Escalante 1

Jesus Escalante
Professor Malvin
English 114A
November 17, 2014

Prospectus
Intro
In the novel Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children, Jacob is a young charismatic
teenager who dreams about escaping his ordinary life, a life that revolved around a job he hated
and taking care of his crazy grandfather. Yet Jacob discovers that his ordinary life turns out to
be not as ordinary, as he learns he, too, is peculiar, a person whose characteristics and abilities
differ from those considered to be normal. As Riggs portrays Jacob with such peculiar abilities,
ultimately those abilities become an important aspect in his life and the lives of Miss Peregrine
and the children, making him struggle with drawing a line between normality and peculiarity. In
Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children, Riggs portrays Jacobs dilemma as a way to
illustrate the conundrum many people face of wanting to be normal to fit in, but different enough
to be special.

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Outline

I.

The use of mystical and peculiar abilities allows readers to see Jacob and the
childrens life portray throughout much of the novel adding a dark mysterious feeling
and sense of danger throughout the entire novel.

a. People come to sideshows to see stunts and tricks and what-all, and as far as
anybody knew thats exactly what we showed them. (Riggs 186). This shows
how the peculiar children normally live their life.
b. Only their shadows, which is why they hunt mainly at night. (Riggs 247). This
presents the dangers that the children must often be ready to face for being
peculiar.

II.

The idea of being peculiar through much of the novel is seen by others as crazy or
mentally ill, allowing readers to visualize Jacobs life through being treated
differently although he knows he is not and he senses danger because of it.
a. I told him everything that had happened, even about the creature, as he sat
nodding across the kitchen table writing nothing in his spiral notebook. When I
finished all he said was, Great, thanks, and then turned to my parents and

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asked if Id been to see anyone. (Riggs 40). This shows how Jacob is
criticized and though as being crazy for trying to explain his story.
b. Now which lie are we talking about? I can hardly keep trackDoes Golan know
about this. (Riggs 205). This shows that Jacobs own father has a bit of difficulty
knowing if he is telling the truth. Jacobs father doesnt seem to believe any of
Jacobs stories and goes on to ask him if his therapist, Golan, knows anything
Jacob is saying, almost as if he believes those lies.

III.

The idea of being normal is expressed much trough the novel making the readers
compare between being peculiar and being normal and how danger applies to the
lives of the characters.
a. Yours is a world they can never be part of, Mr. Portman. So whats the use in
filling their heads with grand talk about the exotic wonders of the future? (Riggs
210). Ms. Peregrine states that the peculiar children will never be able to live the
normal life that Jacob was living before knowing he too was peculiar.
b. They cannot linger in your world, Mr. Portman, because in a short time they
would grow old and die. (Riggs 210). This shows that the peculiar children face
death as a danger if they were to try and live a normal life such a Jacob lived.
c. they hardly seemed to notice the small parade of peculiar-looking children
passing them by. (Riggs 351). This states that the Jacob along with the children
are seen to be just normal as they pass by people who have no clue that the
children themselves possess peculiar abilities.

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Annotated Bibliography

King, Stephen. "Why We Crave Horror Movies." Models for Writers. 11th ed.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 524-27. Print.
The essay "Why We Crave Horror Movies", by Stephen King, King claims that we are all
mentally ill. According to King, peoples little quirks are proof of this. He says that we
watch horror movies to "re-establish our feelings of essential normality. King also says
that we watch them to satisfy the bad in us. We all do crazy things sometimes in our
lives. Once in a while we all want to thrash out on someone which tends to show that we
are all mentally ill to a certain point. I will discuss the reason King believes we crave
horror movies and I will connect it to the life of Jacob, as his life, too, seems to full of
negativity towards his personality. This relates to my thesis connecting to Jacobs life and
how his experiences led people to believe he was mentally ill as well.
Hopkins, Patrick D. "The Lure of the Normal: Who Wouldnt Want to Be a Mutant."
John Wiley & Sons Inc., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
In this article published online, Hopkins takes off on this article to talk about normality,
and the conundrum we all face of wanting to be normal enough to fit in, but different
enough to be special. Which is all very interesting and worth reading. I will discuss
Jacobs life in being normal and peculiar at the same time. I will also discuss how Jacob
connects to the article by Hopkins. This relates to my thesis connecting Jacobs constant

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struggle to want to be seen normal although he sees peculiar things, he is not aware of the
peculiar abilities he too possesses.
Riggs, Ransom. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Philadelphia, PA:
Quirk, 2011. Print.
In the novel Miss Peregrine Home for Peculiar Children, we get hooked into an
unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience.
As the story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a
remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the ruins of Miss Peregrines
Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob continues his journey it becomes clear that the
children who once lived thereone of whom was his own grandfatherwere more than
just peculiar, but they may have been dangerous as well. I will discuss the life of Jacob
through his experiences with trying to find the story behind his grandfather. In particular
I will examine Jacobs life as he is called crazy by the people around him. This connects
with my thesis as Jacobs life unfolds throughout much of the essay.