The Willoughbys

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2008

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-11

Chapters 12-16

Chapter 17-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Background

Authorial Context: Lois Lowry

Lois Lowry is a renowned American children’s author who has written over 30 books. Lois was a passionate and imaginative reader as a child, and it was always her dream to write fiction. She began writing professionally in the 1970s, and two of her books have been adapted into films, including The Willoughbys and The Giver. Lois Lowry writes fiction that challenges the norms of society and of children’s literature; her work features characters whose life circumstances serve as a way for Lowry to deliver subtle yet incisive social commentary. For example, Lowry’s most prominent novel, The Giver, portrays a seemingly utopian society that is highly ordered and has eliminated all physical and psychological suffering. However, the experiences of the child protagonist soon reveal the darker truths beneath this ostensibly perfect society, for its veneer of peace and order comes at a very high cost. In 1994, both The Giver and Number the Stars were awarded the John Newbery Medal, the highest honor that a children’s book can receive. Although Lowry’s books most often function as standalone stories, the themes of family, friendship, and connection run through each of them. In The Willoughbys, this trend takes the shape of a family that coalesces from many disparate misfortunes, mistakes, and instances of neglect. Lois Lowry continues to write into her late eighties, and she published her most recent novel, The Windeby Puzzle, in 2023.

Literary Context: Satire

Like many of Lowry’s novels, The Willoughbys is a self-conscious, metafictional story that deliberately critiques common literary tropes and clichés by using them in unique or satirical ways. For this reason, The Willoughbys can easily be classified as a satire of children’s literature; its characters are all extreme, ridiculous versions of the archetypes that they embody. To further emphasize this trend, Lois Lowry opted to include a “bibliography” that lists every title that she either directly mentions or indirectly hints at in her story. Most of these works were published in the late 1800s to the early 1900s and follow similar themes of neglect and abandonment, describing children who must overcome extreme hardship and make their own way in the world. Examples include Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Eleanor H. Porter’s Pollyanna, and Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, among others. Under each entry, Lowry includes a humorous paragraph that explains the book’s similarities to her own novel or simply describes the premise of the book. She also pokes fun at literary arguments of the past, such as P. L. Travers’s dispute with Disney over whether to turn Mary Poppins into a musical. The whimsical bibliography rewards those who are well-versed in literary history and offers suggestions of promising titles for future reading.

Throughout the novel itself, the Willoughbys and other people they interact with regularly refer to themselves as “old-fashioned” and compare themselves to these famous literary characters. Each character embodies a particular cliché or stock character that permeates classic children’s literature, such as the bossy older brother, the mysterious nanny, or the rich but lonely elderly man. For example, Mr. Melanoff calls himself an “old-fashioned gentleman” and is not familiar with Pampers, the common brand of disposable baby diapers. Similarly, Jane, whose name is meant to be an indirect reference to the protagonist of Jane Eyre (also mentioned in the bibliography), is an aspiring feminist who despises the way that men try to box her into a particularly limiting role. While these references are often a source of humor, they also enrich the story and transform it into an analysis of itself and of the broader world of children’s literature.