"Sociology"
Blogging on the World and the behaviors of society
Willy the Wimp
Willy the Wimp is a classic children's book written and illustrated by Anthony Browne. We follow the life of Willy, a weak and apologetic chimp who is the main and only major character in the story. As you read through, you see that Willy is a pushover and is a constant target of ridicule and bullying. This becomes routine in his life, until one day he finally has enough. He decides to stand up for himself by responding to an ad that claims to make people strong and muscular. He exercises, goes running, and learns how to box. We watch as he become more and more muscular just as the ad said. Following this, Willy is put to the test when he sees a group of thugs robbing and terrorizing a young lady. When Willy arrives the thugs are terrifed and run off. The young lady calls him a hero and Willy walks off proud of himself. Not paying attention where he is walking, he bumps into a pole and we see him revert back to his old self apologizing to the pole.
One of the main themes of the book is overcoming adversity. Willy was tired of being pushed around and being called that nickanme, so he took matters into his own hands and found a solution. Another message Browne was trying to get across is that no matter what you look like on the outside you still retain your personality and behavior. I chose to analyze this book because as a child I thought it taught a really important message. Also, I thought the illustrations and their design went along well with the story which is why I read this book many times in my childhood. This was the first story I thought of when choosing a children's story.
Part 1: Brief Summary of Story
Part 2: Applying a Sociological Perspective
"That sounds just the thing for me, thought Willy. So he sent some money to the address in the advertisement." (p. 5)
The sociological perspective I will be applying to this excerpt is conflict theory. Conflict thoery is a framework that describes society as unequal that inevitably brings about conflict and change.
In this scoiety it seems that all that matters to the chimps is who is bigger and powerful. There is a hierarchy and Willy one day realizes he is at the bottom. He no longer wants this and for this reason, responds to the advertisement. Willy then dedicates himself to body building and even learns how to box. This brings about a change in himself, becoming much more muscular and stronger.
Part 3: Applying Sociological Concepts
A gang is defined as an organized group of criminals. In the book, a gang is what terrorizes WIlly and leads him to respond to the advertisement later on. The excerpt to the right describes a gang, as they not only bullied him, but assaulted him as well.
"Sometimes when he was out walking, the suburban gorilla gang bullied him." (p. 3)
Gender roles are society's expectations of how males and females should act and think. It is obvious in the story what roles females and males take in this society. A perfect scene of this is when the suburban gorilla gang is attacking a lady chimp named Milly. Milly is helpless and is saved only when the new and improved Willy steps in. It seems as though men are supposed to be the strong an that women depend on.
"So when Willy walked down the street and saw the suburban gorillas attacking Milly, they ran." (p. 15-16)
Street crime refers to many different types of criminal acts, such as burglary, rape, and assault. We see this in the beginning of the story. The suburban gorilla gang bullies Willy. However, this leads to them hitting Willy was is assault and a street crime.
"'Oh, Im sorry!' said Willie when they hit him." (p. 3)
Machismo is overt and exaggerated displays of masculinity. The advertisement Willy finds is a perfect example of machismo. This chimp talks about being able to lift heavy things, kick sand in people's faces, and get respect. These are all things an extremely masculine person would do.
"I was a scrawny, skinny-chested pathetic weakling, NOW.........I can order people about........kick sand in THEIR face........talk VERY LOUDLY.........lift heavy things.........get R-E-S-P-E-C-T." (p. 5)
Part 4: Conclusion and Personal Reflection
Reading this story is much different than when I did as a child. This time around, I am thirteen years older and am analyzing the society and how it functions. After finishing, I came to realize that this society is not how I thought it was as a child. First off, there are clear dangers to society in the form of gangs. Each time they make an appearance, no one is there to stop them leaving their victims helpless. Another thing that I noticed was that many of the chimps made good work of displaying their masculinity. Even our protagonist who would not hurt a fly succumbs to societal pressures and begins body building to be as strong as everyone else. A majority of the men display machismo, while the women are seen as inferior. Based off these observations, I was able to conclude that this city experiences above average crime rates and gender inequality.
