The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
"The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman is a children's novel that tells the story of Jemmy, a boy who is forced to bear the punishments meant for Prince Horace, known as "Prince Brat." Set in an undefined time and place, the narrative explores the historical practice of having a whipping boy in royal households, where it was forbidden to physically punish royalty. Jemmy, who has lived a rough life as the son of a rat catcher, endures severe lashings for the prince's misbehavior, which creates a deep-seated contempt between the two boys.
As the story unfolds, Jemmy's knowledge grows, gaining skills in reading and writing, while the prince remains rebellious and lazy. Their adventures escalate when they are kidnapped by inept outlaws, leading to a series of misadventures that challenge their perceptions of each other. Throughout their journey, both boys begin to develop mutual respect and understanding, particularly when the prince faces danger and shows bravery.
The novel touches on themes of friendship, trust, and personal growth, culminating in a transformation where they return as equals. "The Whipping Boy," published in 1986, has received critical acclaim, winning the Newbery Medal and the Charlie May Simon Award, and is regarded as a modern children's classic that resonates with moral lessons and character development.
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Subject Terms
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
First published: 1986; illustrated
Type of work: Adventure tale
Themes: Coming-of-age and friendship
Time of work: An undefined time in the past
Recommended Ages: 10-13
Locale: A castle, woods, and sewers in an unspecified European country
Principal Characters:
Prince Horace (Brat) , the mischievous, spoiled, arrogant heir to the throneJemmy , a resourceful boy of the streets and sewers who serves as the whipping boyHold-Your-Nose Billy , andCutwater , two cutthroats who capture Prince Brat and JemmyBetsy , a girl who rescues the boysPetunia , Betsy’s trained bearMr. Nips , a stagecoach driver and hot-potato man
The Story
Set in an undefined time and place, this fictitious tale of a whipping boy and a prince is based on a surprising historical fact: Some royal households in past centuries actually kept boys to suffer the punishments due a misbehaving prince, because it was forbidden to punish royalty.
Jemmy, the son of a rat catcher who had lived in the streets and sewers, is the whipping boy for Prince Horace, who has amply earned the nickname “Prince Brat.” Prince Brat is mischievous and lazy. His pranks and failure to listen to his tutor cause Jemmy to suffer frequent and severe lashings. Jemmy bears the beatings without flinching, a fact that the prince perceives as a taunt to him.
The boys feel only dislike and contempt for each other. Though Jemmy likes his new palace life-style, he decides that the price he pays is too high and makes plans to run away. Meanwhile, he absorbs the education the prince refuses to accept. Learning to read, write, and do sums, he seizes opportunities that the prince evades.
The prince becomes bored with his life in the castle and forces Jemmy to run away with him in the dead of night. Jemmy secretly determines to desert the prince. As they travel, the two boys are grabbed by a pair of cutthroats, Hold-your-nose Billy and Cutwater. The two illiterate and inept kidnappers are perfect foils for the haughty prince and the streetwise urchin.
The prince’s arrogant nature surfaces, and he demands to be released, identifying himself as a prince. Jemmy desperately denies this, realizing the danger in which it puts them. He almost convinces the terrorists to release them, but again the prince’s arrogance gets them in trouble, and the boys are held in a cave for ransom.
Neither terrorist can write, and neither can the prince, only Jemmy. The outlaws believe that the educated boy is the prince. This misconception fits Jemmy’s plans perfectly. Jemmy is trying to save the prince more because he fears the beatings he will get if he does not than because he really cares what happens to Prince Brat. After tricking the kidnappers into letting the horse deliver the ransom note, Jemmy attempts to escape but is betrayed by the prince. The boys’ mutual contempt and distrust deepens.
Finally, both Jemmy and the prince escape, going in different directions. Jemmy is badly frightened by a huge bear. When the two boys meet again, the prince, now dirty and ragged, refuses a chance to return safely to the castle. He is assuming some of Jemmy’s characteristics of independence and autonomy. When the prince starts doing his share of scrounging for scrap to sell, he takes another step toward maturity. Jemmy’s intense dislike weakens slightly.
The fast pace of the story continues as the boys hitch a ride with Captain Nips. Two firsts occur here: Jemmy calls the prince his friend, and the prince smiles.
The boys are recaptured by the thugs, who are so infuriated at being tricked that they whip the prince, thinking that he is the whipping boy. Bearing the lashes without a whimper, Horace wins Jemmy’s respect completely. They are rescued again, by Betsy and her bear, but found once more by the kidnappers. The climactic chase through rat-infested sewers will hold the most reluctant reader.
By tale’s end, the metamorphosis is virtually complete. Each young man has assumed some of the better qualities of the other. They return to the castle as equals, while the villains are suitably dispatched.
Context
The Whipping Boy was approximately number forty on Sid Fleischman’s list of children’s books and stories at the time of its publication in 1986. This prolific writer authored the highly successful and entertaining McBroom and Mr. Mysterious series and numerous others. Yet The Whipping Boy, though it has some fairy-tale characteristics, contains more depth than Fleischman’s former works. Beneath the banter and quick-witted repartee lies a story of ignorance and arrogance overcome, of trust and respect earned, and of maturity evolving.
The story has an English flavor from its characters’ language and accents and its monarchical government. Its tone is somewhat similar to Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper (1881), in which there is also an exchange of identities. The switch there, however, has its basis in the striking physical resemblance between Edward VI and Tom Cantry. Some critics have discerned a further English influence on Fleischman going as far back as Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities (1859), in which Charles Darnay’s voluntary substitution for Sidney Carton ends in his trip to the guillotine.
The Whipping Boy was awarded the 1987 Newbery Medal and was the 1988 winner of the Charlie May Simon Award. It seems destined to become a children’s literary classic.