The autobiographical book “I Can Jump Through Puddles” was published in 1955, when Alan Marshall was already an experienced and recognized writer in his homeland. At 53, he returned to the bright world of childhood. He recalls episodes from his life, especially emphasizing moments of overcoming difficulties. His little hero, who has no legs, can only move on crutches. Below we consider the heroes of the work and its summary. “I can jump through puddles” describes how Alan completed his task, became on a par with healthy peers and even in many ways became higher than them.
Disease
The boy was born strong and healthy to the joy of parents. He had a whole zoo at home: the possum he tamed, the old smart Pat Cockatoo, the dog Meg, the cat. But when Alan went to school, an epidemic of polio broke out. He was the only child in the village who fell ill with him. The neighbors talked about God's punishment, but the father reacted to this completely differently. He did not pray, but eventually put his son in the hospital.
By this time, Alan did not feel his legs at all. In addition, they bent and did not bend, and the back was deformed. So bitterly begins the story that we are considering. We study its summary. “I can jump through puddles” describes not jumping over puddles, but much more serious achievements first of the child, and then the teenager.
In the hospital
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were no special children's hospitals in Australia. In a large ward among 14 patients, Alan was the only child. Patients treated him with care. The boy even liked that he was so seriously ill and attracted everyone's attention. Moreover, he believed that this was all temporary, and he would soon go round the horses.
Alan made friends most of all with Angus MacDonald. And he encouraged him when the operation was to begin. Alan fell asleep when he was anesthetized, and woke up when it was all over, only the gypsum did not freeze. He was still soft and wet. The boy was told that you can’t move, but he still moved to find out what would happen after that. But it turned out that the gypsum hardened incorrectly and painfully dug into the leg. Under it, inflammation formed. It was very painful, and Alan, when no one saw, cried.
Gypsum was removed, but Alan raved about the inflammatory process for another week. And then it all fused badly. To improve blood circulation, the boy was taken out in a wheelchair to the street. He was interested in the arrangement of the chair, and in general, he was delighted to see something other than the hospital ward.
One boy who visited someone in the hospital passed a fence and threw a bag of candy with Alan. Kulek fell far, but Alan firmly decided to pick it up. He rocked his gurney, fell out of it and crawled to the treasured sweets. Perseverance in achieving the goal, as we will see, studying the summary “I can jump through puddles”, was Alan's main quality.
At home
When Alan returned home, no one began to treat him like a cripple, and he himself did not perceive it that way. Classmates came after him and drove to school in a wheelchair. One day, one of the boys threatened to hit him on the back. Alan did not keep silent, promised to answer in such a way that a wet place would remain from the enemy.
All the guys took the upcoming fight seriously. After classes, they cut out sticks to the opponents, put both on the ground, and the fight began. It ended with the victory of Alan. This episode, which shows Alan's courage, is certainly worthy of being included in the summary. “I can jump through puddles,” Marshall's tale describes him very colorfully.
Hunting
And although Alan was very strong, his legs did not want to obey, and there are so many interesting things in the world besides school. He and his friend Joe Carmichael went hunting on crutches.
They set traps and checked them every day, and in addition, they took three dogs that tracked rabbits and hares. They sold the skins to the buyer, and so the guys earned themselves pocket money. For Alan, whose legs did not want to obey, every step on crutches was an overcoming of himself, although he was not aware of this. This is how Marshall's childhood describes his full movement. “I can jump through puddles” is a book of educating a person.
At an extinct volcano
Once, all the guys gathered to climb a high crater and roll stones into it. Alan, even though the road was exhausting on his crutches, walked along with them. Having rolled stones down, everyone decided to go down to the bottom. Alan decided to keep up with them, although he was scared. Everyone was already at the bottom when Alan, leaving crutches, crawled into the vent. He got to the very bottom when everyone had already decided to go up.
The way back was much harder than forward. His knees and hands were very sore, his heart was beating hard. But Alan was satisfied. It was his new step in overcoming himself. So you can understand this episode that Marshall described. "I can jump through puddles" - the story that a person will not be disabled if he does not want to be him.
What else happened to Alan
The rider’s son was determined to learn to ride a horse. One of the boys at the school had a pony. And Alan, making incredible efforts, doing this for two years, learned to firmly sit in the saddle and control the horse, although his legs were completely inactive.
He hit his father when he once rode a pony into their yard, and showed that the horse under him was prancing, and he freely controlled it. Alan also learned to swim. In their area, not only children, but also adults did not know how. He studied by himself. At first I looked at the frogs as they swim, then read the manuals, and only when one passerby, living not in their area, showed how to work with his hands, everything turned out perfectly for Alan.
This is not all Alan's achievements, but only their very brief retelling. “I can jump through puddles” is a work that describes all the milestones of the formation of an unbending personality.
The main characters that surround Alan
Around Alan are mostly friends who do not pay attention to his defect. Friends and parents are the main characters. “I Can Jump Through Puddles” is a work that is filled with their strength and support. Father and mother, although they worry about their son, but allow him to develop as a healthy little boy.
Two friends, Joe Carmichael and Freddy Hawk, do not give him a grudge against anyone, and the brave girl Maggie Mulligen once protected Alan from an angry bull.
The book "I Can Jump Through Puddles" involuntarily compels me to compare myself with Alan Marshall and rethink my actions.