Prince Horace, aka Prince Brat, is spoiled, mischievous, and lazy, easily living up to his nickname around the castle. He likes to put bullfrogs in the moat at night so no one can sleep and grease the horse saddles so that the knights fall off with a loud crash. Since princes are never the recipient of spankings and thrashings, he even has his very own whipping boy – Jemmy, the rat-catcher's son from the cobble streets, who takes the punishments for him.
Prince Brat, who incurs much anger and frustration from his tutors, scoffs at learning how to read and write, and never even learns how to sign his own name, figuring he'll always have someone to do it for him. But Jemmy, his resourceful and ever-present servant, soaks up the tutor's teachings and slowly learns to read and write, something that will benefit both him and Prince Brat in the future.
The Runaways' Journey
Bored with pulling shenanigans to get his father, the king's, attention, Prince Brat decides to run away from the castle. Since he has no friends, he takes Jemmy, his servant, along, despite Jemmy's protests that he will be severely punished for this, not Prince Brat.
So they take a horse from the stable and a picnic basket full of royal delicacies and run off. Shortly thereafter, they encounter two convicts, Cutwater and Hold-Your-Nose Billy, who got that nickname because he eats way too much garlic. Jemmy is clever enough to think of a plan, but the bullheaded Prince Brat is only thinking of his ego.
Finally, he goes along with it, and the two of them meet other characters such as Betsy and her dancing bear, Petunia, and the Hot Potato Man. Throughout the book, Prince Brat is forced to rely on Jemmy's street knowledge and push class distinctions aside.
Themes
The book is obviously a commentary on the differences between social class and the idea that power is often undeserved. Jemmy, the boy in rags from the streets, uses all of his knowledge to his advantage and every resource he can find without letting his upbringing impede him. As a whipping boy to the prince, he is actually admired by the people on the streets for moving up. Prince Brat, however, flaunts his social position at every turn because inside, he feels lonely and ignored, and he thinks that by forcing people to pay him respect, they will actually like him.
He's in for another rude awakening when, disguised in rags at the county fair, he and Jemmy are walking around when a traveling newspaperman announces the abduction of Prince Brat. That nickname reaches far beyond the castle.
Resolution
Jemmy learns that Prince Brat actually does have some admirable qualities and Prince Brat learns that his prestige isn't all that it's cracked up to be, without friends or common sense. The book ends on a positive note.
Complete with black-and-white illustrations by Peter Sis, The Whipping Boy won the Newberry Medal in 1987.
Fleischman, Sid. The Whipping Boy, HarperCollins 1986, ISBN 0-439-44142-0
Catherine Jozwik - Catherine Jozwik is a twenty-eight-year-old freelance writer that works full time at a used bookstore. Catherine was born and raised in ...
