Wringer (novel)

Wringer is a Newbery Honor-winning 1998 novel by Jerry Spinelli.

Plot introduction

Palmer LaRue has to decide if he wants to become a "wringer". When someone becomes 10 in this community, they have to strangle ("wring") pigeons shot in the annual Family Fest Pigeon Shooting Day. One day, a certain pigeon comes into Palmer's life, which causes even more confusion. Palmer then has to decide to value both life and humanity, or be pressured into doing things he does not want to do.

Plot summary

"Wringer" is a story of how a 9-10 year old boy overcomes peer pressure and becomes a hero in the eyes of many people. This boy named Palmer grew up in a neighborhood where they have a tradition every year of letting pigeons out of a crate and shooting them with shotguns in order to raise money for the city's playground. Boys at the age of 10 would learn how to pick up the wounded birds that have not yet died and wring their necks to "put them out of their misery". Palmer is not one of those kids and refuses to take part in such a horrific ceremony. Pressured by his peers, Palmer convinces his friends that he is one of them so that he will be considered cool by his friends at school. Palmer then takes in a pigeon as sort of a pet named Nipper, while trying to keep his pet a secret from his parents and friends, lest he disappoint his father and be seen as uncool by his friends. Palmer realizes the people he hung out with aren't really his friends and decides not to hang out with them anymore, his "friends" eventually find out about Nipper, and they basically make it their goal to wring him. So the day finally comes, and Palmer is nervous because his pet pigeon has flown off. It is revealed that Nipper had flown to the railroad tracks, where people capture the pigeons and crate them for the shooting. On the day of the shooting, the pigeons are released, and Nipper is shot. One of Palmer's "friends" happens to be at the shooting, and he runs to the field and wrings Nipper's neck. Palmer carries Nipper off the field in the midst of gunfire. Finally, Palmer realizes how he might have changed this tradition because a kid from the audience says to his father that he wants a pigeon for a pet. This is based loosely on a true story, according to a copy of a newspaper clip in the back of the book.

Footnotes