Friday, June 28, 2013

In Schmidt's The Wednesday Wars, when does Holling start to read Shakespeare, and what pages is it on?

Holling's introduction to Shakespeare comes right after
the Great Chalk Dust Cream Puff Caper, in other words, right after Holling's inadvertent
destruction of three trays of newly baked cream puffs. Mrs. Baker was trying in vain to
find a productive use for Wednesday afternoons during which she and Holling's are
marooned together since half the classes goes to Catholic and the other half to Hebrew
lessons. Holling is the only Presbyterian and left in the care of Mrs.
Baker.


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"Hoodhood," she said quietly. She thought for a
moment. Does your family attend Temple Beth-El?" she said. ... "Saint Adelbert's, then?"
She asked this kind of hopefully. ... "[On] Wednesday afternoon your attend neither
Hebrew School noe Catechism. ... You are here with me." ... Mrs Baker looked hard at me.
I think she rolled her
eyes.



One of her efforts at
occupying Wednesday afternoon came in the form of chalk eraser cleaning. This ill-fated
plan was unhappily inaugurated on the same day that Mrs. Bigio handed over dozens of
fresh cream puffs to Mrs. Baker for transport to the Wives of Vietnam Soldiers (WVS)
meeting. Chalk dust, liberated from the erasers, wafted up the levels of the school
building, lingered outside the one set of open windows--left open with a noble purpose
related to keeping cream puffs from getting soggy--then wafted in at the window and,
obeying gravity, settled decoratively across all the dozens of cream puffs. The women of
the WVS were unhappy with their cream puffs that
night.



The
cloud of dust had drifted in, and then gravity had taken over. The chalk had fallen
gently upon each of the cream
puffs.



Following this, Mrs.
Baker decides to take a different tack, one with less physicality and danger attached to
it: She and Holling will begin reading Shakespeare on Wednesday afternoons. This all
works out well for Holling as he discovers that Shakespeare is full of witches, murders,
drunkenness, wizards and spirits--who could resist?  You'll find where Mrs. Baker
unveils her great idea on pages 39 and 40 in the Sandpiper, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2007 hardcover edition. You'll find where she pulls out two musty books from her desk
drawer, dusts them off, leaves the dusty musty smell behind, and hands one to Holling
while keeping the other for herself, commencing their Shakespearean readings together to
be sure Holling is "following the dialogue," on page 46.

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