Betrayal of Friendship for Fantasies

Reading the story, Fox, by M. wild and R. Brooks, it has lead me to a deeper meaning of friendship and betrayal. I think this book sends an important message to children and i think it's conveyed in such a well way that makes the children excited to learn and understand the meaning of a true friendship.

A theme that I came up with that i think really expresses the book is the message of be grateful for what you have and don't be greedy for more because when you do, you'll end up with less than what you started with. Magpie and Dog become good friends and they help each other and support eachother. they find what each of them needs, and helps them through it. Dog gives Magpie "her wing" and Magpie gives dog "his eye". Just this alone i think really stands out. I think this stands for a person with something missing inside of them. I think what the author does here is really clever and shows that the weakest people can join to be a strong person.

But then, there's Fox. Fox bribes Magpie into betraying her friend, Dog, because Fox promises her he is stronger than Dog. When magpie accepts i think this is where the theme comes in. I think that the author is showing how convincing people can be. But at the same time, the author is showing how people betray because they think they are going to end up with something better. The offer Fox gives Magpie seems so perfect to Magpie that she thinks about herself and Dog doesn't even cross her mind because she is only fantasizing about the wonderful encounters she will experience with fox. Magpie doesn't stop to think about Dog and how he'll be hurt and how she is making a wrong choice. I think this is an important message to send to children. It shows how brainwashed you become when you want more. When something isn't good enough and you think you can get better, that's all you focus on doing when really you should be taking for granted what you already have.

Magpie goes along with Fox, and leaves her friend, Dog, behind. It all seems so perfect to Magpie, until Fox betrays her. I think in this moment, Magpie feels what it's like to be betrayed and all the fantasies of having a better life leaves and she is just left with guilt that she left dog. I think the author did a really great job showing the consequences of betrayal and how wrong it is.

That leads me to my next part, about the resolution. This is probably my favorite picture book that we read because of the resolution. I think the author made a really strong choice of not making it an all "happy ending, lets all be friends again". I think that the choice of making Magpie realize how much that friendship with her and dog meant, and having her go find dog really showed the resolution to herself and how she decided to do the right thing, but the ending doesn't say if Dog forgives her, or if she ever even finds dog. I think this is such an empowering ending because it shows that there is no right answer in this. The author really wants the child to understand that, no matter if Dog forgives Magpie or not, she still betrayed her friends and that is wrong, but she faced herself and went to find him.