I have this one annotation that really got me going on this idea. Stuart sets off early in the morning to avoid traffic, and I was just thinking, What does he care about the traffic, he's freaking two inches tall!
Stuart was born from a human mother, but as of this moment, he still looks very much like a mouse, and has grown much taller than two inches. I can't help but wonder if he is at all self consience about his physical appearence. In the early stages of the story Stuart was just beginning to adjust to the way of life he had to lead, to live comfortably. And the things that he had to adjust to. Such as having to climb great heights just to brush his teeth, and having to pound a mallet just to get the water running. Every day activities for us were a huge work out for him. Therefore, as he puts it, his abs were like iron bands.
I think that Stuart wanted to prove to himself, and to everyone around him, that he was great, in his own way. He wanted to be as similar to everyone else as possible. One time while trying to prove to Snow bell how strong his stomach muscles were, he had a serious accident which involved him being squashed in a tight spot for many hours. Another time when he was trying to prove himself, he put himself in a very dangerous position with out thinking about it, he volunteered to be lowered into the drain to find his mothers ring. He did succeed, to the relief of his family, except for George who was very jealous. It must be hard to have a body like a mouse, but still think like a human, your mental and physical cababilities sort of, contradict each other.
I also think that Stuart has a hard time remembering his differences from other people. He doesn't seem to sense danger, and think ahead of time before doing something that for him could turn into a fatal accident. He assumes his mother sees him slip into the fridge to get some cheese, but she doesn't. And he almost freezes to death because he assumed. he doesn't think ahead before grabbing onto the ring of the shades, he doesn't foresee that he could be visiously yanked off the ground by it.
Stuart does learn from his mistakes, and towards the end of the book I notice it's almost like a fairy tale. I compare the story to a fairy tale because the whole second half there are almost no problems, no obstacles, at all. It is like a dream, I got so bored at times, that I just wanted to put my head down and go to sleep. But one drawback about Stuart learning from his mistakes is his personality seems to change. He warps more and more into a sophisticated, cocky douche, in my opinion, There are several instances where he whips out a smart remark at some poor person, probably just because it makes him feel impowered, and big. I also find it interesting how not only does Stuart try to make himself seem powerful. But he tries to make his lifestyle as similar to his fellow normal sized people.
I think Stuart would have a better life if he just went and lived in the woods and became an explorer, then he wouldn't feel pressured to be so similar to everyone else. If anyone has any suggestions for stuff I should add to this post please comment.
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