My Take on “Bone”

20 May 2010

Today I finished reading the graphic novel Bone, which, you’ll recall, was recently on tap to be banned in the elementary schools in Minnesota’s District 196. Now that I’ve finished reading it, I feel like I’m in a position to address some of the points that were brought up at that hearing. So that’s what I’m gonna do. Deal with it.

Ms. de Lay, the catalyst for the meeting, argued that the characters in the book are constantly seen smoking and drinking. The truth is, only a few characters smoke. One, Smiley, is often shown with a cigar hanging out of his mouth. Another, the red dragon, is always shown with a cigarette in his mouth. But, first of all, he’s only in a few pages of the entire book. Second, he’s a fire-breathing dragon! I assume the greatest aversion to cigarettes people have is their negative affect on health. It’s hard to see how something that has developed to breath fire could be harmed by expiratory distribution of partially ignited hydrocarbons.

de Lay also noted the prevalence of alcohol consumption. Over 80% of the book goes by with no character consuming any alcohol. When finally two of the main characters are reunited near the end of the book, one of them celebrates by ordering three mugs of beer in quick succession. These are small mugs – about the size of coffee mugs – and there is no indication that the character becomes inebriated following his drinks.

Panel member Phillip Monsen said that one thing he did not like in the books was when Fone’s hat catches on fire when he spies on Thorn bathing. Mr. Monsen inferred that Fone, essentially, became so aroused from watching a woman bath in a river that he literally caught on flames. He made this scene sound really inappropriate, as if there was some licentious character hiding behind a tree waiting to get his jollies off some naked bathing beauty.

But his comments were an exaggeration.

For one thing, Fone’s hat was already smoldering. Remember that dragon I mentioned above? The dragon blew some fire at Fone and his face became sooty and his hat began smoking. Indeed, that hat must’ve become like the hot embers of a bonfire, because smoke continued to rise out of his hat for several pages. In fact, that’s why he went down to the river – not to spy on girls, but to wash his face and cool his head. As he was walking down to the water, he saw, approaching from the other side, a young woman. So, since he’s a foreigner in the area, he stops to see what she’s going to do. She removes her pants, but it’s entirely non-sexual. She is wearing a large, woolen, shapeless dress that extends down to her mid-calf. In removing her pants, Fone sees nothing higher than just above her knees. She then goes into the water with a bucket. From what I could tell, she simply wanted to wade in the water for a moment while filling her bucket.

At this point, Fone’s hat goes from smoke to fire. Had I not attended the hearing, I probably wouldn’t have made the connection that this change in combustion was due to sexual arousal. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. What this event does do, however, is serve as a plot device, for in the ensuing chaos of a burning hat, Fone tumbles down the banks and lands in the water whereupon Thorn learns of his presence.

Monsen said he didn’t know how he’d explain that scene to his son if they were reading these passages and his son asked why Fone’s hat caught on fire. Sounds like a lousy parent to me.

He also said he felt the books in the Bone series weren’t the very best we could be providing for our kids. If he was stating this as a reason for banning the books, he failed. But if he was just saying this as an irrelevant opinion, then I agree with him: the book wasn’t that great. Filled with cliches and distracting anachronisms, the jokes were not funny and the plot didn’t keep me interested. The book ends with the action hanging – a clear attempt to get me to read book two. I don’t think I will