David Fulk

Theme:

The theme of Raising Rufus”by David Fulk (Delcorte, 2015), is the power of outcasts. In this case the outcast is a dinosaur born into a world in which it does not belong–much like the boy who loves and raises it.

Basic Plot:

Martin Tinker is an 11-year-old boy who lives on a farm. He’s an intellectual outcast at school, and a disappointment to his father who would prefer a football-playing son to a science-minded son. Nevertheless, Martin is the frequent target of bullies and avoids the other kids at school whenever possible.

As a replacement for social interaction he engages in entomology (bug collecting), and one day while alone and hunting butterflies, he comes across a large frozen egg. He takes the egg home, and it begins to thaw. As it does, it begins to move around. Eventually it hatches, and what Martin thinks is a deformed lizard ends up growing into a Tyrannosaurus rex.
One of the problems with suddenly finding himself in possession of a dinosaur is that his father has disallowed him any pets, so he tries to keep the T-Rex (he’s named, Rufus) hidden in the family’s barn.

Unfortunately, feeding its’ voracious appetite with ever-increasing amounts of dog food and meat makes hiding Rufus progressively more difficult.
With the help of an equally ostracized new girl in school, Audrey, the two attempt to raise the dinosaur and train it like one might train a dog. But they are found out by Martin’s parents. Consequently, Martin’s dad decides to sell Rufus to a local circus owner.

The climax of the story occurs as Martin and Audrey attempt to rescue Rufus and turn him over to the junior high school’s science teacher, Mr. Eckhart. Mr. Eckhart happens to be a zoologist with scientific connections at the local university.

After an emotional challenge between Martin and his father, his father comes to see Martin’s side and refuses the transaction with the circus owner. There is an unlikely deus ex machina of the middle school students who come to defend the dinosaur, and eventually the zoologist-teacher is able to take possession of Rufus along with his science colleagues. Ultimately, they relocate the beast to the Yucatan peninsula where it is seen off by Martin and Audrey, presumably to go on growing up into a full-grown T-Rex.

Setting:

Menominee Springs is a fictitious rural town in Wisconsin. It provides the needed forests and farmland to make raising a T-Rex possible, or at least plausible. Ironically, Wisconsin is one of the few places in North America where there are no dinosaur fossils. It was underwater during that time in history, but this irony is important. It suggest a truly unexpected finding that sometimes happens in the least likely of settings, a black swan event, which mirrors Martin’s own existence in his particular family setting.

Another irony of the setting created by the author is the final relocation of Rufus. The Yucatan is the sight of the Chicxulub crater. That crater was made by an asteroid that is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Thus the end of “Raising Rufus” occurs at the literal end of dinosaurs.

Character:

Fulk is a skilled writer when it comes to creating the character of Martin Tinker. Martin’s predisposition for intellectual pursuits is gradually built up over the course of the story through various scenes. In one, his father is trying to teach Martin to catch a football, a task Martin not only detests, but is incapable of accomplishing in that context. However, in one scene, as the football soars past him, it hits the shelf where the newly found egg is resting. Martin dives for the egg and catches it before it hits the ground and breaks. The catch would be an amazing feat in any football game. So we see a foreshadow that suggests Martin is not really incapable, but perhaps too capable to play football.

Another technique the author uses to build the character of Martin is to contrast the thoughts and concerns of the school bullies with those of Martin’s own. In one scene, Martin is attempting to slip by the bullies after school. He is able to do so only because they are clumsily debating the veracity of the rumor that if you fart, burp, and sneeze at the same time, you will blow up. One of them claims to have witnessed such an occurrence in a Macdonald’s parking lot.

As the character arc of Martin’s proceeds through the story, we find him growing increasingly stronger, more courageous, responsible, and even somewhat defiant–owing to the love he has for Rufus. This masterfully ties the characterization of the protagonist to the theme of the novel. By the end of the story, Martin is no longer a scared kid but like a butterfly from a chrysalis, emerges a confident young man.

Symbolism:

The central symbolism of the story rests in the dinosaur itself. Here is a unique and exceptionally rare animal that is born into a world where it doesn’t fit, doesn’t belong, and is in extreme danger owing to the ignorance of those who would capture it. The dinosaur, therefore, symbolizes the plight of all intellectually-gifted youth (geeks and nerds, if you will). They are born into a world that is mostly brutish and ignorant and unable to recognize their unique qualities.

For that reason, it is no surprise when the dinosaur is sold to the circus owner. The circus, itself, symbolizes the shallow illogic of the world. Do we not find parents often moving their kids in whatever professional direction is most lucrative, regardless of their unique abilities? In a symbolic way, they sell their kids to the circus of the world rather than allowing them to pursue their unique destinies. This is especially so with the gifted student.

Martin eventually takes matters into his own hands by saving the dinosaur, and as his character becomes the kind of person who can save a dinosaur, we see that he has become the kind of person who can save his own destiny.

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Moral:

If we have to pick one moral of this story, perhaps the strongest would be that if something is strange and different, we might not want to impose our own will upon it in order to make it fit our definition of what is the right way to exist. The circus owner felt the best thing for the T-Rex was to be kept as a freak attraction for the rest of its life. Likewise, Martin’s football-father felt it only right that Martin should be a good wide receiver. Neither minor character could recognize the beauty in something so rare and different.

Impact:

Raising Rufus truly has the power to inspire and encourage young people toward the science of nature by inspiring a pet-owner love for it. It instills a morality focused on environmental and wildlife conservation while at the same time supporting the child who feels more attracted to his or her intellect than the traditional games of society.

Recommendation:

Raising Rufus has a science focus, especially zoology. It represents true middle grade literature in that the main character is between the ages of 8-12 (11 in this case), and he’s the one who solves the main conflict in the story. There is no swearing, sex, drugs, or graphic violence, and with its simple sentence structure, shorter paragraphs, and Standard English usage, it is palatable for the middle grade audience, while maintaining a fast pace and decided interest.

I think you will want to offer this book to any young man of middle grade age who has an interest in science. But I also have a feeling you’re going to want to read it yourself, just as I did. I read it to review it, but I ended up truly enjoying it. It needs to be in libraries and bookstores and readily available. With its light touch of humor, its action, strong central characters, and a very spunky T-Rex, I think we’re going to see Raising Rufus made into a major motion picture in the near future. It just stands out as that kind of story.

--Reviewer: Edward Gordon, MGWA… (mais)