TEACHING THE CULTURE OF LIFE: The Borrowers A Culture of Life Studies book review ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mary Norton is the British author of The Borrowers series as well as the two-book series Bedknobs and Broomsticks which became a classic The Borrowers Disney film in 1971. Readers who enjoyed The Borrowers may also by Mary Norton (1952) enjoy other books in the same series: The Borrowers Afield, The GENRE: Children’s Classics, Borrowers Afloat, The Borrowers Aloft , and The Borrowers Avenged , Fantasy all of which deal with similar themes. LENGTH: 180 pages Recommended for ages 8 –12 STORY SUMMARY The Borrowers—Pod, Homily, and Arrietty Clock—are small persons who live under the kitchen in an old house. In order to survive, they “borrow” food and small objects from around the house. Their greatest fear is being seen by a “human bean” because then they would have to emigrate (or leave) to protect themselves. Arrietty, the smallest Borrower, longs to go outside and see the world. When her father takes her borrowing for the first time, she is spotted by a human bean, a boy living in the house, but instead of being frightened, she makes a friend. This friendship, however, leads to trouble and possible danger from the other humans in the house. The boy begins “borrowing” many things from the doll’s house and giving them to the Borrowers through a loose plank in the kitchen. One night, Mrs. Driver, the housekeeper, discovers the Borrowers through the floor and sends for the rat-catcher to get rid of them. The boy attempts to save the Borrowers, but he never sees them again. LIFE THEME: PROTECTING THE SMALLEST Pod, Homily, and Arrietty may very well be some of the last Borrowers alive. All the rest of the Borrowers in the house have emigrated because there was not enough food. Borrowers depend solely on humans— whom they call “human beans”—for food, shelter, and safety. Often, if the human beans get a dog or a cat, the Borrowers will have to emigrate because such animals make the environment unsafe for them. When life gets dangerous, the Borrowers have no spokesperson and cannot defend themselves against the humans. Once the humans have decided to get rid of them, the Borrowers are helpless to save or protect themselves. They need someone to speak on their behalf and physically protect them or else they will be killed by the very beings who make “borrowing” possible. The boy attempts to speak for them to Mrs. Driver, but she refuses to listen. At first, the boy does not realize the value of the Borrowers in his © 2015 American Life League world because he thinks they are too small to be significant. It is only when he needs to protect them from Mrs. Driver that he knows how truly valuable they are and what it would mean if they were killed by the rat-catcher. When speaking to Mrs. Driver does not work, the boy takes action. Using a pickaxe, he makes a hole for them to escape. The culture of death in our society does not respect or value people who are weaker than most or who cannot speak for themselves. Like the Borrowers, small preborn children need protection. While living inside their mothers, babies receive nutrients from their mother in order for them to grow and thrive. Just as the Borrowers depend on human beans, babies depend on their parents for survival. Preborn children are so small and helpless that they need people like us, who are already born, to stand up for them and be their voice. The story of the Borrowers shows us that even the smallest people—the Borrowers, the preborn, the weak—need our help and protection. We must have the courage and strength to stand up for them. HOW CAN I APPLY THIS TO MY LIFE? The smallest in our society are the preborn, the poor, the sick, the elderly—anyone whom society abandons because they aren’t “worthy” enough. Part of defending the smallest in our society is being pro-life—praying for an end to abortion, cheerfully treating every person with respect, and seeking out ways to help others. We need to protect the smallest and foster a culture that respects life by evangelizing in our words and actions. We might hear gossip about a classmate and not do anything to stop it or we might avoid hanging out with a socially awkward friend. Keeping silent to save your own reputation does more harm than good. We need to speak up and treat everyone with respect and dignity. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. What does Arrietty mean when she says that “human beans are for Borrowers as bread is for butter”? The Borrowers depend on “human beans” to live. If there were no humans in the house, the Borrowers could not survive. Since Aunt Sophy got sick, the house has had fewer people in it, causing many Borrowers to emigrate. 2. What do the Borrowers see as the difference between borrowing and stealing? Arrietty believes that stealing is when one Borrower takes something from another Borrower. She believes that taking from human beans isn’t stealing because that is how the Borrowers survive. How does borrowing get the boy and the Borrowers in trouble? As the boy learns later from Mrs. Driver, taking other people’s possessions without their permission (and without intending to give them back) is stealing. The Borrowers survive on crumbs of food that fall to the floor and pins that go missing. When they start to take valuable items, like furniture from the doll’s house and statues from the drawing room, their greed gets them into trouble. 3. Why does Arrietty write a letter to her aunt and uncle? Arrietty wants to make sure that they are alive, but she also wants to see if she really is the last of the Borrowers. She tells her parents later that she is trying to save their race. Will the Borrowers die out if no one helps them? The Borrowers will die out if they cannot get enough food to sustain them. Through the boy’s help, the Clock family is able to find its relatives and escape from the house when the rat-catcher would rather kill them. Surrounded by other Borrowers, the Clock family members can work to save their own race from extinction. © 2015 American Life League How does Arrietty put her family in danger? When Arrietty describes the kitchen flood, she inadvertently tells the boy exactly where she and her family live. 4. How does Homily’s love of fine things eventually get the Borrowers in trouble? When the boy finds the Borrowers’ home, Homily and Pod are very frightened. But when Homily hears about all the fine things in the doll’s house, she remembers what their home used to be like before the flood and before all the other Borrowers emigrated. Even though there are no other Borrowers to snub, Homily’s love of finery allows the Borrowers’ home to become filled with all kinds of furniture that they would not have had otherwise. Mrs. Driver begins to notice expensive things missing from the drawing room and soon discovers the Borrowers’ home after spying on the boy. 5. What does the boy say to defend the Borrowers against Mrs. Driver? The boy tries to reason with Mrs. Driver, but it does not work. Instead of telling the complete truth, he lies about the clothespin bag to protect himself. The boy takes a pickaxe to the hole under the clock in hopes of making a hole. When that does not work, he runs outside and destroys the grate so the Borrowers can leave the house. What more could he have said to protect them from the rat-catcher? Instead of lying to Mrs. Driver, he should have told the truth and stood up in defense of the Clocks. If he had gone to his aunt and explained everything, she might have believed him about the Borrowers. His actions show that he was too afraid for his own safety and well-being to defend the weakest. Unlike the boy, when we defend preborn children, we need to have to courage to speak the truth without apology instead of lying to protect our own reputations. 6. Why doesn’t Mrs. Driver listen to the boy when he tells her that the Borrowers are harmless? Mrs. Driver has already seen all of the stolen items, so she is less likely to believe the boy when she can see the damage right in front of her. Why does Mrs. Driver call the Borrowers such awful names? Mrs. Driver calls the Borrowers names out of anger. She has no interest in what they really are—small people. She has the idea that the Borrowers are like mice or rodents, so she cannot understand that they are valuable and deserve respect. All she can think about is calling the police and the rat-catcher to remove the Borrowers from their cozy home. “JUST FOR FUN” BONUS ACTIVITIES FOR FURTHER LEARNING AND EXPLORATION After reading The Borrowers , have a miniature tea party. Make all food in “Borrower-sized” portions and drink tea out of small cups, just as Arrietty and her family did. If your family enjoyed this book, be sure to read the other books in The Borrowers series by Mary Norton, which deal with similar themes of family, being unique, personhood, and defending the weak. The Borrowers Afield Join the Borrowers as they set off on their escape from the house across the fields to find their relatives.