Wringer Sparknotes

Wringer by Jerry Spinelli Wringer is the story about Palmer LaRue, a boy from a small town called Waymer. Weymar has an annual Family Fest that has a rather odd tradition: a Pigeon shoot. Every year at the Fest, five thousand pigeons are shot for fundraising for the city’s park. The book gets its title from the name the boys receive who wring the necks of hurt, not dead, pigeons from gunshots. Palmer first sees this happen when he is just four-years-old and the thought of the birds being killed for a sport haunts him. Palmer is ten years old now, the age you have to be to become a wringer, and he could not be more terrified. He wants to join a gang led by Beans, whose goal is, ultimately, to become a wringer. Palmer is accepted into the group …show more content…
After trying to shoo it away unsuccessfully, he takes it, Nipper, in and becomes its protector. When the gang finds out about his pigeon, things get a bit more complicated. Palmer tries his best to distract them from it, while still hiding it from his parents and it all gets very overwhelming. He reaches out to a friend, Dorothy, to release Nipper safely, but Dorothy unknowingly sets him free where the pigeons are captured for the shoot. The day of the pigeon shoot has arrived and Palmer refuses to go, but ends up having to witness once again the horror he saw when he was four. He can’t help but watch as ten-year-old boys go out to break the necks of wounded pigeons. When Dorothy reveals to Palmer that she accidentally released Nipper into the capturing grounds, he is alarmed and starts to frantically search for his friend. He can’t tell the difference. All the birds look the same. He feels as though he’ll never find him when suddenly a bird steps out of its crate instead of flying. Someone takes a shot, …show more content…
He is an only child and doesn’t have many friends. He tries to get involved with town delinquents, Beans, Mutto, and Henry. Being friends with them doesn’t quite make sense because of Palmer’s undeniable fear of becoming a wringer when that’s all these boys want to do. He wants to fit in, though, so he makes this work for as long as possible. His anxiety of becoming a wringer causes him to distance himself from his friends and reach out to Dorothy Gruzik, the girl across the street, when the boys threaten his pet pigeon, Nipper. Palmer faces the problem of choosing to fit in with everyone else around him, or standing by what he thinks is right. He hates the ides that people kill pigeons for fun and feels that just by protecting this one pigeon, that he is making a difference. Nipper was accidentally released into the area where the birds for the shoot are acquired and goes to great lengths to save his bird friend. He knows the town is appalled by his actions, but he doesn’t care. He saved