Some stories deserve to be told in pictures, and Stitches is one of those stories. David's childhood is so grim that both he and his readers need the escapism of his dreams and fantasies. The magical world of Alice in Wonderland is a theme that runs throughout, from the first time little-kid David ties a yellow towel around his head to the depiction of his therapist as the White Rabbit. Small ends the book with a dream in which his mother sweeps the sidewalk to the mental institution where his grandmother died, clearing a path for him to follow.
Questions About Versions of Reality
- Out of all the characters in Alice in Wonderland, why does David choose to depict his therapist as the White Rabbit?
- Why does David imagine going down into a stomach when he gets sucked into his drawing? What does the stomach represent?
- Does David actually believe his family will hear the screaming in his head?
- Does he actually see the fetus's eyes open? Does he really believe it chases him?
Chew on This
The old man David sees in the hospital is real, but old people are another kind of alternate reality to little kids.
After David loses his voice, he feels so detached from reality he imagines himself as a person who doesn't even have a face.