Numeroff's If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

790 Words4 Pages

The little mermaid has an “American Dream” to go above the sea and live the perfect human life. Ariel dreamed about leaving her previous life and world behind and going somewhere new. This land that she had heard stories and legends about was flawless in her mind, and attaining the ability to be able to experience this almost magical lifestyle, was worth risking everything for in her mind. Ariel made many sacrifices in order to be able to go have her dream, and the road there was not safe and secure, but instead filled with challenging obstacles. Even after obtaining her goal, after pushing so hard for it, the reader has to wonder if it was ultimately worth it. Ariel ultimately her sea born soul for the soul of a human, and spent eternity …show more content…

Taking a look at the mouse, the reader could observe that a connection can be drawn from the mouse in the story to a person with ADHD. The mouse is always running around and never sitting still, hopping up and around for the next best and brighter idea that pops into his head. (Numeroff) Instead with being content enough with the gift of a fresh warm cookie, he is bold enough to ask for a cold glass of milk. With each of his new requests, the mouse apes the antics of a young child. (Jones) Because of this, the treatment the mouse receives is similar to the kind of treatment young children receive from their parents.(Hickman) This is perhaps a message that Numeroff is putting in her story meaning that because of the way parents coddle their children and yield to their every wish, hyper active children are never …show more content…

The cookie, which could be a metaphor for a variety of things (drugs or money for example) leads the mouse down a path of complicated tasks and antics. (“1984 Theme of Rebellion”) What starts out as a story about a humble mouse who was gifted a cookie by a stranger, leads to a glass of milk, a napkin, , and then a mirror and so on. (Numeroff) “Everything goes down hill when the mouse is made aware of his own self-consciousness.” (Snetiker) After the mouse looks in the mirror, a significant change can be seen in his character. (Numeroff) When he realizes that he has power he decides to take advantage of it. By pushing the limits of the boy whom treats him with delicate care, he is able to test the limits of what he is capable of. Through these methods of manipulation pulling at the boys heart strings through his adorable animal charm, he can ask for anything and receive it in a