The Phantom Tollbooth by Cecelia

The Phantom Tollbooth by Cecelia - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

There are many difficult and riveting books that a high school student should have read, before the end of their younger education years. Political books, psychological books, novels that are rich with culture or history. But as a student progresses in their education, there is always the haunting question, why am I learning this? When will I use this? What is the point? Some students merely ponder these questions, and continue to do work as they always have, others wallow in these thoughts and their schooling becomes a much more difficult talk than it was beforehand. There is a simple solution to this apathy and growing dissent towards knowledge, read The Phantom Tollbooth.

It is a very easy book to read, the average sixth grader could easily understand what is going on, and there is real depth to the story, but that depth comes from the simplicity of the truth. There is an originality which Norton Juster accomplished that has yet to be seen again.

The story begins with a young man, by the name of Milo, walking home from school on a beautiful spring afternoon. As he makes his way home, the author paints a picture of a desolate, and apathetic character who does not know what to do. He thinks of the many options, for example playing sports or doing homework, but every time he comes up with some type of excuse. As he gets to his room and his thought process continues, the readers see a very restless boy, who does not have direction. Then he sees a box; a box that will change his life.

The box contains a tollbooth which allows him to travel to lands on the other side. It is a classic story of growth and change for the better through experience. He enters the land bored and lonely; one with the lethargians in the land of Doldrums, and leaves seeing knowledge for what it is, worth the while. This book is fun and silly, personifying and making tangible knowledge and its worth. It is childlike, with characters such as the watch dog, (who has an alarm clock as a body) and the humbug, a real bitter character. But there is some weight in all the goofiness. There is loyalty, friendship, and a real recognition that there is more to life than sitting in a room idling away. After reading the book one feels as Milo does, the colors are brighter and more striking, words are more tasteful, sounds are more unique, and numbers have weight to them.

High school students should read this book for several reasons. First, it takes one back to the silliness of childhood, high school students get so caught up in trying to act older that they experience life really rough. This does not mature them, only separates them from what is innocent. This brings them back to the simplicity that they are longing for. Second, there is a great appreciation for many things, such as music, math, vocabulary, and reason. To see these types of subjects in a different light will help foster an appreciation for learning these different subjects, even it is a very minuscule appreciation. If students delighted in learning more than the general population does now, there would be a great change in the attitude of schools and toward school. Another thing that Juster does is incorporate ideas, and make them into actions. And in doing so, he heightens the awareness of people’s actions. For example, at one point the characters jump to conclusions, and in that literally jumped to the Island of Conclusions, from which there is no easy way out. They had to swim an endless distance, which eventually ended, to get beck to where they were. Or at least close.

The Phantom Tollbooth can do much for the appreciation of knowledge. This appreciation gives people the desire to do great things and be someone great. “Time is a gift, given to you, given to give you the time you need, the time you need to have the time of your life. ”

― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth