The Whipping Boy

Throughout The Whipping Boy, Sid Fleischman uses different vocabulary and grammar to signal the education and social position of various characters. Characters like Jemmy also shift their vocabulary and speech when they want to assume a different identity or deceive someone. In what ways is this technique an effective way of highlighting differences between characters in the novel, and how does it relate to the theme of Wealth Versus Poverty? How did different characters’ style of speech shape your impression of them throughout the story?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt might spark discussion of social class in stories and films, and how modes of speech can reveal or highlight a character’s social position. Consider asking students to identify other texts in which characters with different social statuses speak in different ways. You could also ask for examples of stories in which an individual strives to advance or change their social position; in other words, is this change reflected in their speech? You could also use this discussion to explore how, at many points in history, individuals who were expected to hold positions of power were educated in rhetoric, so they could speak and write elegantly and persuasively. Finally, you could ask students to consider how markers of social position are conveyed in visual media such as film and television; how is this similar to or different from the depiction of speech patterns in written texts?

Differentiation Suggestion: One strategy for auditory learners might be to focus on the experience of hearing the language of different characters read or spoken out loud. Students could listen to one or more audiobook versions of the novel (or sections of the novel), and discuss how language used to signal class and social positions is conveyed in aural form. They might also observe whether the narrator uses “voices” or changes their voice to convey dialogue for different characters. This differentiation may be useful for students who find it challenging to identify the use of non-normative vocabulary and grammar in a written text.