Storytelling

The novel, The Silent Boy, is told by eighty year old, Katy, through first person perspective.  She relays the story of herself as an eight-year old girl and her traumatic experience with Jacob, a thirteen-year old boy with Autism.  By using first person perspective, the audience is able to hear eight-year old Katy's thoughts and emotions.  The story is told in chronological order from the time Katy meets Jacob until he is removed to the Asylum.  The audience is able to follow the story through Katy's perspective and view her change from a naive girl who believes babies are grown in gardens to a more mature, solemn girl who discovers a secret, tragic death. 
In the prologue of the novel, the audience is introduced to the adult, eighty year old, Katy, and her rationale for writing the story.  She wishes to share her story with her grandchildren when they become older, more capable of understanding what happened to Jacob. She also hopes that writing the story will be cathartic and help her deal with the emotions that have haunted her for seventy-two years. 
Chapter one begins with young Katy describing her birthday party wishes and gifts.  Her childlike innocence and immaturity are obvious as she lists the warnings her parents have given her: don't touch penknives because they are sharp, never tell a secret, never break a promise, and never smoke tobacco.  The voice the narrator uses when listing is mocking and repetitive which reinforces the feeling of naiveté of the speaker.
Slowly as the novel progresses, we begin to see and hear the evolution of Katy.  Her attitude and inner thoughts begin to mature and she is 'coming of age' by experiencing the darker side of life.  Her transformation is complete at the end of chapter ten when she pieces together what happened to Nell and her baby and what Jacob did to save the unnamed baby. 
Using first person point of view to tell a story can be constricting to an audience.  Only one side of the story can be told and in the situation of eight-year old, Katy, the audience is limited to the perspective of a young girl who is not mature enough to understand all that happens around her.  However, there are some hints and clues that an adult is recounting a story when eighty-year old Katy analyzes likes and dislikes of her younger version.  She makes inferences an eight-year old would not have been able to do.
A story can only be as reliable as its narrator; the audience must take into consideration that "truth" is through the eye of the beholder. 

Questions to Consider . . .

In this heartbreaking, coming of age story told through Katy, we are introduced to several new concepts and perspectives of human nature and human connections.  Please, take some time and consider these questions and respond.

• Can you recall a memory or story that touched your life as significantly as Katy's? Is it easy for you to translate the memory or story into words, written or spoken?
• Katy and her father discuss Jacob's hat as a safe place for him.  Do you have any safe objects/behaviors? (Mine is my favorite sweatshirt!)
• The first 150 pages of Katy's narrative focus on background and peripheral information.  The climax to the story occurs at the very end of the last chapter.  How does this affect your opinion of the story and its characters?
• Lois Lowry states that Katy is an "unreliable narrator" (p. 10 of Conversation with L.L).  Do you believe this to be true? Why or why not?

The Silent Boy - Summary

In the novel, The Silent Boy, by Lois Lowry, we are introduced to Katy, an eighty year old woman writing her story of a young boy she met and interacted with over sixty-seven years prior.  The story begins with Katy as a thirteen year old girl with ambitions to become a doctor.  She idolizes her father's abilities as a physician and by becoming his apprentice she is introduced to the real world and some very difficult situations.  Throughout Katy's story, we are introduced to many peripheral characters that shape Katy's view of her small town and of the world.  We have playdates and birthday parties with the wealthy families in town, travel through the impoverished areas of the county on calls with her father, and we meet a wide range of people who grow connected to through Katy's storytelling abilities.  The most mystifying character in Katy's story and her fixation for most of the book is Jacob Stoltz. Jacob is a thirteen year old boy with Autism.  He has an affinity for animals and a special way about him that attracts Katy to become his friend. The story ends with a shocking and traumitzing climax that opens Katy's eyes to the horror and honor of human nature.