I Can Jump Puddles - Alan Marshall

Our group chose to read I Can Jump Puddles, which is an autobiographical account written by Alan Marshall. Though Marshall was crippled by Polio at an early age of six years, his determination made him a successful author who won the Australian Literature Society Short Story Award three times. I Can Jump Puddles is the first of a three-part autobiography which was followed by This is the Grass and In Mine Own Heart. I Can Jump Puddles describes his struggles in relearning how to ride a horse! As it is an autobiographical account, the story is written in the first person barring the parts where conversations are depicted.

The story begins with a conversation between Marshall and his father. He reassures Marshall that it was okay that he could not ride a horse. In a way, this triggers the author to prove his father wrong and he thinks how proud his father would be when he would gallop in front of their house.  Here is the part of the story where the author talks about how the boys rode ponies to school. He also introduces Starlight, a white pony.  As Marshall puts it, “Starlight became a symbol of perfection for me. Other boys rode ponies to school, but these ponies were not like Starlight. When the boys raced, as they often did, I watched Starlight stride to the led, glorying in his superior speed, the eager spirit of him.” He befriends Starlight’s owner, Bob Carlton by talking about the pony and thus boosting Bob’s boasting. Marshall’s real adventure starts when he offers to take Starlight to drink water to the road-trough during lunch time. On the first day, Bob saddles Starlight for Marshall. A few weeks later, Marshall is able to ride him “without concentrating on keeping my seat in the saddle.“ Soon, he learns to break him into a canter from a trot. This follows by an account where he gets hurt by the barbs and even this does not affect his will to learn to ride. He also describes how Starlight gets startled when a woman opens her umbrella suddenly, causing him to fall with a thud. He quietly listens to the lady when she advises him to not ride again. The very next day is what he is waiting for! He finally rides Starlight in front of his father and shows how determination and perseverance helped him prove that his father was wrong when he says that he could not ride. The story ends on a happy note wherein his father acknowledges him as a good rider.

When I read the story title and the brief description about Marshall, his being inflicted by Polio and his learning to ride, I was drawn to the story as I inferred that the story would be (somewhat) inspirational. Also, silly as it sounds, the story had a pony in it and being an animal lover, I was drawn more towards the story. However, when I read the story I did not find it engaging enough. One of the reasons was that the author has described a physical setting that is not something I could relate to. And then there were these terms related to horse riding like trot, canter, gallop, saddle, surcingle and pommel which played their part in distancing me from the text.  Still, I managed to gather some of the points that struck me the most. Two of the instances which I saw in the light of gender were where the author’s father talks about “whether he can put his shoulders to a man” and second where the author says “Perce was the siss of the school and was known to carry a handkerchief.” In the first instance, I inferred his father’s statement to mean that the boy is expected to deal with gruelling questions from his father as a sign of his masculinity. Also, I did not find the word “siss” in Oxford dictionary but based on the context, it seems that it means sissy. I did not particularly like how the author has described Perce. His description seems to say that there is something wrong when a boy carries a handkerchief and that the action is equated to that of a girl. The description could have been better worded and the use of siss word could be avoided.  Also, the author describes Starlight as a symbol of perfection. I questioned the same asking if it was because his colour was white and that he was fast and agile. What if Starlight was black or brown or had stripes? However, what I liked particularly was how he described the terrain. His detailed explanation about the areas where he was not able to use his crutch (rough uneven ground, steep rises and long grass) was quite picturesque. I could literally visualise a young boy with crutches not being able to walk properly in such areas. One more thing I noticed was that children were not critical of his riding. In a context like India, children might have made fun of him or discouraged him. So, I thought the children in the story were sensitive towards the author.

However, when we had our group discussion, there was a significant shift in my understanding. I was able to appreciate it at an altogether different level. I never had realised that the story talks about the author being able to ride before he was crippled. Aarushi and others showed the portion in the text (First paragraph of page 97) which hints at the same.  Also, we discussed how the discouraging comment from his father triggered him to learn riding, no matter what (paragraphs 6 and 7, page 97). When I mentioned about my doubts regarding Starlight as a symbol of perfection, Sayani added that maybe because it is more difficult to ride a horse which is faster and hence, that in a way would be perfection. We also discussed how the author cannot walk fast himself and hence Starlight’s speed was perfection for him. My one more doubt of why was horse riding such a big deal for Marshall was nicely answered by Aarushi where she said that horse riding is common in Australia and that there is a renowned breed of horse found there. This also cleared Ira’s doubt which asked if it was a matter of pride that you had access to horses. Another point of discussion revolved around the statement the author makes about feeling angry with his body. Here Aarushi argued,” As walking is to us…and suddenly one day I lose a leg. He (the author) always used to ride horses, children come to school on horses even his dad rode a horse.. and maybe he feels lost?” This description helped me sketch the author’s character, which was the element most significant in the story, with finer details. This showed his intrinsic love for horse riding. And this discussion also revolved around the areas in which he was not able to use the crutches (the point I had made in the previous paragraph). The best part was that this discussion facilitated me to say this line which I think was of great value, “So, Starlight seems to be a metaphor for his legs! He enables him to go to places where his legs cannot!” We also discussed how the author’s experiencing the Polio-ridden condition has immensely helped him describe the settings with intricate detailing. So, lived experiences help paint a better picture was what our group agreed in unison. For Jafar, this story talked about liberation from mental and physical disability. And everyone agreed that excessive pity is not shown (except by the lady at the end) because it is a real account. In the end, we discussed what the title meant. We agreed that the word puddle, though not used in the text, was a metaphor for hurdles that came in his way, which he jumped by learning how to ride. Also, as an ending note, Ira observed how his father was passionate about the art of riding when he appreciates his son’s riding (last but one paragraph, page 111).

As I mentioned earlier, I found the character of Marshall and Starlight most appealing. The description helps visualise the boy using crutches sitting on the pony and struggling to ride. The movement through time is also significantly shown as Marshall learns how to ride. I don’t think this story has a plot as such, except that the author is planning to prove to his father than he can ride a horse. Our group did not have largely differing perspectives. Rather, they added on to what we individually understood about the story.

As a reader, this experience was fascinating and while I was writing this down, I thought that this, if done in a freer environment, could accelerate our critical thinking. It was fascinating to see us indulging in accountable talk to make meaning of the text! I learned how to read between the lines and that a discussion with others can actually change your prior belief about the common text. If such discussions are facilitated in a literacy classroom, children would learn to see different points of view and understand how to respond rather than reject those views. The shared understanding that such an activity would create would not only compel the students to engage more deeply with the text, but also create a better rapport among them which would help them in their later years. 

As a final note, I think our group can appreciate this story at a deeper level if we were to watch the Australian mini-series based on Marshall’s life.