Introduction
David Walliams employs imagination and humor to highlight the relationship between adults and children at a hospital. The story has irresistible characters and highlights many relatable issues that cannot be forgotten. The author further uses different themes to perfectly present his message. Additionally, his work acts as a clarion call for others to do better in society. Several critics have criticized the plot and themes used in David Walliam’s book. Walliams extensively uses humor and adventure to explain how the children at the hospital circumvent their toxic environment. He belabors the character of a toxic matron to show oppression and how adults oppress children.
Midnight Gang Review
The author makes a reader spellbound by narrating the adventurous encounters of young children at the Lord Funt Hospital. Walliams narrates an interesting category of children who are at their most active at midnight. In normal circumstances, everyone is usually asleep except for the young patients at Lord Funt Hospital, who are set on a mission to explore. Tom is accidentally hit by a cricket ball and, as a result, he is hospitalized at Lord Funt. At the hospital, he bumps into a bunch of curious and adventurous children. Tom makes friends with the four children, who later on change his whole-life experience. Collectively, the new friends become part of the Midnight Gang and begin exploring (Walliams, 2018). In their pursuit of adventure, they are met by a child-hating matron and one weird-looking but kind cook. The two persons have different effects on their stay at the hospital wards.
Tom tells the doctor and Porter that he feels unloved by his parents. His attitude informs us why he is keen to join the midnight gang and help make other children’s dreams come true (Walliams, 2018). Tom teams up with Amber, Sally, George, and the receptive Porter to execute most of their fun adventures. Tom feels more secure and accepted by his new friends than when he is at school or home. The Matron grows suspicious and when Tom is due to be discharged, he feigns another illness to get an extra week with his new interesting friends. The kids plan for a second adventure which is rudely interrupted. Unreasonably, an old lady Nelly takes away balloons from George since she celebrates birthdays every week (Walliams, 2018). Tom’s time spent at the hospital lapses and he tries to hide when the headmaster comes for him. Tom leaves the hospital happier since Sally calls his parents, who now begin to show concern. The book gives a sweet turnaround story and how the lives of all the children changed positively.
The author uses themes such as friendship and a review of feelings throughout his book to express his thoughts. Tom finds the new environment with other children to be friendly. Friendships and family play a huge psychological role among children as it affects their social interactions with other (Rose et al., 2022). Tom tells the doctor how he feels unloved by his parents and even feigns illness to get an extended stay at the hospital. Children’s feelings and emotions towards those around them ought to be studied with caution. A sensitive and effective response toward a child’s feelings improves the child’s well-being (Dalton, Rapa and Stein, 2020). Tom and the other children are ever nervous, scared, and anxious at the mention of the matron. Such an occurrence speaks volumes to the levels of the mental well-being of child patients at Lord Funt Hospital. In addition to that, it shows how poorly the medics handle the mental growth of children.
Williams’ book is a masterpiece in child entertainment and has received a fair share of commentaries and criticisms. For instance, Walliams uses humor to make a reader glued to his story. Humor can be used to clothe the pain that a person is going through (Pérez-Aranda et al., 2018). Tom’s school uses a ridiculous motto that suggests that pupils should never complain, no matter what situation they are in. While this is presented sarcastically, the flip side of it shows that children in that school suffer in silence but cannot be allowed to express it. The Midnight Gang has been acknowledged as an important text on friendship, kindness, and problem-solving skills among children (The Guardian, 2022). Such a positive criticism shows the general acceptance and relatability of his book in the contemporary world. From a personal perspective, the Midnight Gang shows the stark reality that children face when in the hands of bad teachers, parents, and healthcare providers.
Conclusion
David Walliams uses humor and various themes to highlight critical child concerns in our societies. Issues such as child neglect and mistreatment both at the family, health, and school level have been elaborated humorously. Additionally, other important skills in the development of children have been evidenced by Midnight Gang’s creativity. Children should therefore learn how to make friendships, problem-solve, and be creative to improve their social interactions. The styles used by David leave a reader reeling and yearning for more. Such literacy skills have the effect of presenting an eyesore as an interesting read to make more people relate to the main problem. The story also highlights how adults mistreat, neglect, and scare away children, which should not be the case.
Reference List
Dalton, L., Rapa, E. and Stein, A. (2020). Protecting the psychological health of children through effective communication about COVID-19. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, [online] 4(5). doi:10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30097-3 gang.
Pérez-Aranda, A., Hofmann, J., Feliu-Soler, A., Ramírez-Maestre, C., Andrés-Rodríguez, L., Ruch, W. and Luciano, J.V. (2018). Laughing away the pain: A narrative review of humor, sense of humour and pain. European Journal of Pain, 23(2). doi:10.1002/ejp.1309 gang.
Rose, A.J., Borowski, S.K., Spiekerman, A. and Smith, R.L. (2022). Children’s Friendships. The Wiley‐Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Social Development. doi:10.1002/9781119679028.ch26 gang.
the Guardian. (2020). The Midnight Gang review – escape to Walliams’ wonderland. Web.
Walliams, D. (2018). The Midnight Gang. HarperCollins.