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Should Wizard Hit Mommy? by John Updike is a thought-provoking story about the changing relationship between a father, Jack, and his growing daughter, Jo. Jack tells Jo a story about Roger Skunk, who smells bad and is avoided by other animals.
A wizard helps him, but Roger’s mother disapproves and makes him return to his original smell. Jo disagrees with the ending and wants the mother to be punished.
The story explores themes like parenting, individuality, innocence, and the clash between adult authority and a child’s logic. It reflects how children begin to question and understand the world differently.
Should Wizard Hit Mommy Summary
This chapter from CBSE Syllabus Class 12 English is a thought-provoking excerpt from a story written by John Updike. It revolves around a father named Jack who tells bedtime stories to his daughter Jo every evening.
These stories often carry moral messages and feature a character named Roger, who encounters various problems and finds magical solutions.
- Jo's Curiosity and Growing Mind
Jo, now four years old, has started questioning the logic and morals of her father’s stories. Her curiosity shows her mental growth and developing sense of justice.
She listens carefully and reacts strongly when the story doesn’t align with her thoughts.
- The Story of Roger Skunk
In this story, Roger Skunk smells bad and is shunned by other animals. To solve this, he visits a wizard, who makes him smell like roses.
Roger is happy, but his mother disapproves and takes him back to the wizard to reverse the spell. She believes being natural is better than changing for others.
- Jo's Disagreement
Jo strongly disagrees with the ending. She believes the wizard was right and that Roger’s mother should not have hit him or changed him back.
She wants the story to end with the wizard hitting the mother. This difference of opinion highlights the conflict between a child’s perspective and adult reasoning.
- Deeper Meaning
Through Jack’s story and Jo’s reaction, the author shows how children begin to form their own opinions, and how adults struggle to justify their values when faced with honest questioning.
Jack also represents a parent who is stuck between his responsibilities and his child’s emotional demands.
Character Analysis
Here is the character analysis of each important character in the story–Should the Wizard Hit Mommy? by John Updike:
Jack - The Father and Storyteller
Role: Main narrator and Jo’s father
Nature: Imaginative, caring, responsible, but traditional in his thinking
Jack is a loving father who tells creative bedtime stories to his daughter, Jo. He is patient but also feels pressure as Jo grows older and starts questioning his stories. Jack wants to teach moral lessons through storytelling, but he also struggles when Jo doesn’t accept his version.
He believes parents always know what’s best for their children and doesn’t like being challenged. His character shows the conflict between adult authority and a child’s growing independence. Jack also represents how adults sometimes force their beliefs instead of understanding a child’s perspective.
Jo - The Curious Daughter
Role: Jack’s four-year-old daughter
Nature: Innocent, curious, imaginative, and questioning
Jo is a bright and sensitive child who listens to her father’s stories every day. But now, she is growing and starting to think on her own. In this story, she doesn’t like the ending and wants the wizard to hit the mother. This shows her strong sense of fairness and justice.
Jo believes Roger Skunk should be accepted by others and does not understand why the mother wants him to stay the same. Her character reflects the innocent honesty of childhood, where love and acceptance matter more than tradition or rules.
Roger Skunk - The Story Character
Role: Fictional character in Jack’s story
Nature: Shy, sensitive, lonely, eager to be accepted
Roger Skunk is a young animal who smells bad and is rejected by other animals. He wants to be liked, so he gets help from a wizard to smell like roses. When his mother makes him change back, he is sad but obeys her.
Roger represents any child who wants to fit in but is forced to follow what parents say. His character also shows the struggles of growing up and how children often face rejection and pressure to conform.
The Wizard - The Helper
Role: Magical character in the story
Nature: Kind, powerful, problem-solver
The wizard is a helpful character who listens to Roger Skunk’s problem and tries to solve it. He changes Roger’s smell so that others can play with him.
Jo sees the wizard as the hero who did the right thing. But Jack later makes the wizard give in to Roger’s mother. The wizard symbolizes positive change and the desire for acceptance.
Roger Skunk’s Mother - Symbol of Authority
Role: Roger’s mother in the story
Nature: Strict, loving, traditional
Roger’s mother wants her son to stay the way he is and not change himself to please others. She gets angry when he smells like roses and forces the wizard to turn him back. To her, being natural is more important than being accepted.
She represents parental authority, tradition, and the belief in being true to oneself, even if it leads to rejection. Her character becomes the centre of conflict between Jo’s view of justice and Jack’s idea of moral responsibility.
Line by Line Explanation
Let us understand the line by line explanation of the story.
1. From “In the evenings and for Saturday naps...” to “…telling Jo was growing more difficult.”
The story begins by describing a daily routine between Jack and his daughter Jo. For the past two years, Jack has been making up bedtime stories for Jo, always involving a creature named Roger who faces a problem.
Jack feels that telling stories is becoming harder because Jo is growing older and beginning to ask more questions and demand logic in the stories.
Main Point: Jack’s storytelling routine shows his bond with Jo, but he is struggling as her understanding deepens.
2. From “Today, Jack began the story…” to “…to the very same wizard.”
On this day, Jack starts a story about Roger Skunk, who smells bad and is avoided by other animals. Roger is sad and wants to change.
Like in previous stories, the wise old owl advises Roger to visit the wizard for help. The story follows Jack’s usual pattern.
Main Point: Roger Skunk’s story reflects a child’s desire to be accepted and the comfort of a familiar problem-solution narrative.
3. From “Roger Skunk knocked at the wizard’s door…” to “…and all the other animals gathered around him.”
The wizard listens to Roger and agrees to help him. He performs magic and makes Roger smell like roses. Roger is now happy because other animals started playing with him. He feels accepted and joyful. Jo enjoys this part of the story because it ends happily for now.
Main Point: Roger’s transformation brings him happiness and social acceptance, which appeals to Jo’s sense of fairness.
4. From “Then Roger Skunk went home…” to “…Roger Skunk’s mommy hit the wizard.”
When Roger tells his mother about the change, she becomes angry and insists that he should smell like he used to. She takes him back to the wizard and demands that he undo the spell. The wizard obeys, and Roger Skunk returns to his original smell. Jo is shocked and upset by this ending.
Main Point: The mother’s decision to reverse the change introduces a moral conflict between being true to oneself and fitting in.
5. From “Jo was very upset…” to “…Roger’s mommy was right.”
Jo argues with her father and says the wizard should have hit Roger’s mother. She feels Roger was treated unfairly and doesn’t understand why the story ended this way. Jack tries to explain that mothers know what’s best for their children and insists that Roger’s mother was right.
Main Point: This part highlights the clash between Jo’s innocent sense of justice and Jack’s adult perspective on obedience and parenting.
6. From “He heard footsteps above…” to the end
As Jack finishes the story and leaves Jo’s room, he feels mentally exhausted. He reflects on his own responsibilities and marriage.
Though he insisted that mothers are always right, he seems unsure himself. He does not go downstairs to help his pregnant wife, showing his emotional and personal conflict.
Main Point: The ending shows Jack’s inner struggle caught between being a parent, storyteller, and husband, while also facing Jo’s growing questions.
Themes of the Story
Let us now study the themes of the story.
- Parent-Child Relationship
The story explores the bond between Jack and his daughter Jo. It shows how parents try to teach their children values through storytelling. However, it also highlights how children begin to question their parents' views as they grow up.
- Growing Curiosity and Innocence of a Child
Jo represents a child’s innocent world, where good is rewarded and bad is punished. Her questions show her developing sense of justice, imagination, and independence in thinking.
- Conflict Between Individuality and Social Acceptance
Roger Skunk wants to change himself to be accepted by other animals. His mother, however, believes he should remain true to who he is. This theme shows the struggle between being yourself vs. fitting in with society.
- Moral Authority vs. Emotional Reasoning
Jack believes that the mother is right because she knows what is best. Jo believes the wizard was right because he helped Roger be happy. This shows the conflict between adult logic and childlike emotion.
- Gender Roles and Responsibility
Jack’s inner stress and hesitation to help his pregnant wife at the end reflect his struggle with the pressures of being a father and husband. It hints at traditional gender roles and emotional fatigue.
Central Message of the Story
The story Should Wizard Hit Mommy? by John Updike conveys the central message that parenting involves making difficult decisions that children may not always understand.
Through the bedtime story of Roger Skunk and his mother, the author presents a moral conflict between external acceptance and staying true to oneself.
Roger’s desire to change himself to fit in is something many children can relate to, while his mother’s insistence on keeping him natural reflects a parent’s belief in individuality and self-worth.
Jo, however, represents the innocent and emotional side of childhood that seeks fairness and happiness.
The story also highlights the generation gap, as Jo questions the ending and wants justice her way. It reminds readers that as children grow, they begin to form their own opinions, challenging adult authority.
Conclusion
Now that you have access to these well-structured and board-focused notes, you don’t need to stress about CBSE English Vistas anymore. Everything you need, from summaries, themes, character sketches to line-by-line explanations is right here, simplified just for you.
These notes are crafted to match CBSE exam patterns and will help you revise quickly and effectively. With this resource by your side, English will no longer be a tough subject, it will become one of your strongest.
Keep revising, stay consistent, and trust that you are fully equipped to excel in your exams. You've got this!
FAQs
Q1. What is the story mainly about?
Ans. It is about Jack, a father, telling his daughter Jo a story, which shows the clash between a child’s imagination and an adult’s realistic thinking.
Q2. Why did Roger Skunk’s mother get angry?
Ans. She believed the wizard had changed her son unnaturally, so she hit the wizard and made him change Roger back.
Q3. Why was Jo unhappy with the ending of the story?
Ans. Jo wanted the wizard’s ending to stay because she thought Roger was happier smelling nice and being accepted by friends.
Q4. What theme does the story highlight?
Ans. It highlights the generation gap, clash of opinions, role of parents in shaping children and differences between imagination and reality.
Q5. Why is the story titled Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
Ans. The title raises the central question, whether the wizard should obey the child’s wish or the mother’s authority which symbolizes conflict between fantasy and parental control.
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