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Two Great Friends

Everything I know about writing, and about my marriage, is captured in James Marshall's "Split Pea Soup."

Martha the hippo enjoys making split pea soup, which creates a massive problem for her friend, George. George doesn't like the soup.

George--worried about others' delicate feelings--keeps his thoughts to himself. He takes the soup and hides it in his shoes. Of course, this doesn't work. Martha spots the sodden shoes, confronts George, and learns the truth.

A happy twist: Martha herself is not so wild about the soup, and really enjoys only the act of *making* it. So she'll just find those pleasures--the thrills of measuring, mixing, testing--by other means. She will make chocolate-chip cookies. The End.

Others have praised--and praised and praised--James Marshall. Can I just join the chorus and ask: Who on Earth would have the imagination and humor to invent a hippo who deliberately hides split pea soup in his shoes?

Is there a more perfect metaphor for the silliness we invent for ourselves--as a way of dodging clear communication?

I particularly love how character is revealed through action: Marshall doesn't *tell* us that George and Martha are wacky and neurotic. Marshall *shows* us the inner lives of his characters--through the crazed soup-making, through the covert business with the shoes.

So, so many serious "I-write-for-adults" novelists could profit from a close study of Marshall.

Happy Reading. Happy Saturday!

https://www.amazon.com/George-Martha-Complete-Stories-Collectors/dp/0618891951/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=george+and+martha&qid=1566649181&s=gateway&sr=8-1
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Comments

  1. Unkie JAugust 24, 2019 at 5:45 AM

    One minute? Two minutes? Take them to discuss the ingredients before placing in the slow cooker. Keeps everyone's shoes dry.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ReaderAugust 24, 2019 at 7:32 AM

    So true!

    ReplyDelete

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