Summary
Chapter 9: It’s All in How You Look at Things
The travelers are pleased to be on the open road; it is a beautiful day. They see a sign advertising the scenic route and view. When they pull off and gaze out across the gorgeous vista, they remark how lovely it is.
A voice says it is all in how you look at things. Startled, they see a boy about Milo’s age. Instead of his feet planted on the ground, he floats about three feet off of it. He comments that if one preferred deserts, then this would not be a great view. Milo understands.
Milo then asks why he floats off the ground. The boy explains that his family is born at their ultimate, adult height and grow downward. When Milo says it is the opposite for him, the boy laughs and says that sounds silly because things do not look the same at ten, fifteen, etc. His family sees things from the same angle forever.
The boy finally introduces himself as Alec Bings, and explains he can see almost everything: “whatever is inside, behind, around, covered by, or subsequent to anything else. In fact, the only thing I can’t see is whatever happens to be right in front of my nose” (106). It is a bit inconvenient, but his family helps because his father only sees to things, his mother looks after things, etc.
Milo asks if he can try, and Alec tells him to think like an adult. Milo makes it up a few feet but then crashes down. He decides to continue seeing things as a child. Alec sits down and shares that everyone has a different point of view. An ant, for instance might see a bucket of water as a vast ocean while an elephant sees it merely as a drink.
Chapter 10: A Colorful Symphony
Led by Alec, the travelers run throughout the tall trees. It is the late afternoon and the sun shines in deep, luminous patches. Alec often crashes into trees since he cannot see the tree right in front of him.
The Humbug worries that they are lost. Alec is unconcerned. He does not think one is lost because it is better to know where you aren’t than where you are. He does, though, instruct them to ask the giant. He points to a small house between the trees.
Milo and Tock knock on the door, which has a nameplate reading, “The Giant.” For the next several minutes, they meet the world’s smallest giant, the world’s tallest midget, the thinnest fat man, and the fattest thin man. Milo begins to realize it is all the same man. The man admits it but makes Milo swear to secrecy – he is an ordinary man and no one cares about ordinary men so he acts like all the other types. He also has nothing useful to help them find their way, so they depart.
A fantastic and stunning city appears between the trees. Milo excitedly asks if that is the city of Reality, and Alec laughs that it is only Illusions. He says Illusions is easier to see than Reality.
Tock inquires where Reality is, and Alec cheerfully replies that they are already in it. There is nothing to see, though, and Milo, Tock, and the Humbug are confused. People walk by, hurrying and staring at the ground as if there was something there. Alec tells the story of how there was once a lovely city there but as people became busier they began to ignore it and cared only about rushing to where they were going. Because nobody cared all the things began to vanish; everything is invisible now but the people do not seem to notice. The Humbug asks why they don’t live in Illusions since it is prettier, and Alec replies that many of them do but “it’s just as bad to live in a place where what you do see isn’t there as it is to live in one where what you don’t see is” (119).
Milo muses that it would be good if there were a city as easy to see as Illusions and as hard to forget as Reality. Alec smiles, and says that will happen if they bring back Rhyme and Reason.
The sun is setting and Alec leads them out of Reality into the forest where an enormous symphony orchestra with over a thousand members are playing at once. A tall, thin man with dark, deep-set eyes conducts them without a baton. Milo is puzzled because he hears no sounds but Alex tells him that they are playing the sunset, which they do every evening. Each instrument plays a color and they all play throughout the day.
Many of the instruments stop playing as night descends and the conductor, whom Alec introduces as Chroma the Great, drops his arms. Milo compliments him and asks if he plays all day long. Chroma assents and says he rests at night but the musicians play on. When Milo asks what happens if they stop playing. Chroma shows him – everything becomes dull and lined like a blank coloring book. The world would be dismal without color, he states.
Chroma then yawns that he needs some sleep and asks Milo to keep an eye on the orchestra and wake him at 5:23 for sunrise. Milo agrees, and Chroma bounds away. The Humbug settles to sleep and Milo excitedly wonders what the dawn will bring.
Chapter 11: Dischord and Dynne
At 5:22 a.m., Milo opens his eyes. He knows he ought to wake the conductor, but wonders what it would be like to conduct the sunrise himself. He thinks it will not be that difficult since the musicians are already cued, so at 5:23 he moves his finger in a slight motion. A single piccolo plays a single note and a tiny bit of yellow light flashes.
Milo is elated and continues. Everything proceeds perfectly for a bit but then suddenly the musicians begin to play harder and faster and the colors become brilliant and wild. Green snow falls, bushes turn orange. Nothing is the color it should be , and Milo is frantic and scared. The musicians play so fast that the sun rises and sets seven times and a whole week goes by.
Milo is about to cry and drops his hands. The musicians stop and he shouts for everyone to wake up because it is 5:27. Chroma returns and says he feels like he has slept for a week. He tells Milo he did a fine job watching the orchestra and that maybe someday he can do it himself. Milo says nothing about what happened, and no one to this day knows of that lost week.
It is time for Tock, Milo, and the Humbug to move on, so Alec bids them a sad and fond farewell. He gives Milo a telescope as a present, instructing him to be aware that there is more to see than is immediately apparent to the eye.
The travelers drive on, nearing a deep valley. They take the road down into it, where they see a carnival wagon parked. It is labeled Kakofonous A. Dischord, Doctor of Dissonance. They are puzzled, even more so when they hear a tremendous crash from within.
A voice invites them into the dimly lit wagon. It is filled with strange boxes and jars and vials. A small old man with huge ears and a tiny mustache informs them they are suffering from a severe lack of noise. He jumps around and grabs various bottles, with labels like Loud Cries, Crashes, Squeaks, Bangs, and more. He mixes droplets together and explains that he is a specialist in noise.
Milo asks why anyone would want the terrible noises he is creating and the doctor replies that they are very, very popular these days. In the old days, business was not particularly good, but now there are so many alarms and clanging bells and screeching trains. He states that he can cure them all of beautiful sounds, but they are not interested.
The doctor shrugs that he will gives the sounds to DYNNE for lunch. Milo, Tock, and the Humbug hear a rumbling noise that grows more and more deafening. From a bottle appears a cloud of bluish smog with a barely discernible face. DYNNE drinks the beaker of liquid and compliments the doctor. The doctor introduces him as his assistant and explains that he found him living alone and unwanted in a soda bottle. He helps concoct and dispense noise.
Milo asks what a DYNNE is and Dr. Dischord reminds him that people always talk about “that awful din.” Milo feels sorry for DYNNE, who is now very upset and sobbing. The doctor comforts him and says that noises are the most important things in the world. Milo replies that King Azaz says words are. The doctor roars that he is wrong.
Milo knows they ought to go now and asks if the doctor is going the same way. He says no, and that he has to go on noise collection rounds. When Milo says they are going to Digitopolis, the DYNNE looks horrified and worried. He tells them they have to pass through the Valley of Sound, a terrible place.
Chapter 12: The Silent Valley
The car hums along and the travelers wonder why DYNNE was so disturbed; the valley seems perfectly normal. Suddenly, though, they pass through a gate and absolutely every sound ceases. It is a strange and disorienting sensation.
The car rolls up to a group of people carrying signs protesting the silence. They hold up signs welcoming Milo and friends and begin to write out what happened there. The King of Wisdom gave the Soundkeeper control of all the sounds and noises of the past and present. She ruled wisely and generously and kept all sounds for future reference. Over time, though, new people and their new sounds came and people began to not listen at all. When that happens, a sound vanishes, which made the Soundkeeper disconsolate. One day, Dr. Dischord arrived and cured everyone of their ails except for noises, so the Soundkeeper furiously banned all sound. It is a sad state and every day is harder and harder.
One of the people tells Milo he must help them. If he goes in to visit the Soundkeeper and can just get one sound out, they can aim it at the fortress walls and burst open all the rest of the sounds. Milo agrees and walks to the fortress door.
The Soundkeeper lets him in and tells him they are allowed to have sound only in the fortress. She explains how she was listening to all her favorite radio programs of silence, stillness, and lulls. Milo notices she has lots of tinkling bells on her and thinks to himself that she seems to actually like sound quite a bit.
She assumes he wants to tour the vaults and happily leads him along. She shows him where every sound in history is kept. It is important to archive them because if you didn’t, she says, all sounds would be floating around and no one would know if they were old or new. She shows him how this works, and almost falls for Milo’s query regarding him keeping it.
They continue the tour and she shows him how they make sounds. First, one decides what the sound looks like. Then you make some, grind them up, and release the powder into the air. Milo muses that he has never seen a sound and she says they are mostly invisible. She shows him where they weave music and create speech.
Milo eagerly asks why the Soundkeeper doesn’t just create sounds for everyone. She scolds him that the world does not need more noise. A moment later she does wistfully admit it does not make her happy to hold back the sounds, but she cannot release them because some are so ugly to hear.
Milo is about to protest about good sounds but has a realization – he traps the word “but” in his mouth and does not utter it. The Soundkeeper does not notice, and bids him adieu. Milo races away.
Analysis
Milo, Tock, and the Humbug are out of Dictionopolis and on their way to Digitopolis and then to rescue the princesses; this is firmly in the middle of the hero’s journey cycle. While their journey is not quite dangerous yet, it is filled with a variety of problems, dilemmas, and strange characters. Alec Bings challenges Milo to think about the virtue of being a child. Chroma the Great reveals the exquisite beauty in music and nature and the unity between color and sound. Dr. Dischord and DYNNE reveal the discordance and cacophony present in modern life, which reminds Milo to appreciate beautiful sounds. And the Soundkeeper reveals to Milo how a limited worldview can be harmful to others as well as to one’s own person.
Speaking of the Soundkeeper, most of the people they meet are firmly affiliated with one particular concern – words, numbers, loud sounds, etc. While there is nothing wrong with being attached to and passionate about one thing, what Juster suggests is that such a perspective can be limiting in the best cases and corrupting in the worst. A ken formed solely around one discipline is not a ken at all; rather, it is a specific and partial body of knowledge that does not allow a person the fullest experience of life they can have. The characters such as Azaz, the Soundkeeper, and the Mathemagician ultimately realize that the way they’ve behaved because of their particular obsession has been more deleterious than helpful. They are all impotent, however, and it takes an outsider – Milo – to bring about change. Juster warns readers, then, about the harm associated with refusing to admit when you are wrong or need a change.
One of the most stunning scenes of the novel is the orchestral sunset. Juster admitted that this scene almost came out of nowhere to him. When asked about surprising scenes, Juster told Slate: “What jumps to my mind is the scene of Milo conducting the dawn. And that’s interesting because when the manuscript was turned in, the editor [Jason Epstein] didn’t like that and wanted to cut it. He was a wonderful editor, really terrific, and we argued about it. A lot of what he’d said I acted on, but finally with this one, he said, ‘Well, it’s your book.’ So we kept it in. I don’t know why it happened, but it was as you described it. As I was writing that scene, a couple of times I had to catch my breath because I didn’t know where I was going with it. It just began to happen.”
This scene becomes even more profound when readers learn Juster actually has synesthesia, a mental condition in which a person has to make associations between numbers and colors. Juster also explained that this extended to words as well. The intermingling, then, of words, colors, and numbers is understandably intimate, confusing, and empowering.
Another important element of this scene is that Milo makes a mistake and realizes how awry things can get when you do not heed the instructions of those who actually know what they are doing. When the sun rises he decides to conduct the orchestra himself and realizes just how ill-equipped he is to do it. He is not a conductor and should have listened to Chroma. He is not terribly punished, no doubt owing to the fact that he was motivated by mere curiosity rather than a desire to behave badly or selfishly, but he does feel ashamed by his actions. This is a nice and tidy moral lesson for children and adults alike.
