A Literature Review of Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia is the story of a remarkable friendship that develops between a young artistic boy, Jess Arrons and a fearless girl, Leslie Burke. Although both are from different backgrounds, Jess and Leslie struggle for acceptance finding solace in each other as they create an imaginary place called Terabithia--a place that can only be reached by crossing a creek on a rope swing attached to a tree. In Terabithia, they leave the real world behind, with its intimidating peers from school and family situations, to enter a place of imagination and creativity. It is here that stories from classic literature are told by Leslie, fantasy games are played, and a genuine friendship is forged where true feelings can be expressed.

One rainy day, Jess accepts an offer from his unconventional music teacher, upon whom he secretly has a crush, to visit an art museum. He leaves Leslie behind returning later in the day to find that Leslie has had a fatal accident while crossing the rope swing to reach Terabithia. Jess is overwhelmed by this news and goes through a series of emotion as he is in grief--he denies Leslie is gone, he is angry, he is afraid, and lastly, he is in mourning.

While in Terabithia, Leslie had helped Jess to realize that he was king and could not be touched by his fears and insecurities. After Leslie is gone, he struggles with guilt and worries that he will regress to the way he used to be. Eventually, he decides that the best way to overcome these feelings and to honor Leslie is to continue the saga of Terabithia by sharing the magical kingdom with his little sister, May Bell. He builds a wooden bridge across the creek to Terabithia where May Bell is crowned the new queen.

Author
Katherine Patterson was born 1932 in China where her parents were Presbyterian ministers. Her family left China during World War II and returned to the United States where they moved frequently living in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Because, she had had an unusual childhood compared to most of her peers and the frequent moves made by her family, Katherine found it difficult to fit in and felt like an "outsider". She has commented that after spending so much time as an "outsider", she discovered that she had a gift to create characters that, like herself, did not fit in (Konigsburg, 1997, p. 119).

After high school, Katherine continued her education eventually earning two Masters Degrees. She settled in Virginia with her husband and four children, two of them adopted. Katherine did not write the Newbery honored Bridge to Terabithia until after she had been writing for nine years and already had one novel written. She was 41 years old and was diagnosed with cancer. An operation was successful in curing her illness and Katherine was feeling good about her future, until a tragedy occurred close to home-her son's best friend was struck by lightning on the beach. She started writing this book to help her own son to deal with his grief and to help herself deal with her own thoughts of mortality (Konigsburg, 1997, p. 120).

Despite its popularity with children and adults, this book is considered controversial and has remained on the top ten of the most challenged books for children due to the profanity used by the characters and the strong theme of death. Some have criticized the book for its fantasy element claiming it teaches witchcraft. The use of the world Terabithia in this book is most likely an unconscious derivative of the writings of C.S. Lewis, particularly the Narnia series, which uses this word as the name of an island. Katherine did not realize that this word was used by C.S. Lewis until after she wrote her book. C.S. Lewis had probably derived the word from the mention of the Terabinth tree in the Bible.

Characters
The foremost protagonist in Bridge to Terabithia is artistic eleven-year-old Jess Arrons who is revealed to the reader as a young boy who is trying to find his identity at school and at home, while living up to the expectations which are being placed upon him by his peers and family, particularly his father. He tries to conform, but finds this is difficult, especially after he meets Leslie. As he often tries to hide his artistic talent and sensitive self, she seeks to bring it out of him encouraging him to use his imagination which leads to the creation of Terabithia where they are king and queen. Told from the perspective of Jess, the reader follows the development of this dynamic character as he, with the help of Leslie, is set on a path of discovery where he finds himself and conquers his fears.

Growth in his character is seen at the end of the book when he is able to not only grieve the untimely loss of his best friend Leslie, but also to build a wooden bridge to Terabithia tenderly allowing his little sister to enter the magic kingdom as the new queen.

A secondary protagonist, in this story, is Leslie Burke, who moves next door to Jess and attends his school where she does not easily fit in with the rest of the students. She is a strong, imaginative, intellectual young girl who appears to be fearless, not caring if she is different. She forges a deep friendship with Jess and shows him a world of imagination in Terabithia. She also reveals a unique relationship with her "liberal" parents which sharply contrasts the relationship Jess has with his parents. Leslie's friendship with Jess and, ultimately, her death serve as the driving forces in the development of her dynamic character in this story. Most of the other characters in this story serve as flat characters reflecting the behaviors of Jess and Leslie, with the exception of Miss Edmunds, the unconventional "hippie" music teacher. Although the description of her seems borderline stereotypical, her round character is the only other person in the story, besides Leslie, who supports the artistic endeavors of Jess. Since this story is written from the perspective of Jess, who has a crush on her, the actions of Miss Edmunds are often revealed in the narrative.

This story demonstrates the capability of two main characters being used to create a believable and appealing plot. Although this story is told from the perspective of Jess, the female character, Leslie, is the more adventurous and secure character helping him to rise above what he considers possible. Even after her death, the memories he has of Leslie aid him in being strong and in sharing Terabithia with his little sister.

Setting
Taking place in the late 70s, this story has two integral settings which work together to shape the two main characters-the first place is Lark Creek, a rural place in the South; the second place is Terabithia, an imaginary world which can only be entered by crossing over a creek by means of a rope swing. The story periodically moves out of reality and into fantasy as the main characters enter Terabithia through the rope swing, which serves as a portal to Terabithia. As these world parallel each other, both settings are portrayed in detail with bold imagery and feeling. Neither setting is given predominance; instead both settings are alternated throughout the story alluring the reader to discover what happens next. Within the setting of Terabithia, Jess and Leslie are the only two "real" characters, while everyone else is a product of their imagination. This imaginary setting correlates with the needs of the main characters as they can control what happens in Terabithia when they cannot control what is actually happening in the real world of Lark Creek. In terms of the social setting, Lark Creek is a small conservative community where many families are struggling with poverty including Jess's family. There are not too many liberal citizens with the exceptional of Miss Edmunds and Leslie's parents. These individuals open Jess's mind and model a way of living he has never seen.

Plot
Bridge to Terabithia is told in chronological order as it follows the ongoing person-against-self conflict within Jess. Initially, he faces internal conflict to fit the roles which are being placed upon him. His family wants him to work hard, take care of his sisters, and "be a man". At school, he is expected to be athletic just like all the other boys. Until Leslie arrives and helps him unleash his creativity, Jess struggles with his artistic endeavors since they do not fit into these roles. Throughout the story, he struggles with fear finding courage through the bravery he sees in Leslie. After her death, he struggles with feelings of guilt since he went with Miss Edmunds to see the art museum without telling Leslie he would be gone. As a progressive plot, this story follows its course until the climax which occurs near the end of the book when Jess arrives home to find Leslie has died. In falling action, Jess builds a bridge to Terabithia and invites his little sister to become the new queen. There is a moment of foreshadowing before the climax when May Belle, Jess's litter sister, is concerned about Leslie going to hell since she does not believe in the Bible. May Belle, quite upset, says, "But Leslie, what if you die? What's going to happen to you if you die? (Patterson, 1977, pg. 85).

Although this story is set in the 1970s, the plot is just as probable in our time now owing to the actions of the characters and believable setting which is described. The conflict and loss that the characters experience, particularly Jess, make the story authentic and build a connection between the reader and the characters.

Style
In Bridge to Terabithia, choice imagery is used to create Lark Creek as well as Terabithia, to reveal the actions and thoughts of the characters, and to form an innocent, yet poignant mood. Spanning reality and fantasy, descriptions are used for the two varying settings with no dominance being given to one over the other. Reading about Terabithia is just as interesting as reading about Lark Creek.

The language style used in the narrative and dialogue is relevant to the setting and actions of the characters. Although this book has been criticized for the placement of swear words within the dialogue, this usage actually attributes to the genuineness of the characters and local dialect. Bridge to Terabithia mentions other literary works though the dialogue between Jess and Leslie. The character of Leslie is an avid reader who describes to Jess books she has read such as Moby Dick and the books about Narnia written by C.S. Lewis. These discussions lead to the creation of Terabithia which is modeled after Narnia.

Symbolism is an important part of this book as the title denotes. Through the actions of the characters, Terabithia develops to symbolize an ethereal place where two people can find needed friendship, use the gift of their imagination, and impersonate the real world however they want. In order to cross over to this place, rope swing must be used to cross the creek which stands to divide real from fantasy. Crossing over this divide comes at a great place when Leslie dies midway between the world of reality and fantasy raising the question of whether or not these two worlds can truly coexist. Jess decides that this world of imagination, created by him and Leslie, must be visited again and decides to build a bridge to Terabithia. Just as Leslie had mentored him in using his imagination, he takes his little sister's hand and walks her across the bridge to be a mentor to her. This bridge comes to represent a link not only between reality and the imagination, but also between Jess and his memories of Leslie.

Tone
Bridge to Terabithia contains contrasting tones just as it contains contrasting settings. In the setting of Lark Creek, the tone is realistic and contains the challenges of everyday life, while, in the setting of Terabithia, the tone is fantastical where anything is possible. On the same level, the tone of this story is an emotional tour-de-force just as the moving events of the characters unfold. For example, the day that Jess goes to the art museum with Miss Edmunds is written with an expectant tone only to collapse into a tear-jerking tone as Jess comes home to find that Leslie is dead. The use of varying tone adds to the complexity and depth of this story as it ultimately deals with death, a difficult theme for children. However, the author is able to deliver a varying tone which allows the reader to see optimism in the midst of despair even as the story ends with hope as Jess and May Belle cross the bridge to Terabithia.

Point of View
This story is written in the limited omniscient point of view through the eyes of Jess, one of the main characters. Although he and Leslie are both protagonists, he is the first character that is introduced to the reader, as well as the main character which is experiencing the person-against-self conflict throughout the story. To truly explore this conflict, it is essential to understand the thoughts and feelings that he is experiencing regarding the events and characters in the story. Essentially, the reader is able to witness the story emerge through the eyes of Jess while hearing his thoughts at the same time. Because the author so eloquently uses the limited omniscient point of view to establish a connection between the reader and the main character of Jess, when he experiences the death of his best friend, the reader better understands his feelings and thoughts as an authentic human response to grief is portrayed. This connection is important in establishing the meaning of these actions and the relevancy of the characters.

Theme
Friendship is the primary theme which is examined in this riveting story. Jess and Leslie develop a platonic friendship which completely changes the way Jess sees himself and the world around him. This friendship helps both of them deal with feelings of loneliness and isolation as they each find strength and stability in each other. Within this friendship can be seen a capacity to be comfortable around each other, as well as an ability to grow beyond what is considered attainable. Their friendship reflects a capability to accept each other in spite of different social, cultural, and religious upbringings. Although Leslie is departed at the end of the story, repercussions of this theme can be seen as a family member thanks Jess for being Leslie's friend in a time when she really needed it, and in the ability of Jess to continue his pursuit of Terabithia in memory of his friend.

The importance of imagination is undeniably one of the themes correlating with friendship in this story. The world of fantasy, Terabithia, is not only a mechanism to help the main characters cope with the real world, but also it is a place where Leslie is able to express herself, while Jess is able to discover himself. The characters model an uncomplicated ability to use their imagination to create a believable fantasy world where they can be king and queen of a land they have created. The use of this theme shows the possibilities, yet straightforwardness in using the imagination.

The story leads to the secondary theme which is revealed toward the very end of the book. In the theme of death, the author presents an authentic glimpse of an individual experiencing true grief due to an untimely death. This theme is treated with sensitivity, yet it does not steer from representing the authentic feelings which an individual exhibits as a result of a close friend dying. The reader sees into the private thoughts and actions of the main character which establishes this theme as substantial to the reader. For instance, the reader witnesses the denial and anger that Jess experiences when he first hears that Leslie is gone. This theme also explores the guilt that often is attached to death as Jess blames himself for not being there with Leslie.

Response
Reading this book for the first time, I quickly was drawn to the character development as well as the explicit use of the imagination. The characters are so authentic that there was nothing in the story which kept me from believing that Jess and Leslie are two people that really existed, or exist now. The imaginary world that they create in this story reminded me of my own experiences and helped me to better connect with the characters. This connection with the characters helped me to better feel the loss of Leslie and empathize with Jess. With little foreshadowing used, I was surprised by the emotional response that I experienced while reading the chapters about the death of Leslie.

As the reader, I was able to appreciate the symbolism and tone which the author powerfully weaves throughout the story making interpretations and conjectures based upon my own life experience. While this story features quality, and sometimes difficult themes, its value to young readers is substantiated by the profound detail that it is meaningful in its content, and that it is written with respect to the reader. The main characters are portrayed in a reputable, genuine manner which enables young readers to easily relate to either the male or female protagonist. Not too many books written for children deal with death as Bridge to Terabithia does. The author does not use didacticism or sentimentality to deliver this unexpected theme, rather providing a candid rendering of the events through the perspective of Jess. Being multilayered in its literary elements, the reader experiences variety in the characters, setting, tone, and themes which boosts the ability of this story to appeal to a wide audience of readers.

Sources: Galda, Lee & Cullinan, Bernice E. (2006).
Literature and the child (Sixth ed). Mason, OH: Thomson Wadsworth. Konigsburg, E.L. (1997).
Biography today: profiles of people of interest to young Readers (vol. 3). MI: Omnigraphics, Inc.
Lukens, Rebecca J. (2007). A critical handbook of children's literature (Eighth ed). Boston, MA: Pearson A&B. Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia. Illus. by Donna Diamond. NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1977.