33 pages • 1 hour read
Jerry SpinelliWringer
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1996A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Overcoming Fear Through Friendship
Palmer LaRue is a character motivated by fear. In the beginning of the novel, he is afraid of turning ten because he desperately doesn’t want to become a wringer. Ever since he attended his first Family Fest pigeon shooting, he’s known that he could never reconcile himself to the violent act of wringing a helpless pigeon’s neck. He pushes this fear down and befriends Beans, Mutto, and Henry because they’re the coolest kids on the street and he wants their acceptance. When Beans and the other boys fantasize about being wringers, Palmer pretends along with them because he's afraid they will find out the truth. If they knew he didn’t want to be a wringer, they would think less of him; they may even bully him as they do to other kids.
Things change for Palmer after he grows closer to Nipper and Dorothy. His genuine friendship with them gives him a confidence he’s never known before. Yet even in the midst of this confidence, he’s plagued by a new fear: Nipper’s murder. He knows if Beans ever finds out about Nipper, he would surely kill the innocent bird. This fear causes him to abandon Nipper, but Dorothy’s friendship ultimately enables him to stand up for his convictions. Dorothy encourages Palmer to just tell people he doesn’t want to be a wringer and eventually, he is able to do so. Once he takes agency over his beliefs, his fears begin to dissipate. His fears fully leave once he’s reunited with Nipper at the end of the novel. When Nipper is back in Palmer’s life, he claims to have no fear at all as he realizes he is in control of his own life, his secrets are out in the open, and he no longer has anything to hide. He doesn’t have to live a double life anymore and he can fully be himself.
Questioning Violent Traditions
A major theme of the novel is Palmer’s questioning violence and traditions involving violent actions. Two of the town’s major traditions are violent acts: The Treatment and the Family Fest pigeon shooting. Palmer’s feelings towards these traditions evolve as he matures. When he first turns nine-years-old, Palmer anticipates Farquar’s violent Treatment and likens himself to a soldier; he knows the pain will earn the honor and respect of his peers. For weeks after The Treatment, Palmer shows off his bruise like a badge of honor because he feels like he’s “passed a test more dreaded and painful than any ten teachers could give” (22). The boys in town are impressed by his toughness, but Palmer is most affected by his dad’s pride. Palmer’s dad knows all about The Treatment, and Palmer can sense his dad’s pride when he looks at Palmer’s bruised arm. By the time Palmer turns ten, he looks back on his ninth birthday with regret. He no longer looks forward to The Treatment, and he realizes it was foolish to think that pain could earn respect.
When Palmer recalls his first Family Fest pigeon shooting, he is filled with horror. This horror haunts him and develops into an overwhelming fear about turning ten, because he believes he’ll be forced to take part in the atrocities by becoming a wringer. When he’s nine, he pretends to want to become a wringer to make Beans, Mutto, and Henry happy. He even attends wringer school when he turns ten just to prove that he’s genuine about that desire. But despite his pretending, inwardly he always believed the pigeon shooting was wrong. He finally stands up in public and proclaims he’ll never be a wringer, which signifies the moment his inner convictions and outer actions align—perhaps for the first time in his young life.
Palmer’s questioning of these violent traditions in his town leads to the prospect of change. Palmer’s father stops attending the Family Fest pigeon shoot because he is moved by his son’s love for Nipper. When Palmer leaves the pigeon-shooting field with Nipper in his hands, the little boy in the crowd asks his dad if he can also have a pet pigeon. This demonstrates that there is hope for some of the more appalling traditions to be broken. Palmer’s actions reveal how taking a stand against violent tradition can cause a ripple effect that changes future societal mores.
Self-Agency Overcoming Peer Pressure
When Palmer LaRue turns nine-years-old, he’s easily influenced by his peers. He so desperately desires their acceptance that he’s willing to do whatever they want just to be liked by them. This first happens when Beans, Mutto, and Henry attend his birthday party. They bring him rotten gifts, but he accepts them with glee because he’s grateful they cared enough to bring him anything at all. When Beans and the other boys are mean to Dorothy, Palmer goes along with it because he wants to fit in. When the boys pretend to be wringers, Palmer doesn’t speak up about how he doesn’t want to be one because he thinks he’ll be rejected. When the boys drag him to wringer school, he goes along because he’s afraid to say no.
The influence of peer pressure is finally broken when Palmer takes action and stands up for himself. After his tenth birthday, Beans attempts to force Palmer to get The Treatment from Farquar. Palmer decisively says no; this is also when he finally says no to being a wringer. This vocalization and act of self-agency breaks the spell of needing acceptance from the boys. Beans and the other boys quickly disown Palmer, but from this moment Palmer continues to stand up for his beliefs by taking decisive action.
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By Jerry Spinelli
