The Tale of Despereaux

Part 1, Chapters 1-15

Reading Check

1. Disappointment (Chapter 1)

2. A bug (Chapter 4)

3. Princess Pea (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. Despereaux is an exceptionally small mouse when he is born, is the only mouse of his litter to survive, has large ears, and is born with his eyes open. Lester believes something is wrong because Despereaux is staring directly at the sun after he is born. These details further reinforce Despereaux’s unusual traits as he grows. He loves sunlight and music more than the other mice and is too distracted by the things he loves to learn to be a “proper” mouse. For example, when his siblings try to teach him to nibble the pages of a book, Despereaux instead reads the book. Despereaux’s mouse rebellion becomes the catalyst for his assigned punishment in the dungeon. (Chapter 3)

2. Antoinette may be described as a selfish character. She immediately calls Despereaux a “disappointment” upon his birth, and then swears off having children because it will ruin her appearance. She continues to describe Despereaux as a disappointment and the narrator takes the time to explain that while Antoinette appears sorrowful that Despereaux has been sentenced to death, she did not offer to go in his place—reaffirming her selfish nature. (Chapter 12)

3. Despereaux approaches humans and speaks to Princess Pea both of which break the mouse rules. Lester, unsure of how to punish Despereaux, turns him over to the Mouse Council where he is sentenced to the dungeons and presumably his death because of the wicked rats in the dungeon. These rules might be important to the mouse community because anonymity allows the community to survive within the castle walls. The king does not like any creature that is related to rats and has attempted to eliminate them. (Chapter 7)

4. Despereaux, having read fairy tales rather than nibbling on the pages of books, is inspired by the brave knights and beautiful princesses in stories. When he first meets Princess Pea, he immediately falls in love, and he also claims to honor her—something that is likely derived from one of his stories about knights. At times he doubts that happily ever after exists, and he draws strength from the threadmaster’s own knowledge of courtly love, bravery, courtesy, honor, and devotion, which Despereaux identifies as coming from fairy tales. Because of these descriptions from fairy tales, he attempts to be brave in the dungeon and face his fate. (Chapter 11)

Part 2, Chapters 16-23

Reading Check

1. Light (Chapter 16)

2. Illegal outlaws (Chapter 23)

3. Miggery Sow (Chapter 23)

Short Answer

1. The purpose of the rats in the dungeon is to torture and inflict suffering on the prisoners. For example, when a red cloth is thrown into the dungeon, Roscuro is convinced by Botticelli that he should steal it to torture the prisoner. Roscuro acts as though he is a friend of the prisoner before stealing the cloth—the only thing the prisoner has left. (Chapter 18)

2. Roscuro escapes the dungeon, finding no satisfaction in torture, to find the light. His obsession with light causes him to climb on a chandelier in the dining hall where he is startled by the screams of Princess Pea and lands in the queen’s soup. He speaks to the queen to excuse his mishap, but the queen dies of a heart attack after the encounter. Because of Roscuro’s actions, the residents of the castle are determined to hunt down the rat and kill him. Roscuro’s own personality changes when he becomes vengeful and bitter after seeing the look of disgust on Princess Pea’s face. (Chapter 21)

3. Roscuro and Despereaux are both attracted to light and neither fit into their communities. Despereaux, unlike Roscuro, has never been trained by the other mice to be vengeful and cruel. When Roscuro is confronted with his nonconformity the consequences of his actions cause him to slip into conformity while Despereaux takes on the consequences of his actions, believing he did nothing wrong. (Chapter 21)

Part 3, Chapters 24-33

Reading Check

1. Cauliflower (Chapter 25)

2. Princess Pea (Chapter 26)

3. His meals (Chapter 30)

Short Answer

1. Mig’s mother and father do not seem to care about her. Her mother tells her that it doesn’t matter what Mig wants on her deathbed—a sentiment that is frequently repeated to Mig by the other characters. Her father sells her into servitude after her mother’s death where she is often clouted on the ears, causing hearing damage, as well as verbally abused. She is later taken to the castle, where the cook and the prisoner also abuse her, dismissing her desires and berating her performance as a housekeeper. These abuses further exacerbate Mig’s hardship because she cannot hear well enough to follow instructions—causing more abuse. (Chapter 30)

2. Mig first encounters the princess “glittering and glowing on the horizon” (Chapter 26). Mig begins to desire to become a princess probably because of the beauty, admiration, and respect the title would grant her. This idea is supported by the characters often telling Mig no one cares about her or what she wants. (Chapter 26)

3. Mig’s dream is to become a princess, a notion that is thought of as ridiculous by the rest of the characters. Ridiculous dreams are a common theme in the novel as Despereaux is in love with the human Princess Pea and Roscuro dreams of living in the light. (Chapter 29)

Part 4, Chapters 34-52

Reading Check

1. A knife (Chapter 36)

2. Soup (Chapter 37)

3. A ghost (Chapter 40)

Short Answer

1. Roscuro convinces Mig that she will swap places with the princess if she agrees to help him trap the princess in the dungeon. Roscuro’s tactic is reminiscent of his training where he was taught to learn of the prisoners’ desires before taking away the one thing they want most. Mig wants most to become a princess, and Roscuro exploits that dream. (Chapter 36)

2. Despereaux grants forgiveness to his father because he believes it is the only way to save his own heart and prevent it from breaking in two. Princess Pea later extends forgiveness to both Roscuro and Mig—realizing their desires were warped in a way that motivated their actions. (Chapter 40)

3. Despereaux, though admittedly scared, realizes the princess has been stolen while he was sleeping. He timidly approaches the king to tell him where Princess Pea is, but the king laughs at him. Despereaux realizes that he is the knight in this story and seeks out the threadmaker who encourages him to face danger. He confronts Roscuro in the dungeon and, though he does not directly rescue the princess, he displays signs of great heroism. (Chapter 41)