Short Story: Pink Bow Tie

Short Story

PINK gow TIE

Paul Jennings

PLOT SUMMARY

This story is about a naughty fourteen-year-old school boy. who has just moved to a
new school. On his first day at school. he gets a beating from Old Splodge. the
principal, because he laughs at the his pink bow tie. On the boy•s next day at school,
he is called to the principal•s office because he dyed his hair (he has changed his hair
colour from black to white). While waiting to go into the principal's office. the
principal •s beautiful secretary. Miss Newham (Who is seventeen-years-old and who
the boy has a crush on), asks him why he dyed h is hair white. Before the boy can
answer her. the principal calls him into his office. Old Splodge tells the boy that he
knows that he changed his hair colour because he can remember that when he gave
him a beating yesterday. the boy's hair was black. Today. his hair is white. The boy
tells the principal that he did not dye his hair and begins to tell him a long Story about
what happened:
The narrator says that he was on a train where another fourteen-year-old was smoking.
When the conductor came to tell the kid to stop smoking (because kids are not allowed
to smoke). the kid pulled out a machine (the Age Rager) which can magically turn a
person older or younger by turning a knob. The kid turned himself into a twenty-five-
year-old so that he could carry on smoking. After a few other people tried using this
magical machine. a man tried turning himself older. He turned the knob too far and
became SO years old, then 100 years old. and then the man died and became a
skeleton. This skeleton scared the boy so much that his hair changed from black to
white.
The principal does not believe the boy's story because it seems like it is obviously a lie.
So, the boy pulls out the Age Rager and puts it on the principal's desk to prove it to
him. The principal then tells the boy to leave his office and to expect a suspension
letter in the post. Howev•er. two weeks later the letter has still not arrived. and the
principal has also been missing (which the boy is happy about). The sad thing for the
boy is that Miss Newham now has an eighteen-year-old boyfriend who likes to wear

Literature Summary
pink bowties. From this information. the reader realises that Old Splodge used the Age
Rager to make himself young again and is now Miss Newham 's boyfriend.

SETTING

The time period is about 1980s in Australia. There are two settings. The one is in the
principal •s office in a school. The other is on a train. There is a story within a story,
The teenage boy tells an inner story with its own setting. plot. characters. conflict and

Literature Summary
resolution. The inner story often reveals an important nuth that is hidden or not spoken
about in the outer story. In this short story. the setting in the principal •s office feels
real. The boy's story feels like fantasy — like something that is not real. because it is
magical and made up. However. when we see the Age Rager in the principal's office. it
connects the two stories.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Paul Jennings was bom in England and grew up in Australia. He has published over a
hundred books for children. Most of his shon stories have an element (part) of
fantasy. and end with a twist. The magical machine that can make people older or
younger is the element of fantasy. The twist in the story is when Old Splodge ends up
with Miss Newham.. In the time period the story is set in. it was acceptable to punish
children by strapping
(hitting or caning) them. This is now illegal in both Australian and South African
schools.

SUMMARY REVIEW ACTIVITY:

Below is a summary of the story. Fill in each of the gaps with a word { a few words:
The narrator is a boy of [ I ] years and has been in the new school for 12] days. We never get
to know his name. He notices the pretty young [3] . Miss Newham. The principal's name is
Old Splodge. The boy has already been [41 by Splodge for laughing at Splodge's
(51
Then the boy [6] his hair [71 and so he is in trouble
again.
However. the boy denies having dyed his hair. He says his hair turned white
. He says he will [91 how it happened.
He was on the 1101 going home. In his carriage was an old [ l l] a mean looking 1 12] . and
another boy of fourteen who was [13] . When the [141 tells the boy he cannot smoke. the boy
pulls out a box that looks like a [1 51 . He slides a knob and grows older until he looks about
[161
The ticket collector [ 171 and runs away. The boy gives the box to the old lady and leaves. It is
called an Age Il 8] and it has a knob that can [191 from younger to older. The old lady slides it
to •younger• and becomes 120] . She gives it to the narrator and leaves.
The [211 guy takes it and pushes the knob to the •younger' side. He becomes a [221
.The narrator tries to take the box away. but the baby will not let him . Then. the baby
pushes the knob all the way to •older'. The mean guy

Literature Summary 2

PINK BC
grows Older until he [23] , rots and becomes a [241
The narrator screams and tries to get out ofthe carriage. but the door is [251 and the train is
going too fast to jump out of the window. So. the narrator has to sit with the skeleton in the
carriage for [261minutes till they reach the next station. The
[27]turns his hair white. Splodge does not believe the boy even
though he takes the Age Rager out of his bag as [281 . Splodge says he will suspend the boy
for telling [291 and he will write a [301 to his parents. The narrator
worries about the letter for two weeks, but no letter comes. Splodge
has disappeared. Ms Newham has a new [3 1 1boyfriend who wears a [321 bow tie. We
realise from this that Splodge has used the Age Rager and made
himself [33] again.

MARKING MEMORANDUM

1 Instruct
the
learners
to
compar
e their
answers
, to see
ifthey
can
correct
their
own
mistake
s.
Discuss the correct answers with the whole
class. 2 fourteen 1

2 secretary

3 strapped

4 pink bow
tie

Literature Summary 5
5 dyes

6 white

7 overnig
ht
8 explain /
tell him

9 train
10 l
ady /
woman

11 g
uy man
12 s
moking

13 t
icket
collecto
r
14 r
adio

Literature Summary 6
15 twenty-
five
16 screams /
shouts
17 Rager

18 slide turn
19 sixteen
20
21mean

22one-year-old / baby
dies
23skeleton 24 jammed 25
fifteen
26 shock }
fright scare
27 proof
28 lies I
stories
29 letter
30 good-
looking
31 pink 32
33 young

defiance To be defiant means to be disobedient or resistant. When the meanlooking

/ defiant baby refuses to gi•æ the narrator the transistor, he being defiant.
(adi_ PIN
K
an illusion An illusion is when something someone appears to be something that it / they
is not. The story that the narrator tells seems to be a lie, vet he produces the
Age Rager_ Splodge seems to become younger. By the end of the story, we
believe the narrator's unlikevv story. So. our understanding of the truth realty
might be an
a rebel This is the action Of resisting authority, control convention. When the bov on the
train is smoking. he is being a rebel. He is resisting or challenging the rules Which
say be is too young to smoke.
tv.) or canirg wrtecne. thestory. the boyis strapped 'at.eEng at the principal's pink
bow tie.

a transistor The transistor radio was a small portable radio Which came about When 'rock •n roll' la
type Of music in the 1950s and 1960s) was evolving. Rock 'n roll was often
associated with rebellion. The transistor meant that teenagers could listen to
their preferred music on a portable radio rather than on the big radio in the
family living room_ It represented freedom. This is why it makes sense that the
Age Rager looks like a transistor (radio) as it gives people the freedom to choose
their age.

unreliable When is unreliable. it means we cannot count on them or trust them. In (adj•J this story,
the narrator is unreliable. We do not know if we can believe what he says to be the truth.

a yarn A yarn is an unlikely story and a tall tale has a similar meaning. A yarn uses tall tale
exaggeration — unbelievable parts are told as if thew were true and factual. The boy's story about
the train and the Age Rager seem like a tall tale.

IMPORTANT 1 Narrates both the outer story and the inner story.
2 Laughs at principal's pin k bow tie and is
strapped for it_ Dyes
his hair White.
4 Admires Miss Newham and wishes he could be her boyfriend.
Tells the principal he has an explanation for
why his hair turned white.
6 Claims to be sensitive and easily frightened.
This makes us realise that he is an
unreliable narrator and we doubt the truth
of his story.
7 Emphasises so much that he was not the
fourteen-year Old Who was smoking on the
train, so we suspect that he does smoke on
the train.

8 Tries to take the Age Rager away from the

mean*ooking baby.
Is traumatised by the
man ageing. dying,
rotting and
becoming a
skeleton.
Claims his hair turned White frorn the shock.
Takes the Age Rager out Of bag as proof
when the principal does not 13 believe him.
Is worried his parents Will hnd out that he

Literature Summary 9
 has been suspended for tel ling

Notices that Splodge has disappeared and

that Miss Newharn has a new boyfriend
With a pink bow tie.
RELATIONSHIPS He has a bad relationship With the principal. He has only been at
the school for two days, but he has already been
strapped thit) by the principal. He does not seem to want
to disappoint his parents. He says parents Will kill me if I
am suspended frorn school. For the next two weeks I
worry about the letter showing up in the letter bog.
P
INK BC But nothing happens. I am saved' (pg. We Wonder why he is new in the
school and why he is nervous of his parents' reactons when he seems to be
quite confident in front of the principal. Has he been expelled from another
school?

Literature Summary 10
 He seems to be rather rebellious. He is no: wared the principal or breaking t he s
choc' rules He breaks the rules colour and he rude to t he principal about his pink
bow tie_ Whyr•. he starts to tea the principal the story, we doubt his honesty He tellsthe principal
he is but that does not match what we know of him He seems to be quite cotihdent
as he tells the principal an unbelieva be story. He seem. be imaginaave.

Fourteen old. DESCRIPTION

He does not really change. He doesn't seem to re—lige (like the reader does) thät Splocige is the
eighteeni-vear -c•ld with the gink bow tie.
MINOR CHARACTERS THE
PRINCIPAL,
Splodge is the
school principal Who always wears a pink bow tie. We know that
SPLODGE the narrator hrst got into trouble fot laughing at the pink bow be. The principal seems to
get angry easily. He is clearly a disciplinarian (someone who enforces rules and
discipline harshtv)-
The narrator describes Splodge as being in a bad mood' (pg. 82) when the narrator
laughs at his bow be. Splodge 'doesn't see the joke and he gives (the narrator) the strap'
(pg. 82)
MINOR CHARACTERS

'He is a grumpy old boy, he is due to retire next year and he does not want to
go-..He always wears this tie. He cannot seem to live Without it' (pg. 83). It
seems the principal is grumpy because he has to retire.
When the narrator show'S Splodge the Age Rager_ Splodge looks at it carefully before
speakirw in 'a funny voice' (pg. The fact that Splodge speaks in a voice' tells us that he
is going to do something that he does not want the narrator to know about.
Splodge disappears and is never seen again, We work out that be is Miss Newham's
eighteen sear-old boyfriend With the pink bow tie.

Miss Newham She's a •real knockout' 82) and the narrator says that 'every bov in the school
is in love With her' [pg. 82). She is seventeen and does not have a boyfriend.
She asks him sweetly if he did not know it is against the school rules to dye
his hair. She ends up going out with a good- looking eighteen-year-old bcrv
who wears a pink bowfie.

boy
The narrator describes a boy on the train Who is smoking. 'You are not allowed to
srnoke when you are fourteen. This is why am not smoking at the time' (pg. 84). The
narrator stresses that he is not the boy smoking. This makes us think that the narrator
does smoke whenever he can. When the boy is challenged by the ticket collector. he
slides a knob on the transistor and becomes twenty,five years old. This is probably
what the narrator would like to do — becorne older so that people will stop telling him
What to do. The smoking bov represents a challenge to authority.

THEMES AND EVIDENCE OF THEMES IN TEXT

THEME 1
REBELLION
Many teenagers go through a phase of rebellion — of going against the rules. Usually. this
is because teenagers feel older than they are. They feel like adults. They are ready for adults
to Stop telling them what to do!

EVIDENCE OF THEME IN TEXT

PINK
BC The narrator is rebellious and challenges authority, This can be seen when the narrator laughs at

Literature Summary 14
the principal's bow tie. It seems like the narrator wants to show he does not care about the principal's
power. When the narrator dyes his hair. he is also challenging authority.

Literature Summary 15
When he gets into trouble and begins telling the story of the train. this also seems defiant
and rebellious. We think that he is refusing to tell the truth (although by the end we are
not sure! ) and that he is wasting the principal •s time with tall tales,
The boy smoking on the train is representative athe narrator in the outer story. He says
it is not him, but we understand that it probab ly could be. When the mean guy is
changed into a skeleton, this is a warning of what can happen if you rebel too much.
THEME 2

We are never satisfied with our age. Boys of fourteen want to be older so they can smoke
or go out with seventeen-year olds. Older people want to be younger so that they can live
lite again,

EVIDENCE OF THEME IN TEXT

Everyone in the story wants to change their age. The narrator wants to be older. so no
one will tell him what to do, Splodge wants to be younger so that he can be with his
beautiful sccretary. In the train. the old lady fights off the mean guy to have the chance
to be young and filll of life again. The Age Roger allows people in the story to change
their ages. However. the narrator seems to be the only person who does not use the Age
Rager. We wonder why this is.

THEME 3
WHAT IS TAUTH
In this story. it seems like the narrator is making things up. However, at the end of the
, the reader is left wondering what the truth is, and whether or not the narrator was
really lying.

EVIDENCE OV THEME IN TEXT

The tells a tall Story (a Story that is to believe things in do not make or they seem
impossible), We doubt the story from the beginning„ When he says he is sensitive and
scares easily. this makes us trust him even less because this is very different to how lie
has shown himself to be.
We agree with Splodge when he says. you expect me to believe that yarn?'" (pg.
However. then the narrator takes the Age Rager out Of his bag and we see it! Further. it
seems that Splodge has used it to himself younger. It seems that something we thought
impossible might be true. This makes us think about the idea of truth — there might be
lots of things that are not as impossible as they seem. In a fantasy world. normal rules do
not apply. The story suggests that truth is an illusion.
mNX

STYLE AND STRUCTURE

 1 STRUCTURE:
There is a story within a story: an outer story which contains an inner story told by one
of the characters in the outer story. Each of the stories has its own setting, plot,
characters. conflict and resolution.
The outer story takes place in the principal's office and involves the narrator. Splodge
and Miss Newham in Splodge's office. The exposition explains how the narrator
comes to be in this situation (he is new in the school and has already got into trouble
with the principal) and introduces the rising conflict at the same time (he has dyed his
hair white and is in trouble with the principal again). The tension continues to rise as
the narrator says he can explain why his hair is white. We are expecting a conflict. The
climax happens when the principal does not believe him. and he produces the Age
Rager as proof of the nuth of his story. The falling action happens as the narrator
worries about the letter of his suspension from school, The letter does not come. and
Splodge has disappeared. Then. there is a twist in the resolution. A twist happens
when we are expecting one thing to happen but something else actually happens
(Usually it is foreshadowed earlier in the plot in some way). In this case. the twist
happens it is where the reader realises that Splodge has used the Age Rager to become
eighteen and is Miss Newham 's new boyfriend (This was foreshadowed earlier with
the discussion about how every boy is in love with Miss Newham and that she does
not have a boyfriend). Although the narrator does not realise that Splodge is Mis
Newham•s new boyfriend. we can make the connection because of the pink bow tie
that both Splodge and the new boyfriend wear.
In the inner story. the exposition is when the narrator explains he was in the train with a

group of characters that he briefly describes. The rising conflict happens when the
ticket collector confronts the boy about smoking and he uses the Age Rager to become
older. The action continues to rise with the old lady using the Age Rager to become
sixteen and when the mean guy grabs it to use it next. The climax of the story is when
the mean guy becomes old. dies, rots. and becomes a skeleton. The outcome orfalling
action and resolution in this story is where the narrator is trapped and shocked, causing
his hair to change colour.

2 NARRATME VOICE:
The unreliable narrator is a first person narrator. In other words. it is one of the characters telling the
story from his / her point of view. But the reader does not know whether to trust the narrator. The
unreliable narrator usually says something near the beginning of the story to make the reader doubt his or
her word. The reader then has to decide which parts ofthe story are and which parts are untrue. In the
introduction to the inner story, the narrator emphasises that he gets scared easily and is very sensitive.
But we have seen how he has laughed at the principal earlier and now looks him 'straight in PINK BC the
eye' (pg. 83) while telling the story. This behaviour belongs to a confident person, not a nervous person.
So, we are not sure that we can trust the narrator to tell us the truth.

3 WORD CHOICE:
 Short Story: Pink Bow Tie

Here are slang words used in the story like 'bloke'. 'knockout'. •whacko' and •surfie•.
The words are used by younger characters like the narrator. or to describe a younger
character in a sneering (angry) manner as the principal. Splodge does. The use of the
slang words contributes to the themes of age and rebellion by showing an element of
defiance in the story.

4 DRAMATC IRONY:
Dramatic irony is when the reader knows or understands something that the narrator or
the other characters do not know or understand At the end of this story the reader
knows something that the narrator seems not to have worked out. We know that
Splodge has made himself younger to be able to date Miss Newham. but the narrator
simply thinks Splodge has disappeared. He does not connect the pink bow tie of Miss
Newham's new boyfriend with the pink bow tie of Mr Splodge.

SAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS

Read the following extract from 'Pink Bow Tie' and then answer the questions
which follow it:
Then, before I can move, he pushes the knob right up to the OLDER end. A
terrible sight meets my eyes. He starts to get older and older. First he is
about sixteen, then thirty, then sixty, the eighty, then one hundred and
then he is dead. But it does not stop there. His body starts to rot away until 5
all that is left is a skeleton.
I give a terrible scream and run to the door but I cannot get out because it
is Jammed. I kick and shout but I cannot get out. I open the window but I
cannot get out, I open the window but the train is going too fast for me to
escape. 1
And that is how my hair gets white. I have to sit in that carriage with a 0
dead skeleton for fifteen minutes. I am terrified. I am shaking with fear.
It is the most horrible thing that has ever happened to me. My hair goes
white in just fifteen minutes. I am frightened into being blonde. When
the train stops I get out the window and walk all the rest of the way
home. 1
And that, I say to Splodge, 'is the truth'. 5
1 Refer to the whole passage.
Why is the character telling this story? 121
He dyed his hair white (V) and he is now telling this story to his principal to
explain why his hair is white
b Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence.
Write only the letter (A—I)) next to the number I(b) in your answer. Ill
The type of narrator in the passage above is
A a first-person narrator

Literature Summary 10
 Short Story; Pink Bow Tie

e a first-person unreliable narrator

C a third-person limited narrator D an omniscient narrator
B first-person unreliable narrator (V)

Provide reason for your answer to 1 (b) above. 131

The narrator says he is a nervous person who is easily seared (I) but he speaks to the
principal in a way that shows he is u confident person This makes us doubt
everything he says ailer this (J).
1 Refer to 'Tlis body starts to rot away until all that is left is a skeleton' (lines 4
— 5).
Explain "hat lead up to the person becoming a skeleton? 121
He had pushed the knob to the •younger' side ofthe Age Rager and had become a
oneyear-old baby Then he pushed it all the way to the •older' side which made him
grow older. die. rot and become a skeleton

2 Refer to "And that, I Say to Splodge, 'is the truth'" (line 15): a Splodge?
Ill
Splodge is the principal b Discuss ho" the theme of truth
is shown in the story. 131
The narrator tells u tall (an unbelievable) story which we, like Splodge, find difficult
to believe However. there seems to be some truth to what the narrator has said
because he produces the Age Rager and we realise at the end Of the Story that
Splodge has used it to make himself younger (V j. It makes us ask ourselves what
the truth is W),

3 Refer to ille story as a whole, Explain how a twist occurs in the story. Your
answer must make reference the pink bow tie. 131
A twist is when something that we do not expect to happen in a story happens The
twist in this story comes when we realise that Splodge has used the Age Rager to make
himselfypung again "Ve know this because of the pink tie that Splodge
Wore is now worn by Mio Newham's eighteen-year-old boyfriend (
TOTAL: 15 MARKS