Stuffed Toys Become Real- The Velveteen Rabbit- Lesson 28


 If you ever had a favorite stuffed toy as a child, you can relate to the story of the Velveteen Rabbit.

This children's book was first published in 1922 by Margery Williams.  The story begins with a stuffed

velveteen rabbit that is given to a small boy for Christmas. The boy was given an abundance of 

modern and mechanical toys and didn't pay much attention to the stuffed rabbit.  However, one evening when the boy lost a toy, his nanny replaced it with the stuffed rabbit. From that time on

they were inseparable.  As the story progresses challenges follow that many readers have felt were awfully sad. 

One of the important quotes taken from the Velveteen Rabbit is the communication the stuffed rabbit has with the "skin horse" toy that is one of the original toys in the nursery.

Velveteen Rabbit Quote- The Velveteen Rabbit and the Skin Horse:

Real isn't how you are made, "said the Skin Horse. It's a thing that happens to you.  When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes", said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful.  "When you are Real you don't mind.

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or  bit by bit?"

Question:

-As a child did you have mentors that prepared you for the next step in your growth from childhood to puberty. What "words of wisdom" have helped you during your childhood to adulthood?


"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse.  "You become.  It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. 


Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out

and you get loose in the joints and very shabby, But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Question:

How does the increasingly worn stuffed animal become a metaphor for "unconditional love"?



Quote: "...once you become Real you can't become unreal again.  It lasts for always."

Question: Why do you think being Real lasts for always?  Think about memories, immortality, experiences you have had that remain in your consciousness.




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