Turtle in Paradise

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2010

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-6

Chapters 7-12

Chapters 13-18

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Themes

Pessimism Versus Optimism

Through Turtle’s narration, Holm explores the challenge of balancing pessimism and optimism, showing the flaws associated with both extremes.

As the novel opens, Turtle is feeling openly pessimistic. On her way to Florida to live with people she doesn’t know, Turtle brings with her years of disappointment and discouragement from living as an assistant to Sadiebelle, who is a housekeeper. After repeated examples of cruelty and insensitivity toward her and her mother, Turtle is convinced that people are bad, and that life rarely works out for the best as it does in the movies.

The flaw in this approach is revealed as Turtle begins to integrate herself into Key West society and finds, to her surprise, that there is much good to be discovered in the people around her. The key is that it sometimes takes work to uncover and cultivate goodness, both in oneself and others. With Nana Philly, for instance, Turtle must return several times before the elderly woman softens. Had Turtle decided that there was no point in visiting Nana Philly, as her pessimism would suggest, she would have missed out on a vital friendship.

On the other extreme, unbridled optimism can be equally hurtful. Try as she might, Turtle cannot resist the appeal of dreaming and hoping for a better life. Sadiebelle makes promises that she may never be able to keep; she and Turtle even pick out a specific home model from the Sears mail-order catalog, which they plan to buy. Archie encourages Turtle and Sadiebelle in their unrealistic dreams, even going so far as to suggest that they will all live on “Easy Street” one day. When, with Archie’s betrayal, Turtle’s hopes come crashing down, Turtle feels that she has been duped: “Archie sold me a dream—Mama happy, a home, a family at last—and I bought it hook, line and sinker. Turns out I’m as much of a sucker as anybody” (173).

As Turtle discovers, the problem with both general pessimism and optimism is just that—generalization. While it may be easier to adopt a single positive or negative outlook and apply it to all situations, neither perspective is completely accurate all the time. Instead, the harder, but more accurate and useful approach, is to consider new people and situations non-judgmentally, with an open mind. As she concludes her narrative, Turtle contradicts her earlier statements to admit that “not all kids are rotten” (177). Of course, some people will act cruelly or unkindly, but it takes time and effort to discover the truth about people and complex situations. Instead of relying on snap judgments based on a fixed outlook, Turtle is now poised to approach the world around her with the nuance it deserves.

Coping With Economic Hardship

Throughout Turtle in Paradise, Holm repeatedly draws attention to the plight of those affected by economic hardship during the Great Depression, while highlighting how those same people demonstrate resilience in supporting one another.

The backdrop of the Great Depression plays a significant role from the start of the novel. Sadiebelle’s decision to send Turtle to Florida hinges on her new job working for a woman who does not want children around. Were employment more plentiful, Sadiebelle might have been able to pass on the opportunity, but out of necessity, she accepts the position and sends Turtle away. On her way to Florida, Turtle sees evidence of distress caused by poverty, exemplified by the poor family with a flat tire she and Mr. Edgit pass.

Conditions are not much better in Key West. Seeing all the kids who want to join the Diaper Gang, Turtle reflects that the situation mirrors that of unemployed adults throughout the country. Meanwhile, people who are too poor to pay in cash have taken to exchanging goods, such as candy, for the services rendered by the Diaper Gang. On the positive side, Turtle notes that no one ever goes truly hungry in Key West: “That’s the one good thing about Key West: there’s food everywhere—hanging from the trees, in the ocean—and it’s all free” (109). As a result, the people of Key West are quick to share their food as well as companionship and other goods with one another. It’s not uncommon for kids Turtle’s age and younger to gather edible fruit from nearby and toss it into a communal bowl for a so-called “cut-up.”

Still, the people of Key West suffer in other ways. The houses are small and some, such as Nana Philly’s, are beginning to decay. The passage of a hurricane causes damage, though other areas are hit harder. More personally, Turtle and Sadiebelle are victims of theft when Archie takes Turtle’s share of the money and vanishes to Cuba. Left with little or no money to their names, Turtle and Sadiebelle would have no choice but to return to the housekeeping industry, were it not for the generosity of their family. Indeed, moments before Aunt Minnie and Beans invite Turtle and Sadiebelle to stay with them in Key West, Turtle reports feeling totally overcome: “The tears rain down like spitballs, and there’s no stopping them now. […] Mama’s drowning and she’s dragging me under and there’s no one to rescue me. This time I’m not going to make it” (176). Despite these feelings, Turtle finds that her family does come to her rescue. The implication is that, although no amount of money can fix a poor relationship, strong relationships can help those facing a lack of money, or any other kind of hardship.

Building Relationships Through Empathy

Instead of facing a traditional villain who opposes her, Turtle faces the challenge of starting a new life in an unfamiliar location. This consists of getting to know the people around her and befriending them. In presenting Turtle’s efforts to form and strengthen relationships, Holm draws attention to the significance of empathy, or learning to see things from someone else’s perspective.

One of the most challenging relationships, from Turtle’s perspective, is with Beans. Their first meeting is marked by a distinct lack of empathy, as the two take an immediate disliking to each other; each sees the other as an annoyance. Rather than empathizing with Turtle’s difficulties, Beans relies on stereotypes about girls to keep her out of the Diaper Gang, even when she contradicts his stereotype by saying that she is not particularly fond of babies. Turtle, meanwhile, ridicules Beans’s name, as well as the customs and slang of Key West. As the novel progress, Turtle and Beans settle into a relationship of casual rivalry, with Turtle surpassing Beans by landing a job with Slow Poke and tricking the ice cream salesperson after Beans failed to do so, even as Beans maintains his strict policy of exclusion from the Diaper Gang. Only when the upsetting events of their joint treasure hunt force them to consider each other’s welfare do the two begin to set aside their disagreements, with Turtle stepping into a role as mediator between Beans and Pork Chop. Later, when Beans witnesses Turtle’s despair at Archie’s betrayal, he returns the favor, if indirectly, by prompting Pork Chop to invite Turtle to join the Diaper Gang. Beans’s increase in maturity and empathy is also demonstrated by his willingness to allow Too Bad to join. In each case, practicing empathy allows characters who have different outlooks to connect with each other.

Another key set of relationships centers on Nana Philly, including her relationships with her daughters as well as Turtle. Around the time Sadiebelle left Key West, she and Nana Philly had an argument that ended with Nana Philly verbally disowning Sadiebelle, who didn’t return to Key West for more than a decade. When Turtle shows up in Key West, she is a reminder of the bitter past, and Nana Philly responds accordingly, with rude and aggressive behavior. Nana Philly maintains her coolness toward Turtle until Turtle forces her to think about the effect of her actions on Sadiebelle, asking, “You were mean to her, too, weren’t you? […] Is that why she hasn’t come back to Key West?” (110). A shadow of regret passes through Nana Philly’s face, and from then on, she treats Turtle with kindness and respect. By the time Sadiebelle returns to Key West, Nana Philly is ready to welcome her back, while her tears demonstrate that she regrets her poor behavior. Meanwhile, Aunt Minnie and Sadiebelle renew their relationship when Aunt Minnie responds with empathy to Sadiebelle’s predicament following Archie’s betrayal. Overall, these examples demonstrate that empathy can provide a pathway to healing in damaged relationships.