Ralph S. Mouse

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1982

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapter 7-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Ralph’s Motorcycle

Synonymous with speed, adventure, and daredevil tricks, motorcycles have long been seen as the most daring form of transportation. In book one of the series, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Ralph’s friend Kevin gifts him the toy motorcycle. In book two, Ralph Rides Again, Ralph uses the motorcycle to escape the inn and embarks on an adventure at a camp. By book three, Ralph’s motorcycle is a part of his identity, and he can’t imagine life without it. Each day he waits patiently for the night, when he can emerge from his hiding place under the clock and zoom freely through the empty halls. Ralph’s motorcycle symbolizes his desire for freedom, adventure, and an escape from the limitations of his mouse-sized world. Ralph loves his motorcycle, but it drives a wedge between him and his family, whose constant requests for rides frustrate Ralph. The motorcycle also causes him stress and anxiety. When Ralph becomes separated from his motorcycle, he must reckon with who he is apart from his treasured vehicle. The motorcycle that once symbolized freedom now symbolizes placing too much value on material possessions.

Ralph’s motorcycle also represents his tie to the human world and his alienation from the mouse world. Viewing himself as superior to his fellow mice, Ralph sees his ability to power the motorbike just by making a sound as proof of his intelligence. When Ryan’s classmate Brad doubts his intellect, Ralph thinks to himself, “Of course, I’m not stupid […] I can ride a motorcycle” (61). Ironically, once Ralph leaves the mouse world behind for the human world of the school, he can no longer ride his motorcycle. Trapped and forced to live life without his method of transportation and self-expression, Ralph must sit alone with his thoughts and decide how to live his life with only his feet to carry him. Losing his motorcycle forces Ralph to seek comfort and creative expression in other ways. He completes the maze without the motorcycle and successfully helps Brad and Ryan forge a friendship.

When Ralph returns to the inn, he still mourns the loss of the motorcycle; however, he realizes that it held too much power over him, and he now knows he can live without it. Having a motorcycle doesn’t define Ralph; his creativity, passion, adventurousness, and empathy are what make him special. When Brad surprises Ralph with the gift of the sportscar, it marks the beginning of a new era. As Ralph matures, the youthful, reckless motorcycle no longer fits his personality, and he graduates to a more dependable vehicle that can still help him explore new places. The car also becomes a symbolic marker of Ralph’s reconciliation with his relatives. He happily gives them rides, having learned from Miss K how to balance their needs with his own.

Grandfather Clock

The old grandfather clock is a permanent fixture in the inn, watching over the comings and goings of guests and employees as it marks the passing of time. The clock is Ralph’s physical home, as he has built his nest under the clock to hide safely during the day. The regular sounds of the clock have become familiar and comforting to him, representing the safety and security of his living situation. When Ralph must leave his home behind, he is forced to look at time differently. Moving to the school disrupts his nocturnal nesting cycle, and he no longer has the familiar sounds of the clock to keep him grounded. Nights are most difficult for Ralph as he struggles to switch his sleep cycle: “Without the grandfather clock to mark the hours, the night seemed endless” (66). Ralph’s connection to the clock symbolizes his tie to the human world, as he has become dependent on a human way of keeping time for comfort and stability.

The clock also symbolizes the passage of time. Even before he leaves the inn, Ralph is keenly aware of time. The hotel shows signs of age and Ralph’s motorcycle tires are wearing thin from daily use. Each time he rides, he worries if it’s his last. Many of his human friends are now grown up and gone. As a mouse, Ralph has a shorter lifespan than humans, and he realizes that he must live his life and chase adventures while he can. Forced to live without the grandfather clock at the school, Ralph struggles to adapt to time that passes in a different way, forcing himself to stay awake during the day and left alone in the school at night. Meanwhile he continues to think about the passage of time. Even though children are young, they will grow up one day: “Time and school buses waited for no one” (99). Ralph returns to the inn nostalgic for his motorcycle, whose destruction is a painful reminder of the impermanence of things. However, Brad’s gift of the sportscar is like a rebirth for Ralph, buying him more time to live out his passion of racing as the familiar clock continues to tick.

Melissa’s Boot, the Mitten, and the Fishbowl

Mice are known for their ability to rapidly scurry across the room into the safety of a knothole or crack in the wall, frightening all who see them. Ralph has created a comfortable living situation at the Mountain View Inn and doesn’t need to scurry often as he has developed a regular pattern of movement to keep him out of view of the hotel guests and employees. By day he lives under the clock, and at night he races through the inn on his trusty motorcycle, which provides a quick escape if needed. However, when Mr. Minch discovers the presence of mice in the inn and Ralph moves to the unfamiliar landscape of the elementary school, he must locate new places to hide: first a boot, then a mitten. Ralph’s hiding spots represent comfort, security, and a haven for him while he is away from the inn. However, they also symbolize his limitations and confinement. Since humans do not permit mice in their environments, Ralph must remain hidden during the day. Even at night, he can’t roam freely for fear of being caught by the custodian.

Ralph’s tenuous living situation causes him stress, but when the children place him in the fishbowl, Ralph understands a new level of anxiety as concealment is replaced by captivity. A glass bowl offers no hope of camouflage or privacy, and for Ralph, its smooth interior provides no opportunity for escape. Ralph becomes hot, anxious, and tired as he endures constant surveillance and overstimulation in an environment that is unhealthy for him. Ralph’s time in the fishbowl represents a low point for him in the text and symbolizes how humans often mistreat or even abuse animals, ignoring their natural tendencies and needs in the service of research or entertainment.