Turtle in Paradise

“Everyone thinks children are sweet as Necco Wafers, but I’ve lived long enough to know the truth: kids are rotten. The only difference between grown-ups and kids is that grown-ups go to jail for murder. Kids get away with it.”

As the novel opens, Turtle shares her belief that most people are inherently “bad,” and kids are even worse than adults, since they are better at evading punishment. Turtle’s views are influenced by her unpleasant past experiences, however, her viewpoint is jaded and cynical and prevents her from seeing the good in others as well as the bad.

“Mama’s good at looking at the sunny side of life. […] I blame Hollywood. Mama’s watched so many pictures that she believes in happy endings. […] Me? I think life’s more like that cartoon by Mr. Disney—The Three Little Pigs. Some big bad wolf’s always trying to blow down your house.”

Turtle makes frequent allusions to the film, comic strip, and radio stories of her day. These stories serve as a point of comparison for real life as well as an escape from the pressures of life. Turtle’s reference to The Three Little Pigs is apt, since, like the pigs of the folk tale, Turtle dreams of owning a house of her own to share with her mother, but her dreams have been unrealized thus far.

“I think the color of a person’s eyes says a lot about them. Mama has soft blue eyes, and all she sees is kittens and roses. My eyes are gray as soot, and I see things for what they are. The mean boy on the porch has green eyes.”

Although Turtle insists that her viewpoint is more realistic than her mother’s, both are at opposite extremes. Sadiebelle is naive and optimistic, while Turtle is quick to assume the worst. Only through a series of mixed experiences that involve both good and bad parts does Turtle arrive at a more nuanced viewpoint.