"It's all very well to spend time in Expectations," he thought, "but talking to that strange man all day would certainly get me nowhere."
Expectations is the first location that Milo reaches on his journey and already he is starting to learn some important lessons. For example, it is better to go and experience something for oneself than to spend too long thinking about what something might be like. The other thing he quickly learns is that it is better not to have too many expectations, or preconceived ideas, because they can often prevent one from enjoying the experience itself.
"It was impossible," said the King, looking at the Mathemagician.
"Completely impossible," said the Mathemagician, looking at the King.
"Do you mean -" stammered the Bug, who suddenly felt a bit faint.
"Yes indeed," they repeated together, "but if we'd told you then, you might not have gone - and, as you've discovered, so many things are possible just as long as you don't know they're impossible."
The journey Milo, Tock, and the Humbug undertook was incredibly difficult but they approached it methodically and because of its importance did not ever devise a "plan B." Consequently, they overcame the obstacles by keeping their eyes on the goal. The Mathemagician and King Azaz are making the point that one can do anything one sets one's mind on as long as the idea of it being impossible is not put into one's head. Anything is possible unless you are told otherwise and the lesson again is that perception is not a substitute for experiencing something oneself.
"Well, I would like to make another trip," he said, jumping to his feet, "but I really don't know when I'll have the time. There's just so much to do right here."
At the start of the book, Milo is not interested in anything despite the fact he has plenty of toys, games, and things to do, and is learning so many new things at school every day. The tollbooth is sent to him precisely for this reason. The lessons he learns during his adventure teach him to pay attention to all of the seemingly simple things around him that are beautiful, fascinating, or inexplicable, and to ask questions, seek knowledge, and have experiences. Despite all that he saw on his adventure, he now appreciates his surroundings and knows he can have more fun at home than back in the mystical lands of his journey.
"[Time] is our most valuable possession, more precious than diamonds. It marches on, it and tide wait for no man, and -"
Here Tock waxes poetic on time and its importance, even alluding to Chaucer. His words are an important lesson for readers, because they emphasize that life is short and that taking it for granted is a dangerous idea. We do not know how much time we have, so each second is precious and valuable; this is a good lesson for Milo, who wasted his days sulking and refusing to acknowledge the wonders of the world that surrounded him. By the end of the novel, even though Milo doesn't explicitly articulate a newfound appreciation for time, he does seem to be making much better use of it.
Milo nibbled carefully at the letter and discovered that it was quite sweet and delicious - just the way you'd expect an A to taste.
Juster intended his book to be read primarily by children, and within its magical pages there are plenty of things that will appeal to children at the same time as they contain a mini-lesson. The idea of making letters taste like something is ingenious, for it makes letters and words delicious and desirable. Milo is delighted and curious about how each of them taste, which is one of the first ways that he begins to see just how wonderful and fascinating words and letters can be.
"I wouldn't eat too many of those if I were you," advised Tock. "They might look good, but you can get terribly sick of them."
Tock is the older, wiser figure who frequently articulates little nuggets of wisdom. Here, he is commenting on the half-baked ideas that King Azaz is exulting over. They include things like "the earth is flat," "everything happens for the best," and "it never rains but it pours." Tock's wry comment is actually a good lesson, for he tells Milo and readers that it is not good to dwell on platitudes or things that are not thought out. It is better to be precise and thoughtful rather than to just toss things out without thinking about them.
"Perhaps someday you can have one city as easy to see as Illusions and as hard to forget as Reality," Milo remarked.
The passage about Reality and Illusions is a relevant one, especially for readers who recognize that everyone nowadays has a cellphone and barely looks up from it. Reality is a place where people ignored what was around them, took things for granted, and preferred to be busy rather than present. Illusions is lovely but offers nothing of substance; it is not real and it cannot nourish or provide meaning. Milo recognizes that neither of those are ideal and hopes that one day there can be a city that bridges the gap. This recognition of his is mirrored in Juster's assertions that both numbers and letters are important and must be used together.
"...you can swim all day in the Sea of Knowledge and still come out completely dry. Most people do."
To some extent Milo was doing this before he took the road into the tollbooth, for he was surrounded by things that could foster learning and he attended school, but he ignored all of that to exist in his own personal Doldrums. Canby uses a metaphor of people swimming in the Sea of Knowledge and staying dry to explain that indeed, people can be surrounded by things that could inspire, teach, and delight but choose to remain ignorant and unconcerned. It is no doubt easier to move through life without engaging deeply with anything, but it is certainly dull and depressing to do so.
"That is an odd name," he said, changing his smiling face for a frowning one. "And you only have one face."
Milo meets plenty of people and creatures that are different from him. He is encouraged to think about new perspectives and points of view and not conclude that his own is best. This is an excellent lesson for children, as it allows for the creation of empathy. The Dodecahedron has an interesting point with his multiple faces, and Milo sees the validity in it. However, Juster also allows readers to gain a deeper appreciation for what makes us human. We only have one face and it is a remarkable thing; the slightest variation in mood or feeling can manifest in a new expression or look.
"...but once you learn to use it, there's no end to what you can do."
The Mathemagician extols the virtues of the humble pencil, which may on the surface seem like a mundane tool but actually contains within it magic and worlds upon worlds. The pencil is used to discover and explore, to write and to add. It asks questions and provides answers, documents the world around you, connects you to others, and more. It is indeed like a wizard's staff in the magic it contains. Part of what makes Juster's book so compelling is imbuing everyday things with magic and power.
