In "Down at the Dinghy," Salinger's child characters prove once again the impact of a kid's innocence. Lionel's habit of running away is maybe an immature act, but Salinger writes it in a very profound way.
Lionel flees situations where he feels insulted or hurt by the words of others. Running away from problems is a pretty logical response for a 4 year old to have in uncomfortable and/or confrontational situations, though maybe not to the extreme that Lionel exhibits. I guess he doesn't know that he puts his life in danger when he runs away. However, the example Boo Boo gives of him in February, when he hid "half-frozen to death" after 11 PM after a kid told him he stank, shows that he puts emotional security over his physical comfort.
"You stink" is an easy insult to understand, which makes it harder for a small child to hear than something with deeper meanings and cultural complexities, like a racial slur. Lionel overhears Sandra call his father a slur in conversation with Mrs. Snell and, even though he interprets the word completely different than its intended definition, he knows that it's an insult. He knows what a kite is, and that it's a toy, not an insult, but he still picks up on the vibes in Sandra's conversation which hurt more than the actual words.
Lionel's ability to understand and feel the impact of people's words without knowing what those words mean is a good example of how in tune children are with their surroundings, even if they don't necessarily know it. He also shows that children's emotions can change quickly. Sandra's words were debilitating to him, yet he quickly bounces back and races his mom to the house. He knew the vibe of Sandra's conversation but couldn't quite piece together why it was harmful, which allows him to have the response of running away and still maintain his innocence and be ready to play again shortly after.
Lionel flees situations where he feels insulted or hurt by the words of others. Running away from problems is a pretty logical response for a 4 year old to have in uncomfortable and/or confrontational situations, though maybe not to the extreme that Lionel exhibits. I guess he doesn't know that he puts his life in danger when he runs away. However, the example Boo Boo gives of him in February, when he hid "half-frozen to death" after 11 PM after a kid told him he stank, shows that he puts emotional security over his physical comfort.
"You stink" is an easy insult to understand, which makes it harder for a small child to hear than something with deeper meanings and cultural complexities, like a racial slur. Lionel overhears Sandra call his father a slur in conversation with Mrs. Snell and, even though he interprets the word completely different than its intended definition, he knows that it's an insult. He knows what a kite is, and that it's a toy, not an insult, but he still picks up on the vibes in Sandra's conversation which hurt more than the actual words.
Lionel's ability to understand and feel the impact of people's words without knowing what those words mean is a good example of how in tune children are with their surroundings, even if they don't necessarily know it. He also shows that children's emotions can change quickly. Sandra's words were debilitating to him, yet he quickly bounces back and races his mom to the house. He knew the vibe of Sandra's conversation but couldn't quite piece together why it was harmful, which allows him to have the response of running away and still maintain his innocence and be ready to play again shortly after.
Lionel does "get" that his father is insulted at some deep level, even if he doesn't quite understand why being a "kite" would be a bad thing (the "big, sloppy" helps him interpret the tone and intention). But Boo Boo still faces a dilemma: should she broach the important and enormous topic of anti-Semitism and bigotry? Should he understand that this insult goes far beyond just a "not nice" thing for Sandra to have said? At what point in his life should he be introduced to the much larger context of bigotry that he himself will face someday? We see Boo Boo choose to preserve his innocence for now: it's not nice that she called his dad a kite, but he gets over it pretty quickly.
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