Bridge to Terabithia

Childhood is a significant phase in our lifetime in which we fearlessly explore Mother Earth and encounter whatever would shape our character later in life. We are flowers in buds and still waiting for the right moment to blossom and grow strong enough to face the unknown world ahead of us.

Bridge to Terabithia is an intriguing novel, which depicts how graceful and fragile childhood can be through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy, Jess. The author set this story in a tranquil countryside, where everything was just peaceful and slow-paced until Jess met Leslie. Then the story expands into a strong bond of friendship. Together, they created a kingdom of their own where nothing impossible could happen. Leslie had taught Jess to explore the world around him and showed him the friendship he had never owned before. Most important of all, Jess learned to stand up for himself and to be true to himself. With a soft but profound tone, it was as if we were hearing the story with a person whispering into our ears wholeheartedly, yet at the the same time bringing us back to our own precious memories in childhood.

Moreover, through their interaction and the time they spent together, it unveiled the deeper dimension that the novel wants to elaborate on -- childhood and fear. When we were little, we might be afraid of things that might seem of little importance to us today, like ghosts in the closet or darkness in the woods. Nonetheless, as we grew older, we learned to conquer our fear when our parents opened the closet and showed us there was nothing to be afraid of. We gain access to the world around us by realizing that we will be courageous enough to stand up against the things we fear with the company of our beloved ones.

Bridge to Terabithia not merely acts as a path to the imaginary world Jess and Leslie created, but symbolizes the transition from childlike innocence to maturity that each of us will somehow experience. The bridge somehow turns into a strong bond that connects the reality to truthfulness of our heart. A mere step could lead us to the two different phases of life that may seem irrelevant. In between we stumble across obstacles and undergo emotional ups and downs to become what we are now. As near the epilogue of novel, Jess experienced a devastating trauma by virtue of the accidental death of Leslie. For an instant, he felt his world was torn into pieces and overwhelmeded with depth of grief; yet, when time went by, it occurred to him just how much he had learned from Leslie and how precious the memories they shared were. "It's like the smarter you are, the more things can scare you." Jess said. "All you have to do is stand up against it, and things will be alright." Leslie constructed the bridge for Jess, and now he would walk on his own to stay stronger. No matter what he might confront, he understood that he would be marching ahead in the confident strides that Leslie had taught him.

I was intrigued and moved by this novel. It cleverly gives us a glimpse of reality but meanwhile plants seeds of hope inside our heart. The novel is a symphony without instruments that strikes the chords of our heart. With the melody drifting softly in my head, the sensation and enlightenment I gained from this novel would have a profound influence on my philosophy of life.