The Phantom Tollbooth

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The Phantom Tollbooth
Norton Juster

INTRODUCTION
PRINCIPAL WORKS
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
TITLE COMMENTARY
FURTHER READING

American author of juvenile fiction, picture books, and children's verse.

The following entry presents criticism on Juster's juvenile novel The Phantom Tollbooth (1961) through 2004.

INTRODUCTION

The Phantom Tollbooth, Juster's classic novel for children, was first published in 1961, with illustrations by Jules Feiffer, and has remained in print for over forty years. Milo, a boy who is bored with everything, is surprised by a mysterious, magical tollbooth that appears in his room one day. Upon entering the tollbooth, Milo sets out on a fantastic adventure through the Lands Beyond on a quest to save the princesses Rhyme and Reason from the Mountain of Ignorance and return them to the Kingdom of Wisdom. Over the course of his travels, Milo comes to appreciate the everyday world and once again becomes excited about life and learning. An allegorical tale as well as a rite-of-passage fantasy, The Phantom Tollbooth has been compared to such classic children's stories as Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. The Phantom Tollbooth was also adapted as an animated feature in 1970.

PLOT AND MAJOR CHARACTERS

As The Phantom Tollbooth opens, Milo is bored with everything in his life—"When he was in school he longed to be out, and when he was out, he longed to be in…. Wherever he was, he wished to be somewhere else, and when he got there he wondered why he'd bothered. Nothing really interested him." One day, a tollbooth mysteriously appears in Milo's bedroom with instructions for its assembly. With nothing better to do, Milo assembles the tollbooth, drives through its gates in a toy electric car, and finds himself in a fantasy world known as the Lands Beyond. The story follows Milo through a series of adven-tures as he enters this fantastical landscape and encounters its absurd inhabitants. Among his first stops is the land of the Doldrums, where the Lethargians—creatures overcome with boredom—threaten to trap him forever. Escaping the Doldrums, Milo makes the acquaintance of a "watch" dog named Tock, whose body is a ticking clock, and a human-sized bug-like creature called Humbug. Milo and his companions come upon the cities of Dictionopolis (the land of words), ruled by King Azaz the Unabridged, and Digitopolis (the land of numbers), ruled by the Mathemagician. The two kings, who are brothers, are engaged in an ongoing feud over which is more important—words or numbers. Their sisters, Rhyme and Reason, who were asked to settle the dispute, replied that they are equally important. Enraged by this answer, the two brothers banished the princesses from the Kingdom of Wisdom, leaving it in a state of total chaos and nonsense. Milo's quest from this point is to rescue Rhyme and Reason from the Castle in the Air in the Mountains of Ignorance. To accomplish this goal, he must pass through the City of Illusions, the City of Reality, the Fortress of Sound, and the Forest of Sight, all while contending with such bizarre characters as the Terrible Trivium, the Demon of Insincerity, and the Senses Taker, as well as Gross Exaggeration, Threadbare Excuse, and the Overbearing Know-it-all. Upon rescuing the princesses, Milo informs them of the lesson he has derived from his adventures: "There's so much to learn." When he brings Rhyme and Reason back to the City of Wisdom, Milo is celebrated as a hero. He returns through the tollbooth back to the real world, where he feels a new sense of enthusiasm about his existence.

MAJOR THEMES

A central theme of The Phantom Tollbooth is Juster's assertion that education and learning can act as potent antidotes to juvenile boredom. In the beginning of the text, Milo is a disenchanted, depressed child who enjoys nothing and finds school to be a waste of time. Over the course of his journey through the Lands Beyond, Milo discovers that actively pursuing goals fills him with a sense of purpose. In an interview with Laura Miller, Juster commented that the tollbooth symbolizes "something inside Milo that was trying to get him out of that ennui so that he could understand the real joys of life, which are learning and being involved in things." Another recurring thematic motif in The Phantom Tollbooth is the narrative struggle of ignorance versus wisdom and nonsense versus logic. Milo is sent on an allegorical quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason from the Mountains of Ignorance, because their absence leaves the kingdom in a state of chaos. He thus learns to appreciate the value of logic and order after experiencing first-hand the detrimental effects of a society ruled by nonsense and ignorance. Additionally, The Phantom Tollbooth playfully explores the contrasts between mathematics and language through Milo's encounters with the two kings who continually debate the superiority of words and numbers. Milo eventually accepts that both concepts are valuable in their own way, indicating Juster's conviction that art and science are equally valid educational pursuits. Through a clever combination of wordplay, puns, and grammatical jokes, Juster effectively conveys what he described, in an interview with RoseEtta Stone, as the central message of The Phantom Tollbooth: "You have to constantly look at things as if you've never seen them before. Or look at them in a way that nobody has ever seen them before. Or turn them over and look at the other side of everything."

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Since its initial publication, The Phantom Tollbooth has garnered a wide spectrum of critical acclaim and earned a reputation as a "cult classic" of children's literature. Dave Weich has opined that, "The Phantom Tollbooth is more than a great adventure; it's a playful celebration of language and of life." Juster's novel has been frequently compared to John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress as both are allegorical morality tales, featuring characters who represent specific human traits, such as Rhyme, Reason, and the Demon of Insincerity. Commonweal has described The Phantom Tollbooth as "[a] sort of Pilgrim's Progress in modern dress. A delightful, fanciful allegory brimming with imagination to enchant children and with symbolism to tickle adults." Several critics have applauded Juster for creating a text that advocates the value of learning to young readers, with Jeanne Murray Walker arguing that The Phantom Tollbooth "convinces us of the value of education through a nuanced and complex use of fantasy." Some reviewers, however, have criticized the book for being too verbally advanced for juvenile audiences, claiming that Juster's wit and verbal pyrotechnics are overwritten for his target demographic. Others have pointed out that the novel's enduring popularity—celebrating more than forty years in print—suggests that young readers have found plenty of meaning and entertainment in the author's wordplay. More recently, critics have discussed how Juster effectively portrays childhood depression in The Phantom Tollbooth, noting that Milo functions as the quintessential embodiment of disenchanted youth. Summing up the lasting impact of Juster's work, David Jays has characterized The Phantom Tollbooth as simply "a masterpiece answer to ennui."

PRINCIPAL WORKS

The Phantom Tollbooth [illustrations by Jules Feiffer] (juvenile fiction) 1961
The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics (juvenile fiction) 1963
Alberic the Wise and Other Journeys [illustrations by Domenico Gnoli] (juvenile fiction) 1965; reissued with illustrations by Leonard Baskin, 1992

Otter Nonsense [illustrations by Eric Carle] (children's verse) 1982; reissued with illustrations by Leonard Baskin, 1994
As: A Surfeit of Similes [illustrations by David Small] (children's verse) 1989
As Silly as Knees, As Busy as Bees: An Astounding Assortment of Similes [illustrations by David Small] (children's verse) 1998
The Hello, Goodbye Window [illustrations by Chris Raschka] (picture book) 2005

AUTHOR COMMENTARY

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TITLE COMMENTARY

THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH (1961)

Commonweal (review date 10 November 1961)

SOURCE: Review of The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer. Commonweal 125, no. 7 (10 November 1961): 186.

[The Phantom Tollbooth is a] sort of Pilgrim's Progress in modern dress. A delightful, fanciful allegory brimming with imagination to enchant children and with symbolism to tickle adults. Fantastic, mysterious drawings in complete keeping with the text. 10-up.

Atlantic Monthly (review date December 1961)

SOURCE: Review of The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer. Atlantic Monthly 208, no. 6 (December 1961): 120.

[In The Phantom Tollbooth, ] Milo was completely bored with life, and especially with schoolwork, which he considered a great waste of time. Milo's lassitude miraculously disappeared the day he got a surprise package in the mail curiously labeled, "One genuine Turnpike Tollbooth." Inside the package were directions for assembling the various parts of the tollbooth, a book of rules, and in small type, the guarantee that if, after using, the results were not satisfactory, all wasted time would be refunded. Milo set to work assembling the various items, including a car, and soon was whizzing down an unfamiliar highway completely "unabridged" to Dictionopolis. This unusual fantasy, besides being very amusing, has a quality that will quicken young minds and encourage readers to pursue pleasures that do not depend on artificial stimulation.

Miriam Mathes (review date 15 January 1962)

SOURCE: Mathes, Miriam. Review of The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer. Library Journal (15 January 1962): 84.

To a bored little boy [in The Phantom Tollbooth, ] the gift of a phantom tollbooth opens up a new, imaginative world after he deposits a coin and drives through the gate—from Dictionopolis where words are sold on the marketplace and a Spelling Bee buzzes around to the Castle in the Air where the Princess of Pure Reason and the Princess of Sweet Rhyme wait to be rescued. The ironies, the subtle play on words will be completely lost on all but the most precocious children. Definitely for the sophisticated, special reader. Only the large libraries can afford to experiment with it.

Saturday Review (review date 20 January 1962)

SOURCE: Review of The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer. Saturday Review 45, no. 3 (20 January 1962): 27.

In former days when the audience left a morality play some may have been impressed; others probably said the equivalent of: "There but for the grace of God go I." As [The Phantom Tollbooth ] is a modern morality story, its final appraisal must be left to the children who do or do not accept it. A number of adults seem to enjoy it, and I'm inclined to think it is largely an adult book. Youngsters are scarcely conscious of some of the situations the author is attacking nor responsible for them.

The story is of Milo, a boy who was "not interested in anything" and who "regarded the process of seeking knowledge as the greatest waste of time of all." Milo enters his adventure by means of a phantom tollbooth—through which he drives his small car. In his travels he meets such characters as Faintly Macabre, The Humbug, Dischord and Dynne, and the Dodecahedron. Finally he arrives at the Kingdom of Knowledge, where he rescues the Princesses of Sweet Rhyme and Pure Reason—and finds himself at home, now quite a different individual.

The theme owes much to both "Alices" and to The Pilgrim's Progress, with the Kingdom of Knowledge substituting for the Celestial City. In places it is interesting, in others it appears to try too hard to be clever, and goes above the head of its intended audience—the "lazy" mind. Ages 10 up.

Times Literary Supplement (review date 23 November 1962)

SOURCE: Review of The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer. Times Literary Supplement, no. 3169 (23 November 1962): 892.

The Phantom Tollbooth is something every adult seems sure will turn into a modern Alice. It is a morality-fantasy about Milo and his adventures beyond the magic tollbooth, where he finds a country that includes Dictionopolis, ruled by Azaz the Unabridged (his cabinet ministers can make mountains out of molehills, split hairs, leave no store unturned and hang by threads), the Princesses Rhyme and Reason, and the Dodecahedron that has twelve faces but uses only one at a time to save wear and tear. The obviously guess is that the appeal of this sort of writing is directed towards just the sort of adults who derive a perfectly grown-up pleasure from regularly rereading the Alices. As one might expect, it is illustrated by every grown-up's favourite child-like pictures with the built-in sad sophistication, the work of Jules Feiffer.

There was a time, only recently come to an end, when no one had the smallest anxiety about the child's appreciation and understanding of humour, sombre books about spelling and dying were thought very proper for child consumption, and children went on passing round their own bold, unbiddable, unpretty and unappetizing verbal jokes. The sort of sense of humour that collects awful Demandes Joyous and describes spaghetti bolognaise as "worms and earth" and a certain kind of dismal suet pudding as "boiled baby" is altogether too strong and uncivilized for adults to turn happily into written shape. It might well be doubted whether children like to laugh at all; but if anyone ever genuinely laughed at the banana skin joke, it was probably a child that first thought it funny.

[Text Not Available]

Jane Marino and Nancy Zachary (review date January 1999)

SOURCE: Marino, Jane, and Nancy Zachary. Review of The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer. Book Links 8, no. 3 (January 1999): 30, 32.

Gr. 5-8—Proclaimed as the number-one favorite of many young readers, this wondrous adventure [The Phantom Tollbooth ] follows Milo through the land of Dictionopolis, where he meets up with the watchdog, Tock, and masters his quest for Rhyme and Reason. A unique journey to be read countless times, the fantasy is enhanced by illustrations by the renowned Jules Feiffer.

Laurie Miller Hornik (review date May 2000)

SOURCE: Hornik, Laurie Miller. Review of The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer. Book Links 9, no. 5 (May 2000): 29.

Gr. 4-7—Much of the plot of this fantasy-adventure story [The Phantom Tollbooth ] is driven by wordplay based on homonym mix-ups. Pair this novel with Gwynne's A Chocolate Moose for Dinner or The King Who Rained or with Terban's The Dove Dove: Funny Homograph Riddles (Clarion, 1988).

David Jays (review date 31 March 2004)

SOURCE: Jays, David. "Classic of the Month: The Phantom Tollbooth." Guardian (London, England) (31 March 2004): 17.

[In the following review, Jays characterizes The Phantom Tollbooth as a classic work of children's literature, calling the text "a masterpiece answer to ennui."]

The world is a scary place, but few of its perils are as insidious as boredom. Learning how to manage monotony is a valuable, extended lesson. No matter what your age, life groans with tedium, habit and lethargy, and it's impossible to calculate how much time will be spent sliding into a mildly indifferent gloom. We're talking years, trust me.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (1961) is a masterpiece answer to ennui. Its hero, Milo, is perpetually dejected, burdened with motiveless discontent. Many classic children's stories begin with the hero bored senseless (Alice drowsing through an Oxford summer, Dorothy mooching round Kansas), but Milo is so depressed that even chirpy sparrows avoid his sighs. He is saved by the discovery of a package in his room addressed to "Milo, who has plenty of time". It contains a small purple tollbooth and a map of an unknown kingdom.

Milo is unimpressed—"The least they could have done was to send a motorway with it"—but climbs into his little electric car and trundles through the tollbooth. (Despite an upsurge in toll roads, this is almost the only reference that dates Juster's fantasy, an anachronistic gateway to another world.) He emerges into a landscape of words and numbers, caught between wisdom and ignorance. Landmarks include the castle in the air or the treacherous Doldrums (don't get stuck there). Milo intervenes in the longstanding grudge match between two royal brothers, who rule over linguistic Dictionopolis and number-crunching Digitopolis. With these realms of language and arithmetic perpetually at loggerheads, Milo must rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason, and restore harmony to the squabblesome kingdoms.

His companions are the trusty watchdog Tock, his body a lively alarm clock, and the braggartly Humbug. Their quest brings them face to face with quirky figures: the Spelling Bee; Alec Bings (he sees through things); Kakofonous A Dischord, Doctor of Dissonance, who bottles "swishes, squawks and miscellaneous uproar". Less endearing is the malicious Wordsnatcher, a bird like a soiled mop who takes the words out of your mouth, or the plausible demons who lure Milo into a wilderness of wasted time.

Juster, now 75, was a young Brooklyn-based architect when he began his first and most successful book. He dived into a passage about imagining infinity (you know the drill: think of the biggest number you can, then add one), and his triumph is to give concrete form to abstract notions, and to write completely without condescension. Citing the Marx brothers as a major influence, he maintains a stream of poker-faced puns. In Dictionopolis, people really do eat their words, while there's a car that will only move if you stay silent—because, of course, it goes without saying.

Juster shared an apartment with cartoonist Jules Feiffer, who illustrated the book as he read it. Feiffer is now best known as a Pulitzer-winning satirist, but his mordant drawings perfectly match the tone of the book. Few artists are better at drizzle, dull skies or a dank dungeon. His tour de force has a slimy phalanx of demons peering through a thick grey fog of ignorance. He draws Milo pale and frail, and the tubby little Whether Man ("If you happen to find my way, please return it, as it was lost years ago") resembles Juster himself.

In this world, the most forbidding region is called Reality. It's a state of mind so grim and dingy that people only look down at their shoes as they trot forward and back, so intent on getting by that they can't even see where they are. The Phantom Tollbooth is a spry allegory and a call to attention. It lodged in my imagination from the first childhood reading; returning to it now, when my adult working method is still mostly based on procrastination and mooch, I find it oddly inspiring. "That's the battle in life," says Juster, "to keep yourself fresh to those things so that you're always aware."