Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nihm

One of my favorite pieces of juvenile literature is Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nihm, a book that had a lot of influence on me when I read it at age 11 or whatever it was. So I bought the book for Palmer and have been reading it to him.

I find myself thinking about how silly it is that the doctors from the National Institute of Health couldn't figure out that their experiment has not been a failure, but rather a remarkable success. As an adult, I think about all the tax dollars that went into the experiment, and feel like it would be much more satisfying if the doctor and the rats had found a way to communicate with one another and for the findings to get publicized. It seems like important work and it is a shame that because of mistrust nothing ever comes of it for the greater good.

It seems to me that if the doctors had trusted in their subjects, they would have found a way to communicate and understand. Why in the world would they want to kill the rats? Wouldn't they want to invite the rats to come live at Nihm, and show them all they had learned how to do, in a free and open way?

The rats learned how to do some amazing things, and they would like, I think, a chance to show off for the doctor, if only he wouldn't come at the rats with bulldozers and cyanide gas. Nicodemous would like to invite him in, down the long dark corridor lit with little colored lights, and show him around, just like he did for Mrs. Frisby.

Comments

Óli Gneisti said…
Í þeirri góðu hefð sem það er að skrifa aldrei athugasemd nema til að benda á villu þá er þetta NIMH. National Institute of Mental Health held ég. En ég hef aldrei lesið bókina. Bara séð teiknimyndina.
November 3, 2015 at 10:10 AM
Lissy said…
Takk fyrir thad, var einmitt ad hugsa kanski thad ser NiMH en langadi ekki ad standa upp og na í bókunni.
November 3, 2015 at 4:01 PM
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