The Phantom Tollbooth Analysis

ISU Final

ENG4U

Dania Azman

‘The Phantom Tollbooth’ has been my choice of book for this Independent Study Unit. The book found its way on the shelves of bookstores when it was first published back in 1961, being a work of famous author, Norton Justen. Justen, as far as I know, has no background that links to the art of writing—his primary priority was architecture, instead--but that certainly did not stop him from producing one of his most notable works to this day, along with a few other books. There’s no question about it; The Phantom Tollbooth is known as a children’s literature—seek that section if you wish to buy it! The book dabbles with the genre of fantasy and coming of age, solely bringing out the child-like sense within you

It starts off with Milo, the boy, pondering about the meaning of life when he finds himself with nothing to do—absolutely nothing. He despises homework, finding no use in learning any other subjects and with that, he resorts to think that learning is “the greatest waste of time of all” (Justen 9). One day, when he returns home from school, Milo finds a weird package in his room and inside it, there is a dissembled tollbooth, a map, a book about traffic rules and an instruction manual. After piecing the tollbooth together, and with a ride in his electrical toy car, Milo passes the gate and heads straight into the Lands Beyond—just imagine his surprise. The journey takes him to a lot of places; the Doldrums, Dictionopolis and its dungeons, the Valley of Sounds, the Forest of Sight, the Mountains of Ignorance and the Castle in the Air. Along the way, Milo meets new people; a watchdog named Tock, the Humbug and several other people in this unusual kingdom. He is later given a mission by King Azaz, who he meets in Dictionopolis, to rescue two princesses, Rhyme and Reason who are imprisoned by the Mathemagician—and he succeeds such mission! Milo, in the end, learns how interesting life can actually be. The Phantom Tollbooth is a book packed with fantasy and creativity, with a real lesson that anything interesting