Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh Review

Response Paper to Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH was a heart-warming story about a widowed mother mouse and her adventures to bring her children and their home to safety. She steps outside of all she has ever known spreading her goodness wherever she went, and in turn receiving the help she needed from the most unlikely characters, (or so she thought). Through her unwavering faith, strength, and determination she began a sequence of events which would save her home and her children as well as an entire population of neighboring rats.

I found the major theme in the book to be 'in lending a helping hand, you will in turn receive the help you need'.

The first example which supports the theme was when Mrs. Frisby helped a crow named Jeremy who was tangled to a fence and in the path of Dragon the cat. Jeremy vowed to repay her a kind service in return. (p. 24-26) Mrs. Frisby was on her way home from visiting Mr. Ages, a medicine man of sorts, and was in danger of not making it home by nightfall. She heard the trapped crow and chose to help him, possibly setting herself even further behind. However, by setting him free, he flew her home; her kind choice, not only saved the life of another, it got her home before dark, safely away from the danger of the cat.

The crow Jeremy promised to repay Mrs. Frisby for helping him; "If the time ever comes when I can help you, I hope you will ask me. My name is Jeremy."(26); soon Mrs. Frisby would call on Jeremy.

"Do you remember saying once that if I needed help, I might ask you?"

"I do. Any time. Just ask for Jeremy."

"I think perhaps you can help me now."(41)

Mrs. Frisby's dilemma was that her winter home in the garden was in danger of being plowed over by the farmer's tractor. Her son Timothy was too ill to travel in the cold, so she needed help finding a way to safely move their home. Jeremy took her to seek council from the wise owl deep in the forest; the owl advised her to seek help from the rats, to tell them he sent her and that her name was Frisby.

It so happened that Mrs. Frisby's late husband had a connection with the rats which would guarantee them helping her. He had once saved their lives, which is described on page 142.

As the owl had said, the rats were happy to help Mrs. Frisby. However, the cat Dragon posed as a problem. Mrs. Frisby would first have to drug the cat before the rats could move her house. When she was in the process the young son of Mr. Fritzgibbon, the farmer, caught her and put her in a cage, which is where she over heard the family discussing the plan to exterminate the rats in the rosebush.

Mrs. Frisby knew she