Dandelion Wine Essay Questions

How does this work connect to American literature as a whole?

Critic Marvin Mengeling provides an illuminating look at where this novel fits into the arc of American literature. Examples of connections include: 1) coming-of-age and initiation stories (Twain, Franklin); 2) spiritual discoveries, the sense of wonder, joy in the sensory experiencing of life, the miraculous and marvelous in the quotidian (Whitman); 3) symmetry and balance in structure (dandelion wine bottling mirrors Hawthorne's three scaffold scenes in The Scarlet Letter); 4) the will to live and the will to die (Queequeg in Moby Dick); 5) Melvillian motifs of light and dark and good and evil; 6) nostalgia, Americana, growing up (Twain); and 7) insidious darkness and danger (Poe).

What role does dandelion wine play in the text?

The bottling of dandelion wine is, first, a metaphor for the bottling and preservation of memory. A bottle of the wine can then be accessed months later - in the cold of winter, Douglas explains - in order to draw upon the warmth and richness of the summer memory.

Bradbury also uses the making of dandelion wine as a way to structure his novel. There are three scenes, one at the beginning, one in the middle, and one at the end. The first is when Douglas is just beginning his summer and has had a beautiful revelation that he is alive. The second is when he is beginning to see that life is much more complicated and depressing than he had expected it to be. The third is at the very end of the novel when Douglas has decided that life is indeed worth living and that experiences and memories can be painful but illuminating. Thus, the dandelion wine bottling mirrors Douglas's own journey.

How are Tom and Douglas similar and different?

Both Spaulding brothers are smart, resourceful, creative, and kind. They love their family and live life as fully as they can. Both demonstrate a tendency to want to document their experiences - Tom counts and Douglas logs things away. They are nostalgic for the past, lamenting the loss of the Lonely One as a villain (Tom) and the Green Machine and Trolley (Douglas). They also have epiphanies, Douglas' being that he is alive but then that he must die, and Tom's that everyone is ultimately alone. There are differences, however. Though he is younger, Tom is a bit more rational and less emotional. He is not as deeply affected by the changes and losses of the summer; he can reconcile them much more easily than his brother can. Douglas is young but sad, as Mr. Jonas describes him.

What does Douglas learn by the end of the summer?

The biggest lesson Douglas learns is that life is hard; it is full of uncomfortable changes, tragic losses, danger and despair, and an inability to control things. However, he comes to terms with that and realizes that despite such things, it can be beautiful and rich and deeply meaningful.

There are also other lessons interwoven in the text. It is necessary to respect and even revere one's elders, as they offer insights into life and portals to other times and places. Time cannot be slowed down or sped up. Danger and sorrow can stalk even the most pleasant environs. Rituals and rites provide structure and meaning to life. Happiness is in one's family and human connections rather than technology or glamour or money. Douglas still has growing up to do, but the summer of his 12th year was a fecund one for personal growth.

How does Bradbury view childhood?

Bradbury demonstrates absolutely no condescension towards children; in fact, he seems to cherish and tout the virtues of childhood consistently throughout his works. In Dandelion Wine, he views childhood as a time not just for play and fun but as a time in which people grapple with some of the biggest questions they will ever face. They face their mortality, experience losses, and learn what matters most to them. Children delight in things that adults have forgotten, bring curiosity and enthusiasm to the quotidian, and more closely embrace the virtues and values that society claims are important.