LS 5653: Module 6: THINGS NOT SEEN

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Clements, Andrew. 2002. THINGS NOT SEEN. Philomel Books: New York. ISBN: 0-399-23626-0.

PLOT SUMMARY

Bobby Phillips is leading a rather ordinary life until he wakes up one morning and discovers he is invisible. Bobby’s parents believe it is best to keep this condition a secret. Then, that same afternoon, his parents are in a car accident, and Bobby is on his own for a few days. He ventures out to one of his favorite places, the library, where he meets a young blind girl names Alicia. Gradually he and Alicia become friends. He shares his secret condition with Alicia and Alicia’s parents. The two fathers are both scientists and team up to try to solve this invisibility problem. The local state Child Protective Services agency has added motivation because they are investigating Bobby’s “disappearance” from school and home. They have given the Phillips’ family an ultimatum to produce Bobby or face arrest and incarceration.

Bobby and Alicia begin their own investigation to the cause of Bobby’s invisibility. It leads them to another invisible person and their fathers to the reason for the invisibility. The simple science and math principle, two negatives make a positive, leads Bobby to try sleeping under the electric blanket that caused all of this one more time. As the state authorities burst into the Phillips’ home at 4:30am, Bobby discovers that he is no longer invisible. The experiment worked. He is ready to resume his life and his relationship with Alicia.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Andrew Clements has written another captivating book with THINGS NOT SEEN. At some point in life, most people fantasize about what it would be like to be invisible. The main character Bobby wakes up and discovers this has happened. It is not the fun adventure one might expect. Mr. Clements presents a realistic look at what it would be like to be invisible.

The plot is fast paced and involving. The readers are tossed right into the story on the first page. There are no chapters of description and set up. The book begins with Bobby waking up to his invisible body. Readers plunge in and follow Bobby as he tries to sort out this new predicament. The action continues to build as Bobby finds another invisible person, and as the scientist fathers discover that the electric blanket and solar particles caused this condition. The story doesn’t climax until the police officer and Ms. Pagett open the Bobby’s closet door and discover he is in there. The readers are just as surprised to find Bobby visible as the rest of the book’s characters.

The story is set in Chicago in a non-descript time period. Readers could assume that this is current times. The description of items used and sights are all common place. There are neither old fashioned devices nor futuristic items. Also, Alicia mentions Brad Pitt in a conversation. He is a current movie star but he has been around for many years. So readers have a time reference point but the exact time span is not named. This adds a timeless element to a topic that is relatively universal.

Chicago is an interesting setting choice. Winter in Chicago is brutally cold. However, when Bobby is out and unable to find a place to stash clothing, he must be naked. Many readers may not think of this when considering invisibility. But seeing a shirt and pants with no arms, legs, and face would be disturbing. Being naked is also symbolic of being exposed. People in Western culture do not wander around naked. Even when invisible, nudity leaves Bobby feeling vulnerable. However, he chooses to remember lessons he learned about the Greek Warriors who fought naked. He chooses to see his present nudity as an aggressive stance, not a weakness.

This nudity is what leads to Alicia discovering Bobby’s invisibility. When Bobby grabs Alicia so a boy distractedly riding a scooter doesn’t run into her, Alicia realizes that he has no shirt on and wonders what kind of weirdo is out in a Chicago winter shirtless. This leads Bobby to share his secret with her. She can’t see him, but she can hear his voice and feel his body. The fact that he can’t be seen doesn’t affect their relationship. In fact, Alicia’s blindness is what frees Bobby to first talk with her in the library. Bobby realizes later that others avoid Alicia because of her blindness, but it was this very trait that drew him to her. Alicia’s cane moving back and forth seems to sweep people out of the way and away from Alicia. Bobby watches many people’s reactions to her and avoidance of her. It is amazing how people will act and react when they don’t know they can be seen.

The characters in this story are well developed and multi-dimensional. Many of the characters experience a profound change in outlook and attitude. Bobby is a typical teenage boy. His parents are always dictating his life for him. He smiles at a popular girl at school and she doesn’t acknowledge his presence. It is like he is invisible. Bobby then learns what it means to truly be invisible and learns how to take control of his life and assert his own will. His parents are both heavily involved in their academic careers. They love their son, but the demands of their career appear to be a top priority, at first. Both realize importance of listening and trusting their son. At the beginning of the story, they seem distant from Bobby but by the end they are proud of him and who is becoming.

Alicia is the blind girl that becomes Bobby’s sole companion during his stint as the invisible man. Alicia is an interesting character. She was not born blind but became blind due to an odd accident. She is not the stereotypical optimistic “disabled kid” who is always pleasant and long suffering. She laments the constant attention and assistance her mother believes she needs. She resents the idea that needs to be “saved or rescued”.

Ironically, it is Bobby, the “normal” boy, who needs to be rescued from his situation. Alicia is the body that Bobby needs to help him move around. She helps him gather information about the electric blanket and had many great ideas about how to solve the problem. In fact, Alicia is the one who makes the final suggestion that leads to Bobby reappearing. She may be blind, but she is not useless or waiting for someone else to come up with the great ideas. She has a brain and is capable.

She also has flaws. She is not the stereotypical superhero-disabled person. She is moody and temperamental. When Bobby gains his visibility, she is happy for him but rejects him because she is trying to protect herself from getting hurt. She and Bobby have many arguments over comments. Many of her conversations drip with sarcasm and belligerence.

The theme of the story is the importance of choices and the importance of learning how to live in one’s own skin—whether that skin is perfect or flawed. Bobby is so focused on reversing the invisibility he has difficulty understanding how the other invisible person he found does not want to try to reappear. The woman had been invisible for three years and had become comfortable with her life. She did not want to return. As she states, “I had started disappearing long before this happened to me. If it hadn’t been this, I would have disappeared some other way” (Clements 238). She has learned to live in her own skin, flaws and all. Bobby sends her the electric blanket anyway because he wants her to really have a choice before she decides that this is how she wants to stay.

Alicia believes that Bobby will be finished with her once he regains his form. She rejects his attempt to kiss her and sends him away. She sends him a poem explaining her motives. The novel ends with Bobby going to Alicia’s house to tell her that his feelings haven’t changed. Alicia is still working to accept her life but she wants to give Bobby a way out if he hasn’t truly accepted being with a blind girl when he doesn’t have to be.

A minor sub-theme is the idea of living people being invisible. This does not just include physical invisibility, such as the kind that envelopes Bobby, but feeling invisible and powerless. Alicia says she felt invisible once she became blind because all of her friends started to ignore and avoid her. Her parents made decisions for her because she was the “poor little blind girl”. Her disability did not impair decision making skills or social skills, but they were somehow linked by others. She was lonely. Bobby felt this same type of mental invisibility with classmates and his parents. Sheila, the other invisible person, felt invisible too even prior to her “disappearance”. Her body simply caught up with what her spirit felt.

This is an excellent fast-paced read. Andrew Clements has created another masterpiece. This book would be an excellent addition to any library.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

From BOOK LIST: “The first page is electrifying… Clements isn't heavy-handed, but readers will easily be able to imagine what it must be like to have the world disappear.”

From PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: “As preposterous as the teen's predicament may be, the author spins a convincing and affecting story.”

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Clements's story is full of life; it's poignant, funny, scary, and seemingly all too possible. The author successfully blends reality with fantasy in a tale that keeps his audience in suspense until the very end.”

From KIRKUS REVIEWS: “A readable, thought-provoking tour de force, alive with stimulating ideas, hard choices, and young people discovering bright possibilities ahead.”

CONNECTIONS
Waking up and discovering one is invisible is the fantasy of many people. You can do anything you want. Would you want this to happen to you? Why or Why not? Write a 2-3 page explanation of why you wish this would or wouldn’t happen to you and what you would do in this situation.

Using the link, students will select another book by Andrew Clements. After selected, they will read it and discuss with classmates if this book is similar to THINGS NOT SEEN. Authors sometimes write using a pattern and other times write something totally different. Students need practice evaluating works by an author.
Andrew Clements