🚶🏽➡️Leon Flashcards
Who is Leon?
Leon is the protagonist of the novel. He is a mixed race boy who has a white brother called Jake and grows up as this novel progresses making it a Bildungsroman.
What is Leon’s importance to the novel as a whole?
Leon is the protagonist of the novel, and through de Waal’s use of third person limited narrative voice, we see events and characters through his perspective. We see Leon’s development and gradual acceptance of the situation he is in, and through his character we are forced to explore ideas about identity, family, and belonging.
“The empty sound in the house is louder than Jake crying for his bottle.” (Ch. 13)
This quotation demonstrates Leon’s intense love for Jake, and how much he misses him when he’s gone. It is a mature recognition of the physical and emotional pain of missing someone, and the sensory imagery makes the reader feel sympathy for Leon. Because of Leon being forced to look after Jake from a young age, he feels a sense of responsibility for him. He misses Jake throughout the text and his key aim is to get him back.
‘You’re nice and big for your age. A right little man.’ (Ch. 1)
From the very first chapter of the novel, Leon is recognised as being tall for his age. Throughout the novel, repeated reference is made to Leon’s appearance, and that he seems a lot older than he is. Perhaps Leon is expected to respond to things in a more mature way than his 9/10 year old self because of his appearance.
“She squeezes his fingers and he can feel her love travelling all the way down from her heart into his. It’s like special electricity, a secret.” (Ch. 14)
Despite her flaws, Leon loves his mother. In this quotation, where Leon sees his mother at Maureen’s house, we see that he recognises the love as something physical, and longs for connection. However, as a reader, we can recognise that Carol is not well enough to return that love. However, there is a sense of closure in the penultimate chapter of the book as Carol finally admits she loves Leon as well as Jake, and says it’s time for him to move on.
‘But out of all the social workers he’s ever had, she looks at him the most.’ (Ch. 16)
Although there are many situations Leon misunderstands because of his age, there are some complexities he sees to grasp quickly, showing wisdom beyond his age. This quotation is one such instance-he seems to grasp that many of the social workers don’t properly see or acknowledge him, and he recognises when people do care about him.
“If Leon had a remote control he would […] turn Sylvia off, click, and the teachers off, click, and the social workers off, click, click, click. Then he would crush the remote control with a big hammer so they could never come on again.” (Ch. 21)
This quotation demonstrates anger towards the adults in his life. He feels frustrated at the lack of control he has in his situation, and sometimes his frustration comes out physically (for example, when he blocks Sylvia’s toilet and wrecks his room at Maureen’s), and sometimes we just see his emotional outbursts in his head like this. This quotation also highlights the power of the imagination.
‘all the things he’s collected’ (Ch. 25)
The euphemism of a ‘collection’ shows that Leon sees the things he’s stolen as something valuable. Later on, in Chapter 31 he says he ‘doesn’t want to spend any of his money on carrot seeds because he’s going to need every penny.’ We come to recognise that Leon steals for a number of reasons- firstly, to feel in control. Secondly, as a punishment for people who he sees doing wrong (like stealing Sylvia’s back door key when she speaks badly about his mum). Thirdly, to ‘collect’ things that will able him to fulfil his fantasy of rescuing Jake and his mum, and supporting them.
‘He smiles. Just like Maureen has a soft voice and Sylvia has three or four different voices, Leon can have a pretend voice as well.’ (Ch. 35)
Here, after Leon has experienced what he believes is a betrayal from Maureen, he learns to lie. We have heard about him lying in the past in dialogue and snippets of conversation, but this is the first time Leon acknowledges lying himself.
‘No one cares about me. No one cares about my brother. I’ve got a baby as well. He’s my baby. […] I can’t see him. I keep asking and asking but you only care about yourself. Everyone steals things from me.’ (Ch. 37)
This explosive quotation is a contrast to Leon’s usual exchanges with Devlin and Tufty- he is generally quiet, or asking or answering questions. Here, he expresses his anger and hurt at how the adults in his life have been treating him, and about his circumstances in general. The snippet ‘Everyone steals from me’ is particularly emotive, perhaps justifying to the reader why Leon steals, as everything he cares about has been taken away from him.
‘Leon holds his arms open. “We are not a warrior”, he says. “We have dignity and worth.’’ (Ch. 39)
As Leon faces the police officer in Chapter 39, he quotes a line from Tufty’s poem, ‘Ode to Castro.’ In his own way, Leon diffuses the situation with both childlike innocence but also understanding ahead of his years. This peaceful small moment of protest emphasises the power of poetry and communication.
‘It’s strange to think that this little black bean will grow up to be a big plant and that plant will have its own seeds to make another plant and another seed and this will go on, over and over, for years, and he remembers what Maureen said about Jake. He hasn’t gone forever.’ (Ch. 42)
This moment is a peaceful one at the end of the novel, and demonstrates Leon’s current acceptance of the situation. He recognises, by using the metaphor of a seed, that situations grow and change; all we can do is make the best of the situations we are put into.
‘Everyone steals from me.’
LEON, STEALING. The motif of stealing runs through the novel, as Leon gathers more things for his ‘collection’.
However, during his outburst to Tufty and Devlin in the shed, we realise why Leon steals; he feels like everything he loves has been stolen from him (Jake, his childhood toys), and that he therefore needs to steal to survive.
‘[The allotments are] better than a park because everyone has their own bit of land to look after and they can do what they like with it.’
HAPPINESS, LEON. The setting of the allotments represents happiness for Leon- he likes being responsible and looking after things, and at the allotments he can help nurture the plants and make them grow as a replacement for looking after Jake.
The allotments are full of diverse and multicultural people, bonded by a common purpose. Rookery Road Allotments also symbolizes Leon’s growing desire for independence, freedom, and a permanent home where he belongs.
