Tunes for Bears to Dance To
- Tunes for Bears to Dance To
"Tunes for Bears to Dance To" is a young adult novel written by American author Robert Cormier that discusses themes of morality from the perspective of an 11-year-old named Henry. This novel also has many metaphors and ties to the Holocaust. This book is very loyal to Robert Cormier's style as it is very short and haunting. It is also in his vein of younger boys discovering darker sides of life and it is left unclear whether the protagonist did the right thing or not.
Plot summary
Henry’s parents move their family to a new town to run away from the memories of their recently passed son, Eddie. Henry’s father is very quiet and no longer works, while his mother works long hours in order to support their family. Henry also contributes to his family working at a grocery store for Mr. Hairston.
Mr. Hairston is a deceptive old man who appears friendly on the surface, but bashes and manipulates people in reality. He appears to have a special liking to Henry, and wants to help him in many ways, but is there an ulterior motive?
Everyday, Henry watches a curious old man, Mr. Levine, leave the “crazy house” near his apartment and disappear down the street. Henry follows him one day to an art center, where he meets his new friend. Mr. Levine is a holocaust survivor who lost his family in the camps. He goes to the art center everyday and carves out a replica of his old overcome town.
Henry is also disappointed because there is no stone to mark Eddie's grave, so he asks Mr. Hairston to help. Mr. Hairston agrees to buy him the monument, raise his mom's pay, and let him keep his job under one condition, to destroy the village Mr. Levine made. Henry eventually destroys it, but doesn't take the rewards Mr. Hairston offers.
This book is different than most Young Adult books in that all of Henry’s friendships are with adults. The book deals with a boy learning about trusting people in the real world, struggling with finding himself and surviving in a cruel diverse world. The book also deals with overcoming struggles and racism.
References
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
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