy figurine, Boone—called “Boohoo” by his friends back home for his overly sensitive heart—wants to fight and kill Little Bear, whom he regards as a dirty “Injun.” Fortunately, Omri convinces him to make peace with the Iroquois. Boone has a talent for drawing, and he produces a remarkable, tiny sketch of a Western town. Boone is the cowboy in the “Cowboys and Indians” plot subtext. Reluctantly, he learns to respect Little Bear and finally becomes his blood brother. His character symbolizes the book’s hope that prejudice can be overcome when people learn to see their enemies as real human beings.

A World War I medical soldier, Tommy Atkins appears in the cupboard and treats the Iroquois’s injury. He then climbs back into the cupboard, promising to “dream” Omri again. He does so late in the story, when he sutures up Boone’s chest wound. Cheerful, brave, and competent, Tommy represents the best of the English spirit, especially among the country’s war heroes. He also helps turn the plot by saving Boone’s life.

When Little Bear demands a wife, he and Omri select a toy figurine that they hope the cupboard will convert into a woman. The result is young Bright Stars, a capable and beautiful woman who knows at once that Little Bear is the right man for her. They wed and travel together back to their time in the past. Bright Stars, though a minor character who only appears late in the story, represents fulfillment, both for herself and for Little Bear. Her appearance ties up a loose end in the plot and portends a happy future for her and Little Bear.

As school headmaster, Mr. Johnson is strict and cranky. He is very good at eliciting confessions out of misbehaving students, forcing Patrick to show him the source of the day’s fuss, the two tiny men in Patrick’s pocket. Johnson thinks he is imagining things and goes home to recover; it’s a close call for the boys. Johnson serves the story as one of the dangerous obstacles the boys face when they bring Little Bear and Boone to school.

Middle brother Gillon gives Omri a birthday present, the cupboard, which turns out to be more than anyone bargained for. His pet rat later wanders into Omri’s bedroom, and the search for the rodent nearly reveals the secret of Omri’s tiny Iroquois friend. Later, the rat nearly kills Little Bear. Like Adiel, Gillon is a minor character whose purpose is to move the plot forward and create obstacles for Omri to overcome.

Omri’s oldest brother Adiel is a minor character who looms in the background as a vague threat to Omri’s plans: He must not know about Little Bear, or he will commandeer the Iroquois. Adiel causes one significant crisis when he steals Omri’s cupboard as a punishment for a presumed misdeed. That misunderstanding is quickly resolved, but it leads to the real crisis: the missing cupboard key. Adiel serves as another one of the many obstacles Omri and Patrick face.