Turtle in Paradise

“Mama’s good at looking at the sunny side of life. […] I blame Hollywood. Mama’s watched so many pictures that she believes in happy endings. […] Me? I think life’s more like that cartoon by Mr. Disney—The Three Little Pigs. Some big bad wolf’s always trying to blow down your house.”

Turtle makes frequent allusions to the film, comic strip, and radio stories of her day. These stories serve as a point of comparison for real life as well as an escape from the pressures of life. Turtle’s reference to The Three Little Pigs is apt, since, like the pigs of the folk tale, Turtle dreams of owning a house of her own to share with her mother, but her dreams have been unrealized thus far.

“I think the color of a person’s eyes says a lot about them. Mama has soft blue eyes, and all she sees is kittens and roses. My eyes are gray as soot, and I see things for what they are. The mean boy on the porch has green eyes.”

Although Turtle insists that her viewpoint is more realistic than her mother’s, both are at opposite extremes. Sadiebelle is naive and optimistic, while Turtle is quick to assume the worst. Only through a series of mixed experiences that involve both good and bad parts does Turtle arrive at a more nuanced viewpoint.

“Folks like to feel sorry for orphans, but I think they’ve got it pretty good. Little Orphan Annie gets adopted by Daddy Warbucks, who’s a millionaire. That’s just about as lucky as it gets in my book.”

Turtle compares her situation to that of Little Orphan Annie, who undergoes hardship but is eventually adopted by a wealthy man. Though Turtle doesn’t cite enough examples to prove her point that orphans are lucky, and her only example is fictional, this comment reveals her underlying assumptions. It shows that, from Turtle’s point of view as the novel opens, wealth is the ultimate happy outcome.

“I don’t like babies. They’re like Shirley Temple: everyone thinks they’re cute, but the fact is they’re annoying. All they do is cry and make messy diapers.”

Turtle’s dislike of stereotypically cute things like babies and Shirley Temple movies shows that she has a tough, gritty streak. However, her actions contradict her words, as she enjoys holding a baby at one point and she turns to a Shirley Temple song for comfort during the storm at the novel’s climax. The implication is that Turtle does have a tender heart, but she covers it up with toughness—like a real turtle.

“Kids in the funny pages sure lead thrilling lives. [...] There’s nothing thrilling happening on Curry Lane as far as I can tell.”

Compared to the adventure stories she reads in the newspaper comic strips, Turtle initially considers life in Key West boring. Though she eventually does get the grand-scale adventure she longs for when she discovers the treasure map, she also overcomes her feelings of boredom long before that point as she becomes involved in the Diaper Gang’s daily activities and adjusts to life in Key West. Turtle discovers that real life doesn’t always need major conflicts and action to be interesting and enjoyable.

“I guess it’s the same all over: everyone just wants a job.”

As the Diaper Gang passes kids their same age, several of them offer to help in the hopes of earning some candy. Turtle compares this situation to the widespread unemployment she witnessed among adults in other parts of the country, which was a hallmark of the Great Depression. In this comparison, Beans’s refusal to allow Turtle and others to join the Diaper Gang mirrors that of the employers across the country: They prefer to keep as much of the money—or candy—for themselves as possible.

“Kids lie. We have to or we’d never get anything. But grown-ups lie, too—they just do it differently. They leave things out; they don’t give you the whole story.”

Turtle struggles to come to terms with the fact that Sadiebelle was not entirely open with her about her past in Key West. Sadiebelle’s deceptions include her insistence that the dolls belonged to her and that both of her parents are dead, as well as her vagueness about Turtle’s father. At first, Turtle resents Sadiebelle for these omissions, but over time, she realizes that each of them masks a certain pain in Sadiebelle’s life, and Turtle seeks to help her repair her damaged relationships.

“He gives me a stern look. ‘You in the habit of giving grown folks advice, young lady?’ ‘Sure,’ I say. ‘You’re the ones who need it most.’”

Turtle frequently compares and categorizes human behavior by age group, specifically adults versus children. In most cases, she finds that children and adults are quite similar overall, though children are better at getting away with things. Here, she provides unsolicited advice to Ernest Hemingway, a character based on the famous American author. Turtle’s comment that adults need advice reflects the fact that they are often in positions of power and responsibility.

“They don’t even need to talk to each other; they’re like the sailing version of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers doing a dance number.”

Watching Slow Poke and Ollie sail their boat, Turtle compares their graceful, coordinated movements to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, famous dance actors who starred in several films together. Her comparison sets up a later joke, when she compares the Diaper Gang as sailors to Laurel and Hardy, actors known for their slapstick comedy. Sprinkled throughout the text, allusions like these give an authentic historical tone to Turtle’s narration.

“‘Why’s everybody got such funny nicknames around here, anyway?’ Slow Poke laughs. ‘It’s just the Key West way, Turtle.’”

During her time in Key West, Turtle encounters several local customs that are unique to the area. At first, as her exasperated question here demonstrates, she finds them strange. Over time, she begins to enjoy and appreciate the language and customs of Key West, such as going barefoot instead of wearing shoes. Her willing integration into the community shows that Turtle’s journey is both a return to her roots and a preparation for the future that she builds for herself in Key West.

“God himself could come down from heaven, and Nana Philly would tell him he did a lousy job.”

When Turtle first meets her, Nana Philly is known for being grumpy and rude, as this quote reveals through exaggeration. Her attitude is like Turtle’s forthright and pessimistic attitude, and they even bond over their shared dislike of Shirley Temple. While Nana Philly does soften over time, she—and Turtle—retain their toughness, showing that kindness and strength are not necessarily opposites.

“Archie told me once that what he really sells is dreams. […] ‘But what if she doesn’t have a dream?’ I asked him. ‘Princess,’ he said, laughing, ‘everybody’s got a dream.’”

To be an expert salesperson, like Archie, it’s important to understand one’s audience. Instead of selling objects on their own merits, Archie sells things within the context of a person’s deeper desires. In much the same way, Archie sells himself as a potential husband and father to Sadiebelle and Turtle, repeatedly promising them that they will someday build a happy, prosperous life together.

“I sigh. This is why I worry about Mama. She’s always getting zany ideas. I don’t know what she’d do without me to figure things out.”

While reading a letter from Sadiebelle, Turtle takes Sadiebelle’s suggestion that she should become a movie star at face value. Even if Turtle overestimates her own sense compared to her mother’s, this passage captures the dynamic between them, which is reversed compared to typical parent-child relationships, in which the parent usually guides the child. Turtle’s maturity makes her a capable leader among her peers as well.

“Mama’s always making fancy lunches for the ladies she works for. You wouldn’t even know people were standing in breadlines if you walked in and saw what they were eating: iced cantaloupe, shrimp aspic, caviar sandwiches with cream cheese, hearts of lettuce with French dressing, meringue cookies.”

Here, Turtle draws readers’ attention to economic inequality that persisted during the Great Depression. A few wealthy individuals, including Sadiebelle’s employers, continued to live as if nothing changed, as their consumption of the delicacies listed here symbolizes. Meanwhile, others went hungry. In Key West, the traditional communal fruit salads known as “cut-ups” offer a different perspective on food by enriching community, rather than increasing differences.

“Everyone’s always saying that hard times bring out the best in people, but far as I can tell, the only thing that hard times bring out is plain meanness.”

When someone steals Turtle’s shoes from the porch, she reiterates her negative view of human nature. She fails to consider the possibility that whoever took her shoes may need them more than she does. The fact that the shoes were a gift from Archie makes her miss them more in the moment, but less in retrospect showing her realization that trustworthy relationships are more important than things like shoes.

“‘I’ve missed you, Sadiebelle,’ she says. ‘I’m back now,’ I say, and pat her hand. ‘Go to sleep. I’ll take care of you.’”

When Aunt Minnie takes medicine after getting stung by a scorpion, she temporarily becomes delirious. As a result, she mistakes Turtle for Sadiebelle and admits that she misses her sister. This scene demonstrates that, in many ways, Turtle acts as a proxy on behalf of Sadiebelle, reviving and repairing relationships. By the time Sadiebelle arrives in Key West, thanks to Turtle’s efforts, her family relationships are ready to thrive.

“Even though I try to forget the coin and the map, I can’t stop myself; I go back and look at them every chance I get. I keep thinking that maybe they are real. It’s like monsters. You know there’s no such thing, but you can’t help but wonder if they’re out there somewhere in the dark night, just waiting to get you.”

Despite her skepticism and resistance to the notion that the treasure map could be real, her curiosity and hope get the better of her, and, in the end, they prove more accurate and realistic than her cynicism. Turtle’s discovery and willingness to take a chance on the map’s authenticity serve as a reminder to approach life with an open mind.

“I lie on the filthy floor and try to ignore the pests—insect and boy—by telling myself that it’s just one night. There are folks all over the country who’ve lost their homes—they’re living in tents, in boxcars, under bridges. I can survive one night in a shack.”

Seeking comfort while stranded on the island, Turtle reminds herself of the many people who are worse off than she is, and for greater lengths of time. Turtle’s capacity to recognize suffering in others, and to empathize with their plight, helps her avoid the meanness and cruelty that some of the other characters exhibit. On the island, for instance, she acts as a mediator between Beans and Pork Chop after they argue about the missing boat.

“What is it with boys and fighting? I’m amazed any of them get to be grown-ups the way they’re always going at it.”

Here, Turtle turns the Diaper Gang’s bias against girls upside down by commenting on the immature behavior she observes among the boys. Turtle’s recognition that fighting is generally futile indicates her maturity and shows that she has a valuable role to play in the Diaper Gang.

“Little Orphan Annie and Terry Lee get into scrapes, but they always get rescued. Everything ends up okay in the end. But it turns out that real life’s not like the funny pages.”

Turtle opens Chapter 17, titled “A Hollywood Ending,” with this observation, which is inaccurate in one sense and accurate in another. Although their rescue comes a little later than Turtle might prefer, it does come, just as in the movies. She reunites with Archie and Sadiebelle as they plan their life together. However, her Hollywood ending turns out not to be as satisfying as Turtle imagined, and the novel’s actual ending represents a bittersweet compromise between happy and sad extremes.

“Something’s been bothering me about Little Orphan Annie. After she was adopted by Daddy Warbucks and went to live in his mansion, did she ever miss the orphanage? Late at night, when she was lying in her soft new bed, did she ever think about the orphans she left behind?”

Instead of stopping after Turtle attains her Hollywood ending, the novel continues for one more chapter. Turtle remains restless after achieving what she thought she wanted—wealth and a family life with Archie and Sadiebelle—and shows that her priorities have shifted without her awareness. The relationships she has formed are now more important to her than the physical comforts wealth brings.

“There’s never going to be a happy ending for us, and I feel a horrible pain in my chest and I know it’s my heart, ripping open like a pair of Buddy’s pants. […] Most of all, I cry for my poor dumb heart for secretly believing that Mama and Archie and me could be a real family.”

Throughout the novel, Turtle allows herself to build up her hope in a very specific outcome: living together with Sadiebelle, and perhaps Archie, in a home of their own. When her hopes are dashed, her immediate reaction, captured here, is a sense of despair and self-reproach. In this moment, Turtle feels that she should have been even more guarded and cynical instead of letting her expectations rise.

“Maybe the real treasure has been right here on Curry Lane the whole time—people who love Mama and me. A home.”

Turtle finds that the cliché of friends made along the way to be the real treasure is a reality for her experience in Key West. Turtle’s acceptance of such a cliché shows that, much as she despises “sappy” Shirley Temple movies, she would be foolish to entirely reject such concepts, because pessimism is just as much of a distorting bias as inflexible optimism can be.