Onion John by Joseph Krumgold
"Onion John" by Joseph Krumgold is a children's novel that explores themes of childhood, friendship, and the transition to adulthood through the experiences of a young boy named Andy Rusch. Set in a small town, the story begins with Andy’s overbearing father, who emphasizes winning and societal expectations. Andy meets Onion John, a local eccentric with a unique perspective on life, sparking a friendship that challenges Andy's understanding of reality and the constraints of adulthood. Together, they embark on imaginative ventures, such as attempting to influence the weather, which highlights the contrast between the innocent curiosity of childhood and the pragmatic views of adults.
As the plot unfolds, Onion John's unconventional lifestyle comes into conflict with community norms, leading to a series of events that culminate in his longing for autonomy. The book illustrates the tension between parental guidance and the desire for independence, illustrating how societal pressures can stifle creativity and individuality. Krumgold’s narrative emphasizes the importance of allowing children to grow and make their own choices, as well as the bittersweet nature of transition into adulthood. "Onion John," which won the Newbery Medal in 1960, is part of a trilogy that reflects on the maturation process, making it a poignant read for those interested in children's literature that grapples with complex themes.
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Subject Terms
Onion John by Joseph Krumgold
First published: 1959
Type of work: Moral tale
Themes: Coming-of-age, friendship, and social issues
Time of work: The 1950’s
Recommended Ages: 10-13
Locale: Serenity, a small town in the East
Principal Characters:
Onion John , the eccentric of SerenityAndrew Rusch, Jr. , a twelve-year-old boy who can understand John’s personal languageAndrew Rusch, Sr. , owner of the town’s hardware store, who intends that his son achieve all the goals he himself was deniedEechee Ries , Andrew’s second-best friend, who also wants to believe in John’s occult abilities
The Story
Andrew Rusch, Sr.’s domineering love of his son is made immediately apparent when he insists that Andy complain to Mr. Miller, the editor of Serenity’s newspaper the Lamp, because a picture of the local baseball team is too small to identify each of the players. When Mr. Miller indicates his displeasure with Andy’s high opinion of himself, Andy is put on the spot, especially since Mr. Miller says he will attend the final playoff game. Receiving mixed signals that the competition is only a game, but that winning is everything, Andy lets a ball get by him and land in the town dump, where Onion John, the town eccentric, is “doing his shopping.” John gives his visitor a nickel, and their friendship begins.
After winning the game with a three-run homer, Andy returns and becomes the only person in town able to understand John’s garbled, unique language. Later that day, Andy brings his friend, Eechee, to the squatter’s dilapidated quarters. The boys’ imaginations are fired by John’s unorthodox, eccentric ideas, such as his explanation of rain as coming from clouds that have eaten too many ground shadows.
Enthralled, the boys help Onion John with his scheme to release rain upon the parched farmland. Although the first joint attempt fails, it does rain after Onion John’s rites the next day. Andy’s father unsuccessfully tries to talk his son out of the friendship, although he himself is tempted to believe in John, but the boys remain intrigued.
Shortly thereafter, when Onion John comes to buy hinges for his front door, Mr. Rusch and Andy go to John’s house to fix the door. Amazed at the primitive, one-room hut that has no heat, electricity, or running water but four bathtubs, Mr. Rusch decides to make Onion John the beneficiary of a new Rotarian construction project. Hearing only the words “new bathtub,” John agrees. On Onion John Day, the townspeople tear down the old house and erect a completely new one. Unhappy with a modern house that now has only one bathtub instead of the five he had envisioned, Onion John cries.
The following day, Onion John unhappily returns the unused door hinges, and Andy unhappily listens to his father’s plans for his son’s future—a life filled with technology including a trip to the moon. Later that afternoon, Onion John’s house catches fire because he used his new stove incorrectly. Injured, John is taken to the hospital.
To save himself from the well-intentioned but self-serving townspeople, John runs away when Mr. Rusch decides that the town must rebuild Onion John’s home. Unable to convince his father that John (and he) want to plan their own lives, Andy decides that he and Onion John will run away together. Realizing, however, that Andy should not leave home, John refuses to take the boy along.
Finally, when Andy is able to convince his father that both John and he deserve the right to make independent choices, Mr. Rusch understands and agrees to allow Andy to choose his own future. Just when Andy has resigned himself to not seeing Onion John again, smoke is seen rising from a cave, where his friend has made himself another home.
Context
Onion John is one of a relatively small number of children’s books written by Joseph Krumgold, who was associated with the motion picture industry throughout his adult career. It is the second in a trilogy of books dealing with the maturation of a young, pre-teen boy, with each protagonist in each book playing a role in a fantasy life before becoming a responsible member of the adult world. The first book of the trilogy,...And Now Miguel (1953), is about a boy with a wish. And just as Miguel discovers his own identity in the story, so the author also stated that he experienced what good writers have always known, that to write is to discover oneself....And Now Miguel won the Newbery Medal in 1954 and was translated into thirty-one languages.
Onion John, which is also about a young boy, contrasts the value system of childhood with the values demanded of the maturing young adult. To refuse the adult value system results in an adult like Onion John, who lives in a mature, expanded body but is confined by the parameters of an immature mind. This sensitive portrayal of the mystical growth process from childhood to adulthood and the necessity for parents to allow their children to grow up to be independent, also won a Newbery Medal, awarded in 1960.
The final book in the trilogy, Henry 3 (1967), completed the author’s approach to the theme of a young boy achieving maturity as Henry is accepted into adulthood in a suburb of Long Island in which a matriarchal society prevails. In contrast, Andy’s father plays a pivotal but relatively obscure role in Onion John, while his mother is almost invisible. In all of these books, the focus is upon that almost magical period between dawn and sunrise when the child looks at the adult community, evaluates it, and joins it on his own terms while simultaneously the child is also evaluated as he emerges into the full scrutiny of the probing adult view.