What is the true meaning of Where the Wild Things Are?

The Forest (Symbol)

When Max is sent to his room, he is at the peak of his anger. Out of that anger, he conjures a forest that replaces the confines of his room and allows him to escape to a safe place, one where he can interact on his own terms with his anger and come to peace with it. In this sense, the imaginary forest represents Max's ability to work through his emotions away from his anger with his mother.

The Wild Things (Symbol)

The big and terrifying but easily swayed creatures of the forest represent Max's fiercest emotions. When he is banished to his room for a time-out without dinner, he surrenders himself to them, entering in a "wild rumpus" with his anger and upset. But by the time the rumpus is over, the wild things are ready to settle down for the night. Max finds his anger melting away and is ready to return home.

Hot Supper (Symbol)

When Max returns home after a long adventure in the land of the wild things, he finds his supper waiting for him, still hot. The supper serves as a reminder that he belongs at home, symbolizing his mother's love and restoring peace after a tumultuous evening of conflict.

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By Cathy Lowne Article History

Where the Wild Things Are

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Awards And Honors:Caldecott Medal (1964)...(Show more)

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Where the Wild Things Are, illustrated children’s book by American writer and artist Maurice Sendak, published in 1963. The work was considered groundbreaking for its honest treatment of children’s emotions, especially anger, and it won the 1964 Caldecott Medal.

Young Max is naughty, engaging in such mischief as chasing after the dog with a fork. His mother calls him a “wild thing,” and, when he is cheeky to her, she sends him to bed without supper. Dressed in a wolf suit, Max is in such a rage that his bedroom starts to turn into a jungle and a boat appears. He sails to the land of the wild things, which are huge monsters with claws. Not frightened of anything, Max tames the wild things, who agree that he is the wildest of them all, and they make him their king. Max decrees, “Let the wild rumpus start,” and he and the wild things dance in the moonlight, hang from the trees, and generally run riot, until Max realizes he misses his mother’s love. Although the wild things beg him to stay, he returns to his bedroom, where his supper is waiting for him.

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Maurice Sendak

Although now considered a classic, Where the Wild Things Are was initially met with mixed reviews, as some critics claimed it would traumatize children. However, others praised the work for dealing with childhood anger, noting that it explains the purpose of “time-outs,” assists children with anger management, and teaches them to channel their tempers creatively. It also shows young readers that even if they sometimes want to be wild things, a home with loving discipline is the best place to be. In addition, Max’s adventures demonstrate that children’s imaginations are a wonderful thing, taking them anywhere they want to go.

Where the Wilds Things Are was notably adapted into a 2009 movie that was directed by Spike Jonze, who also cowrote the script with David Eggers, and it featured James Gandolfini as one of the wild things.

What is the message behind Where the Wild Things Are?

Psychoanalyst Joan Raphael-Leff, points out that this story acknowledges that when a child is in a crazed tantrum, they lose sight of all the good in that moment. What is often overlooked, she says, is the effect a child's emotions has on the carers, and all the wild things they stir up within the grown-up.

What do the monsters in Where the Wild Things Are represent?

According to some, the wild creatures in the film represent Max's emotions, and the story thus takes the form of the process in which the child learns to manage his emotions, but in reality the film is even more complex than that.

Why is where the wild things are controversial?

Readers believed Where the Wild Things Are was psychologically damaging and traumatizing to young children due to Max's inability to control his emotions and his punishment of being sent to bed without dinner. Psychologists called it “too dark”, and the book was banned largely in the south.

What does the bull represent in Where the Wild Things Are?

Then there is The Bull who is, quite simply the loner. He stays by himself, not saying anything, not relating to the other Wild Things or to Max. At the end, he simply asks Max the minimum: to say good things about the Wild Things. To me, he represents the irreducible solitariness of being human.