Sunny Side Up

“POLAROID CAMERA! PICTURES APPEAR INSTANTLY! NEW MODEL!”

Like the special effects lettering that appears in Chapter 1 when Pat brags about his new car, the text surrounding the close-up image of the Polaroid camera conveys a sense of excitement over material innovations. This bombastic wording helps to establish common aspects of the 1970s setting; consumer culture flourished in the 1970s, and items like the new Polaroid camera were highly prized. The sign also helps to create a lighthearted tone that balances the narrative’s more serious premise.

“What if there was a shampoo that made everything terrific?”

Sunny’s lighthearted question introduces the motif of the word “terrific” in the narrative. It is simultaneously a comic moment that makes light of another popular consumer item of the 1970s and a moment of dramatic irony, in which the narrative indicates that there is more to Sunny’s question than Deb understands. Due to Sunny’s reticence on the topic, Deb does not know about the trouble that Dale is causing for the Lewin family. She therefore fails to discern Sunny’s genuine longing for a magical solution.

“This is going to be the best summer ever!”

Given that this statement arrives in a flashback, Deb’s proclamation delivers a moment of dramatic irony as she conveys her and Sunny’s shared excitement over their plans for the family’s upcoming beach vacation. By this point in the story, the author has already revealed that the vacation will soon be canceled and the girls will spend August apart. This scene therefore stresses their relative innocence, as their happiness will soon be snatched away.

“What’s the point of ‘adult swim,’ anyway? It’s only ever one old geezer who swims.”

During Sunny’s flashback to the previous summer at the pool, Dale is 17 years old and is supervising his then-nine-year-old sister. This moment highlights the conflict between generations that arose in the 1970s and shows that Dale has little respect for his elders. The milder form of rebellion that he exhibits in the scene also foreshadows the greater conflicts to come.

“Rules are stupid.”

As with his comment about the adult swim, Dale proves himself to be a detrimental influence on his younger sister, and his blatant disregard for rules shows that he is already finding ways to rebel against mainstream society. At this point in her life, Sunny looks up to Dale unquestioningly and does not yet have the experience to process such a blanket statement. Moments like this characterize Dale as part of the youth counterculture of the 1970s and foreshadow the nature of the conflict that he is creating in the Lewin household.

“Trust your big brother!”

As Dale urges Sunny to break the pool rules with him, his words are unintentionally ironic. Sunny looks up to Dale and does trust him—but even in this moment, his actions indicate that she should not trust him. Breaking the rules at the pool is a minor infraction without serious consequences, but Sunny is still young enough that getting in trouble would genuinely upset her. This moment foreshadows the other, more serious, ways that Dale will prove himself untrustworthy as the year progresses.

“He kind of looks like a walking broccoli. Or maybe spinach.”

Sunny’s amused comment to Buzz about Swamp Thing echoes her easy camaraderie with Deb. This similar dynamic helps to create a comic tone and indicates that Sunny has finally found a way to regain her emotional footing in her new surroundings. Her friendship with Buzz is a key part of the story’s thematic focus on The Importance of Community.

“Why is she wearing underwear?”

Sunny is sincerely puzzled by Wonder Woman’s skimpy costume, and this scene is used to deliver an indirect form of criticism for the often sexist portrayals of female characters in comic books. Because the two children derive many of their “aha moments” from the lessons they learn from comics, the novel’s creators are suggesting that negative portrayals of female characters can have a harmful influence on young readers’ perceptions of gender roles and social norms.

“Uh. My brother Teddy is one.”

When Teezy and Ethel ask Sunny about her siblings, she only mentions her infant brother, Teddy. It is significant that, although she is becoming more comfortable with the two elderly women, she is still unwilling to talk about Dale or admit to the problems that her family is experiencing. The stressed expression on her face and the hesitation in her diction both hint at The Harmful Impact of Secrets in Sunny’s life.

“Whatta the teachers always say? ‘You’re never too young to learn.’”

Dale’s casual diction characterizes him as someone who deliberately challenges traditional conventions and restrictions. In this context, his sarcastic use of a phrase that he has heard from teachers becomes highly problematic, given that he is teaching a 10-year-old to drive a car. His approach indicates that he is more interested in rebelling against authority than in protecting the safety of his little sister.

“But they’re heroes. Why can’t they save the people they love?”

On the surface, Sunny is merely talking about Batman, Superman, and other comic book heroes who have lost loved ones. However, the subtext of her comments indicates that she is really thinking about Dale and wishing that his family’s love would be enough to save him from himself. This moment shows that Sunny is still relatively naïve and must work on Embracing New Growth in order to address her problems more constructively.

“Nice of you to join us. Where have you been? … This has got to stop, Dale! You need to straighten up. Stop whatever it is—”

Sunny and Dale’s father’s sarcasm and demands are both aimed at someone who is a few months away from becoming an independent adult, and his dominant attitude demonstrates the family power dynamics that were common in the 1970s. His final words before the argument breaks out convey his growing uncertainty about what Dale is doing whenever he leaves the house, and his suspicions alone are enough to make him feel justified in insisting that Dale “straighten up” and make changes in his life.

“‘So what superpower would you want?’

‘Invisibility.’”

Although Buzz does not expect Sunny’s flat answer to his question, Sunny’s wish to be invisible is borne of her past embarrassment when confronted with Dale’s misbehavior in public settings. In the flashback that follows, Dale’s rowdy and antisocial behavior embarrasses Sunny in front of the other children at her bus stop. Sunny’s reply to Buzz also characterizes her as a conventional and nonconfrontational child who feels overwhelmed by the conflict between Dale’s behavior and society’s expectations.

“Oooh, it’s dinnertime, Dale!”

The mocking tone of Dale’s friend’s remark conveys pure disdain for the rituals and expectations of family life. When Dale becomes embarrassed by the ribbing, the narrative uses this moment to suggest that peer pressure plays a significant role in his current misbehavior, and the scene also suggests that he feels pressured to distance himself from his family. The incident is upsetting to Sunny, who enjoys family life and finds Dale’s illicit activities to be unsettling and even frightening.

“You didn’t see anything, did you, Sunny?”

The tone of Dale’s remark is not genuinely questioning; instead, he is making an unspoken threat and a demand. The accompanying illustration emphasizes the sinister nature of the interaction, and Sunny’s unhappy face conveys how upset she is when her brother—whom she loves and idolizes—pressures her to act against her own morals and lie for him. The moment shows how far their relationship has deteriorated.

“‘But—but—but—I don’t know how to drive!’

‘I’ve got this.’”

Buzz’s stammering shows how intimidated he is by the idea of driving the golf cart. By contrast, Sunny’s calm determination is emphasized by her short, blunt reply, and it is clear that the intensity of her recent experiences with her brother have made her realize that the adult task of driving is not an insurmountable challenge. The scene also emphasizes the fact that despite Dale’s many flaws, he is the one who provides Sunny with the experience she needs to search for the missing Myra and save the day.

“‘I didn’t think I would end up here.’

‘Me neither.’”

Myra’s sad comment elicits empathy from Sunny, who feels similarly trapped in Florida despite her recent upswing in optimism. Just as Myra is confused about why she is in Florida instead of in New Jersey, Sunny is confused about why she is in Pine Palms instead of at the shore with her family. The comparison of Myra’s confusion and pain to Sunny’s illustrates Sunny’s own sense of being lost. The moment also acts as a unique form of kinship that transcends the decades separating the girl and the elderly woman.

“That’s why I like him. What you see is what you get. No disguises or secrets.”

Sunny’s comments about Swamp Thing reinforce the importance of the superhero motif in the novel. Like other superheroes, Swamp Thing has characteristics and a backstory that enable Sunny to process her own experiences through the safe proxy of a fictional character. Sunny’s growing distress over The Harmful Impact of Secrets also comes to light in her comment, for she finds a simple, straightforward character to be far more compelling than those who keep elaborate secrets from others.

“‘I didn’t know you had an older brother.’

‘Uh, yeah.’”

At dinner with Buzz’s family, a casual remark of Pat’s reveals that Sunny has deliberately omitted any mention of Dale to her new friend Buzz. When he expresses surprise, her response is short and hesitant, showing that she is aware how odd this must seem to Buzz. However, she also has no interest in fully explaining herself.

“I don’t understand the Hulk… Is he good or bad? He’s always smashing things up.”

In this scene, a superhero’s fictional life becomes a safely distant way for Sunny to process the more distressing events of her own life. Notably, she sees the Hulk’s anger and destructive capacity as akin to Dale’s. In this context, her incomprehension about the morality and motivations behind the Hulk’s behavior is really an expression of her incomprehension about her own brother’s choices. Her youth and inexperience also show in the simplistic outlook implied by her use of the terms “good” and “bad,” which reveals a black-and-white way of viewing morality. In this moment, she is struggling to reconcile her perception of Dale as a “good” older brother with the behavior that she sees as “bad” because she does not yet see morality in shades of gray, as most adults do.

“It’s NOT terrific!”

Sunny’s diction as she finally blows up at Pat is a key moment in the novel’s use of the word “terrific” as a motif that tracks how Sunny is processing her situation. The Harmful Impact of Secrets is finally too much for her, and instead of using “terrific” in an inauthentic way, as she has done since she arrived in Florida, she is finally ready to reclaim her truth. This is a clear demonstration of Embracing New Growth.

“It’s just like Dale! … Everyone thinks it’s a couch, but it’s really a bed! It’s a big lie!”

Sunny’s overreaction to the “pretense” of the bed disguising itself as a sofa injects a note of humor into the scene, lessening the tension of a difficult moment and highlighting Sunny’s status as a very young girl who is inexperienced at processing her feelings. In this moment, Sunny uses a simile to compare Dale to the sofa bed, conveying her anger and feelings of betrayal at the way he seems to have changed.

“It’s all my fault, anyway… That’s why Mom and Dad sent me down here. I made everything worse at July Fourth. I got Dale in even bigger trouble.”

Sunny centers herself in Dale’s story in a way that is typical of children her age. Because Pat has been somewhat oblivious to Sunny’s internal world, this is the first time he realizes that she is struggling with guilt alongside her feelings of confusion, hurt, and anger. Once he knows the complexity of her feelings, he is able to reassure her and lift the burden that she has been carrying throughout the story.