When You Reach Me Literary Analysis Essay “So Mom got the postcard today. It says Congratulations in big curly letters, and at the very top is the address of Studio YV-15 on West 58th Street.” These are the first two lines of Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me, and allusions to the show $20,000 Pyramid. When You Reach Me (WYRM) is full of allusions that improve the plot and setting. WYRM is a novel about a young girl living in New York in the late 70s. After her best friend suddenly abandons her, she receives mysterious notes that predict the future and put her in a life-or-death situation. She has to put together the facts and think of the bigger picture when trying to figure out who is sending the notes and why they are. Rebecca Stead’s incorporation
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In the novel, there are many details indicating the time period. While describing lunch at her school, Miranda mentions an incident which happened around the first week of school. There was a naked man running around Broadway, and it kept them inside for lunch. This is a subtle tribute to streaking. Streaking is when you run around naked, usually in a public place. This popular fad in the 70s is converted into the book in a way that envelopes the plot. Another nod towards the 70s is mentioned when talking about lunch. During the 70s, the U.S. dollar wasn’t as inflated as it is now. The $20,000 Pyramid is now called the $100,000 Pyramid. According to Miranda, also known as Mira, a dollar fifty will buy you two slices of pizza, a can of soda, and a Blow Pop. The price of one slice of pizza in New York nowadays is around two to three dollars! Costs have risen through the years, and this excerpt from the novel implies the time period. Another allusion towards the time period occurs when Annemarie and Mira have a sleepover. During their sleepover, Annemarie and Miranda are watching a show called “Love Boat”. It’s an old show that first aired in 1977. A show like that would not be airing right now. Intricate, Rebecca Stead showed close attention to detail. A big difference between the 70s and now is that racism is not as prominent anymore. Jimmy was a controversial character that demonstrated racism. A small detail is when he stretched his eyelids back to do a stereotypical “Asian” impression. That action was the beginning of his racism in the novel. In the 70s, discrimination would divide people who were Caucasian and African-American. Jimmy often reacts to Julia in disgust and hatred. He orders her out of his store and calls her “Swiss Miss”. It is later revealed he calls her that because of her skin color, and not her lifestyle (Miranda’s reason). When his Fred
In the novel, there are many details indicating the time period. While describing lunch at her school, Miranda mentions an incident which happened around the first week of school. There was a naked man running around Broadway, and it kept them inside for lunch. This is a subtle tribute to streaking. Streaking is when you run around naked, usually in a public place. This popular fad in the 70s is converted into the book in a way that envelopes the plot. Another nod towards the 70s is mentioned when talking about lunch. During the 70s, the U.S. dollar wasn’t as inflated as it is now. The $20,000 Pyramid is now called the $100,000 Pyramid. According to Miranda, also known as Mira, a dollar fifty will buy you two slices of pizza, a can of soda, and a Blow Pop. The price of one slice of pizza in New York nowadays is around two to three dollars! Costs have risen through the years, and this excerpt from the novel implies the time period. Another allusion towards the time period occurs when Annemarie and Mira have a sleepover. During their sleepover, Annemarie and Miranda are watching a show called “Love Boat”. It’s an old show that first aired in 1977. A show like that would not be airing right now. Intricate, Rebecca Stead showed close attention to detail. A big difference between the 70s and now is that racism is not as prominent anymore. Jimmy was a controversial character that demonstrated racism. A small detail is when he stretched his eyelids back to do a stereotypical “Asian” impression. That action was the beginning of his racism in the novel. In the 70s, discrimination would divide people who were Caucasian and African-American. Jimmy often reacts to Julia in disgust and hatred. He orders her out of his store and calls her “Swiss Miss”. It is later revealed he calls her that because of her skin color, and not her lifestyle (Miranda’s reason). When his Fred