5B-The Phoenix and the Carpet: Notable Moment

For my notable moment from The Phoenix and the Carpet, I selected a scene from Chapter 6: Doing Good.  Particularly on page 153 after the children have arrived in France.  The children have just discovered a family’s hidden treasure after wishing to do a good deed on the carpet, and have gone to find the owners of the castle where the treasure is hidden.  They came upon a shabby house, and went in to discover it was the residents of that house family’s castle.  The family was in desperate need of a hidden treasure because they were broke. 

I like this entire chapter because the children are doing something good for once, but are still having an adventure.  This appeals to my expectations for reading any children’s literature during this class.  However, what striks me as the most interesting is when the phoenix says, “Why are you so sad at Christmas-time?” The narrator goes on to say, “The children looked at it with one gasp of horror and surprise, for the youngest of them knew that it is far from manners to notice that strangers have been crying, and much worse to ask them the reason of their tears.  And, of course, the lady began to cry again, very much indeed, after calling the Pheonix a bird without a heart; and she could not find her handkerchief, so Anthea offered hers, which was still very damp and no use at all.”  It is interesting to me that the narrator is teaching manners to the reader.  In my opinion, most children learn their manners from their parents.  However, if their parents are not around during their early child hood years when these lessons are taught, the children learn from their environment.  I think it is a brilliant idea that Nesbit is doing.  She is not only giving the reader entertainment, but also teaching the reader a social skill needed in life.

 This is helpful to all types of readers though because everyone could use a little reinforcement and reminder every now and then of what is appropriate behavior and what is not.  I like that the narrator communicates messages similar to this passage throughout the book.