American fiction has a plethora of notable representatives whose works left a significant mark in the genre. It would be reasonable to claim that Carl Hiaasen is among these writers. Hence, his books might always be considered as a relevant and pertinent theme to discuss. Plenty of scholars have recognized his legacy, and readers tend to be loyal to his works. This paper aims to investigate Hiaasen’s Hoot, determining its features of domestic and adventure fiction, as well as exploring the essentials of this book – plot, characters, and ideas.
Carl Hiaasen raises the topic of adaptation of a newcomer to the school. For American children, whose parents roam the country in search of the best job offers, this issue is relevant to a great extent. There is always a novice in the classroom who becomes the object of ridicule from classmates. In such a situation, the child aspires to turn the tide and make friends. Especially if this child is not physically strong and does not possess any special talents.
The story of Roy Eberhardt, a protagonist, who comes to Florida from Montana and immediately gets the nickname – cowgirl – is a classic example of a story about bullying a new classmate. Hiaasen creatively shows how these harsh conditions can be changed. The plan is relatively simple – not to give up, find an interesting activity, and involve classmates in it. Nevertheless, in this scenario, the child must act in certain circumstances. He or she is to feel the basic and unconditional support of the family and be confident in his or her own rightness.
In the book, the whole story revolves around burrowing owls that will be buried with bulldozers to build a pancake network. Despite the fact that all children love these pancakes, they stand together to protect the environment. There are many ethnographic details from American life in Florida – people love oatmeal pancakes with licorice and avocados, as well as skate in shopping centers. They also watch movies only because the former Miss America plays there. The central theme of this environmental teenage detective might be as follows. Even a lonely family-rejected teenager can defeat a wealthy corporation if his or her intentions are just and pure. Roy makes friends, saves burrowing owls, and understands a number of democratic truths by the end of the plot.
It seems rational to state that Hoot may be considered as a domestic fiction due to a number of traits. First, the set is around the school, which is visible from the very first page of the book, “Roy ordinarily didn’t look out the window of the school bus” (Hiaasen 1). Second, during the initial school bus trip, the author seems to emphasize toxic relationships between children of the school age. “Roy was sure that the barefoot boy would catch all kinds of grief from Dana and the other big kids once he boarded the bus, but that didn’t happen” (Hiaasen 1). This is also a peculiarity of domestic fiction as it explores the psychological essence of characters and situations. Third, the danger for the protagonist takes place through social interactions – “Dana Matherson grabbed Roy’s head from behind and pressed his thumbs into Roy’s temple” (Hiaasen 1). According to Cengage, the mentioned peculiarities allow perceiving Hoot as a domestic fiction from the plot’s beginning. Nevertheless, the book also has some features of adventure fiction.
The first argument in favor of the latter statement is that the protagonist is a boy. The narration focuses mostly on this character, which is a common characteristic of this kind of literature (Tucker). Then, the plot provides the reader with the opportunity to follow Roy’s actions dedicated to achieving an extraordinary goal – the rescue of burrowing owls’ homes. Moreover, the narration includes a lot of action, not allowing the reader to get bored, as well as keeps him or her excited due to a detective element. Finally, during the story, the protagonist tends to develop substantially. Roy’s reveals that the network is acting without the necessary permissions, which event involves him into politics to an exact extent (Aitchison 149). It leads to a crushing blow of the pancake network’s plan, and in his interview, Roy claims that his only intention was to save owls. This emphasizes his noble and pure aspirations that serve as a foundation for the story.
To conclude, the above discussion addresses the topic of Hoot’s peculiarities within the scope of domestic and adventure fiction. It was found that the book contains features of both these genres, creatively combining them so that the reader cannot get bored. The detective element that is integrated into the plot contributes to the thrilling flow of events. Then, the pivotal themes and narration of Hoot depict a harsh situation in which a school newcomer is usually involved. Hiaasen shows that the willingness to surmount obstacles and continue to move towards the determined goals contributes to overcoming the mentioned severe conditions.
Works Cited
Aitchison, D. “Little Saboteurs, Puerile Politics: The Child, the Childlike, and the Principled Life in Carl Hiaasen’s Ecotage Novels for Young Adults.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 2, 2015, pp. 141–160.
Cengage. “Domestic Fiction.” Encyclopedia.com, 2020, Web.
Hiaasen, Carl. Hoot. Random House Children’s Books, 2004.
Tucker, Kristine. “Characteristics of Adventure Fiction.” Pen & the Pad, 2020. Web.