Where Are The Wild Things Character Analysis

Max’s Adventure into His Imagination

We all have to escape reality or try to, at least once sometime in our lives. Well, a young boy whose name is Max is successful at it. As a child many have read the book Where are the Wild Things by Maurice Sendak, but Dave Eggers took the book to a whole another level, when he wrote a spinoff novel titled The Wild Things. Eggers’s book follows the main character, Max through his journey to the deepest parts of his imagination. He is trying to cope and maybe even fix the problems that are occurring in his home. To escape reality he imagines a whole another world, where each character represents a different part of a person in his life. But like everyone, he must return to reality at some point. For Max

When Max is at home he only takes care of himself, but when he rules over the island, he has to solve problems that he’s never dealt with before. Back to the beginning of the book, Max wants to run away from his problems: “[...] he could escape. He could slip downstairs and run out the front door.” (35). But as the story progresses, he learns he has to face them head on. The beasts are depressed. And Max knows that as their king, it’s his responsibility to cheer them up: “[...] thinking he knows what to do. It cheers his mom up; it makes her sister and her friends- it would work here. He makes his arms and legs stiff and begins his incredible robot dance.” (217). Even if dancing isn’t the best solution, at least he’s taking responsibility for the beast’s happiness. Throughout his time with the Wild Things, Max learns the importance of responsibility, and how hard it can be to be responsible. It allows him to understand his mother better, and to finally be ready to go home. For Max to be able to wake up and return home, he has to learn the significant value of an apology, how to accept responsibility for his actions, and why consideration towards others is important. At the beginning of the book he starts out not even knowing how to say sorry, but throughout his experience with the Wild Things, he learns a variety of new skills and important life lessons. Once he understands what he needs to do, he completes his mission, and returns safely back home. Home, sweet