Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

“I’m going to see to it that he’s happy.”

Peter’s new pet turtle is met with dismay by his mother. Mrs. Hatcher expresses revulsion at the reptile’s smell and announces that she will have no part in caring for it. Peter, who truly longs for a pet capable of giving and receiving affection, is pleased to care for Dribble. Additionally, it is clear that Peter is enthralled by the prospect of a possession that is entirely his own. He forbids Fudge to touch the turtle bowl. Peter reinforces his intention to care for Dribble by advising his mother that he will provide for more than the turtle’s essential needs; he will strive to make the pet’s life a happy one. As the book progresses, the reader may wonder if Peter is hoping that his parents will see to it that he is happy by curtailing his younger brother’s annoying behavior.

“And if a person didn’t know better, a person could get scared.”

Peter is displeased when he is forced to share his room with Fudge to accommodate an overnight visit by the Yarbys. In addition to his usual boisterous behavior, Fudge annoys Peter by talking in his sleep. Although Peter prides himself on his maturity and strives for compliments from adults, he is still a young child himself. In the past, the brothers shared a room when Peter’s room was painted. Peter does not recall this time fondly. He suggests that he sleep on the living room sofa instead, but his mother categorically refuses to consider this alternative.

“‘Juicy-O for everyone!’ my father told my mother.”

When the Yarbys are invited to the Hatcher home as houseguests, Peter perceives artifice in the verbal exchanges between his father and Mr. Yarby. He is uncomfortable with his innocent recognition of his father’s subordinate role in this relationship. When the Yarbys are offered a drink, Mr. Yarby responds that he and his wife drink only Juicy-O. Mr. Hatcher then has his wife serve Juicy-O to the entire group. This is a cloyingly sweet beverage made with a variety of fruits. After the disastrous visit is over and Mr. Hatcher loses the Yarby account at work, Peter and his father both agree that they never cared for the taste of the drink.

“It took my mother half an hour to peel off her trading stamps and clean up the Yarbys’ suitcase.”

In keeping with the era’s gender roles, it is Mrs. Hatcher who removes the sticky stamps Fudge pasted on the suitcase. The Yarbys’ departure signals a return to normalcy within the Hatcher home; their presence generated tension and inspired even more roguish behavior than usual from Fudge.

“My grandma taught me to stand on my head when I spent the night at her house.”

Peter’s grandmother appears throughout the book. She babysits and arrives at critical junctures to support to her daughter, Peter’s mother. Peter regards his grandmother with respect, and she retains her composure in light of Fudge’s frequent meltdowns. As noted above, she is an enjoyable companion who provides Peter with individual attention and enjoyable activities, like learning to stand on his head.

He said, “Fudge, you will eat that cereal or you will wear it!”

Peter’s parents tend to deal with their high-spirited two-year-old by cajoling him into better behavior or capitulating to his demands. Peter finds this both unfair and ineffective. After many days are spent attempting to persuade Fudge to eat by preparing special foods, having Peter stand on his head, and begging the toddler to acquiesce, Mr. Hatcher finally loses his patience. He dumps the child’s uneaten cereal over his head, thereby ending the food strike.

“Jimmy Fargo has been mugged three times—twice for his bicycle and once for his money.”

Peter finds the fact that his friend Jimmy has been mugged somewhat glamorous. He is savvy enough to heed his parents’ warning to avoid the park unless he is accompanied by at least one friend; however, he admires Jimmy’s experience viewing mug shots in the police station following his muggings. Peter’s father was mugged once on the subway and lost his briefcase and wallet in the process; his mother avoids subways as a result. Peter is also aware that the park is frequented by drug dealers. He has internalized the message to avoid the use of drugs and cigarettes.

“‘Peter’s got the cooties! Peter’s got the cooties!’ she yelled.”

Sheila, Peter’s neighbor and classmate, constantly seeks his attention in any way possible. In typical preadolescent fashion, she teases him in an effort to attain even a negative response from him. Peter’s mother constantly declares that Sheila will grow up to be a beauty, but these observations are lost upon the boy. He experiences nothing but annoyance when Sheila is present.

“Peter, I said some things yesterday that I didn’t really mean.”

Mrs. Hatcher leaves Fudge in the Central Park playground with the understanding that Sheila, assisted by Peter and Jimmy, will watch the toddler while she’s gone for 10 minutes. Upon her return, she finds that Fudge fell from the jungle gym, is bleeding profusely, and has knocked out his two front teeth. While absolving Sheila of all responsibility, Mrs. Hatcher lashes out at Peter upon their return home and tells him that she is “disgusted” with him. Peter, abashed and angry, confides his problems to his turtle and has trouble sleeping that night. His mother wisely apologizes to the boy the next day. It is apparent that her decision to leave Fudge in the care of fourth graders was debatable; her anger was probably directed at her own lack of judgment.

“‘What does she bite?’ I asked, thinking about furniture or toys or stuff like that.”

Once again, Peter is involuntarily pressed into service for an activity involving Fudge. When the mother of one of the guests at Fudge’s birthday party announces that her daughter, Jennie, is going through a biting phase, Peter presses her for further information. He is a mature child who is constantly evaluating new pieces of information to determine how they will impact his environment. Despite constant irritation from Fudge, Peter has a moment of compassion when he realizes that his brother has lost his front teeth and will be unable to retaliate if bitten by Jennie.

“Because he grabbed it away from Fudge and said, ‘MINE.’”

Like all preschoolers, Fudge’s friend, Ralph, struggles to relinquish a desirable gift to another person. The concept of ownership is very strong, and toddlers have difficulty sharing, or giving, an attractive item away. Ralph and Fudge engage in a battle over a windup car, which is such a lovely gift that even Peter admits he likes it.

“I guess running around in the bathtub really makes my turtle tired.”

Peter describes his Saturday morning routine. He looks forward to scrubbing Dribble’s bowl and rocks. If Fudge is behaving very well, Peter allows him to watch the process. Due to his concern that Dribble could be stepped on if released on the bathroom floor, Peter lets him crawl around the bathtub as the bowl is being cleaned. This is another example of the author emphasizing the degree of affection Peter has for his pet.

“But I thanked Mr. Berman anyway.”

Peter continues to exhibit maturity and courtesy in all his interactions with others. The shoe salesman at Bloomingdale’s, Mr. Berman, gives Peter a root beer lollipop. Although Peter dislikes this flavor intensely, he thanks the older man and prevents any social awkwardness by announcing that he will eat the candy after lunch. He is instinctively intuitive and kind.

“Sheila thinks she’s smarter than me and Jimmy put together—just because she’s a girl!”

Despite her young age, Sheila is a very assertive individual with a natural penchant for directing others. At times it appears that some of her interactions with Peter are designed to produce any sort of response—even the negative reaction to her insistence that he suffers from “cooties.” In this instance, Sheila takes charge of the group’s transportation project by assigning roles to each boy and insisting that she vet all ideas in advance. Peter and Jimmy agree to this plan with the understanding that Sheila will produce twice the amount of written work for the assignment as they will.

“Besides, now that I knew a monorail system was the only way to save our city I was getting upset that the mayor and all the other guys that run things at City Hall weren’t doing anything about installing one.”

Peter takes the transportation project very seriously. He researches options that will reduce emissions from cars and trucks that cause pollution. In his opinion, the construction of a city-wide monorail system is only viable solution to “save our city” (76). Although he exhibits good thinking skills and can articulate arguments very well for his age, Peter is an idealistic child frustrated by the delays common to government bureaucracy and the political decision-making process.

“It was a mess and it was ruined.”

Fudge is fascinated with all things related to Peter. While he is technically forbidden from entering Peter’s room, the toddler sometimes sneaks in when his mother is distracted. Peter arrives home from school to find Fudge sitting on his bed. He holds up the poster that Peter and Jimmy have created, showing that he has made it “pretty” by scribbling on it with markers. Peter is angry and hurt that his mother allowed this to happen.

“The hard part was explaining to Jimmy that we had to start all over again.”

Peter is anxious about Jimmy’s reaction when he learns about the destruction of their poster. Jimmy is an outstanding best friend. He reacts calmly, like the “good sport” he is. Jimmy plans to improve his artwork on the replacement poster and views this as an opportunity to improve the project.

“I could reach it when I stood on tip-toe, but that brother of mine couldn’t reach it at all—no matter what!”

The idea of Fudge constantly invading Peter’s physical space is reiterated in this section. Mrs. Hatcher initially refuses Peter’s request for a lock for his bedroom after Fudge scribbles on his class project poster. When Fudge breaches the room on a second occasion and is found playing with scissors and cutting his own hair, the Hatchers capitulate and install a chain lock that is out of the toddler’s reach. The author builds tension with each episode that relates to this theme, especially this occasion, which involves Fudge dropping his hair clippings into Dribble’s turtle bowl.

“It’s just that Daddy is so…well, you know…he doesn’t know much about taking care of children.”

Unlike many fathers of subsequent decades, Mr. Hatcher is rarely involved with the “hands on” aspects of childcare. Although he is a loving parent, the conventional gender roles he and his wife assume reflect an era that often demanded the presence of a full-time wife and mother. Mrs. Hatcher, concerned about her husband’s ability to deal with Fudge while she’s in Boston, petitions Peter to assist his father during her absence.

“Soon Fudge would be a famous television star and I would be plain old Peter Hatcher—fourth grade nothing.”

Vacillating between mature efforts to assist his parents with Fudge’s frequently rambunctious behavior and his own childlike tendencies, Peter submits to a moment of self-pity when Fudge is chosen to star in a commercial. Peter had entertained a brief fantasy involving his friends seeing him appear in the Toddle-Bike ad; this is erased when the company’s owner insists Fudge be involved in the production.

“He’s been wearing the same polo shirt ever since my mother left yesterday morning.”

When Peter’s mother visits Boston for a weekend, she leaves his father is in charge of the children. Peter is pleased by the relaxed rules that characterize his father’s childcare policies: he can stay up later at night and neatness is not emphasized. Conversely, Peter has internalized many of his mother’s domestic patterns. When his father announces that they’re going to a movie, Peter points out that Fudge looks “kind of messy” and that Mr. Hatcher is still wearing the same clothes from the previous day.

“He doesn’t even know where my mother keeps the peanut butter, the dishes, or the pots and pans. Lucky for him I was there to show him.”

Mr. Hatcher is portrayed as a well-reputed advertising executive who is incapable of performing the simplest domestic task. Peter notes that his father requires Peter’s help to find things in the kitchen. This leaves the reader wondering whether Mr. Hatcher is truly this challenged by the situation, or if he actively seeks ways to help Peter feel needed and competent.

“‘And just to be sure son,’ he said, ‘we got a dog that’s going to grow quite big. Much too big for your brother to swallow!’”

Mr. Hatcher assures Peter that he is the sole owner of the puppy gifted to him for his mature response to Dribble’s demise. Fudge is made aware that he may be given a dog of his own one day, but that this is “Peter’s dog.” The family laughs when Peter’s father makes a humorous allusion to Fudge having eaten Dribble, and this represents their moment of reconciliation.