Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

Farley Drexel Hatcher is two years old at the start of the book. Coddled and indulged by his overwhelmed mother, Fudge is an extremely energetic, inquisitive child. Although he causes endless vexation to his older brother, much of Fudge’s apparently destructive behavior stems from a desire to imitate “Pee-tah.” When he breaks into the forbidden territory of Peter’s bedroom and scribbles on a poster for a school project that took weeks to create, he covers it with “scribbles in every color Magic Marker” (76) in an effort to emulate his brother. The Hatcher parents use this desire on Fudge’s part to control his behavior by coercing Peter into fooling Fudge. As a result, Fudge acquiesces to wearing saddle shoes when Peter pretends to buy them too.

Fudge inadvertently breaks Peter’s heart by eating his pet turtle, Dribble. This crisis occurs near the end of the book, and it results in Fudge being subjected to extensive medical treatments. The event serves as an epiphany for the Hatchers, who realize the extent to which Fudge has created difficulties for their older son.

Ann Hatcher is a prototypical wife and mother from a previous era, evidenced by her hours spent cooking and cleaning prior to a disastrous overnight visit from her husband’s ad agency client. Mrs. Hatcher is chronically overwhelmed by the stress of caring for Fudge. This causes Peter to misinterpret her inattentiveness to him as lack of affection, but this is not the case. She extensively relies upon her older son to manage Fudge, often by manipulating the toddler to believe he is emulating his beloved older brother. Mrs. Hatcher lashes out under emotional duress and tends to blame Peter inappropriately. This occurs when she leaves Peter’s classmate, Sheila Tubman, in charge of Fudge on the playground for 10 minutes. Fudge falls from the jungle gym and loses his two front teeth; Mrs. Hatcher angrily chastises Peter for not paying attention to his brother. Conversely, Mrs. Hatcher is capable of apologizing. She later admits that she was angry and took it out on Peter inappropriately, noting that she was upset about the accident and “had to blame somebody. So I picked on you” (40). When Fudge kills Peter’s turtle, Mrs. Hatcher consents to the purchase of a puppy for Peter—no small concession in a crowded Manhattan apartment. Often exhausted and sometimes all too human, Peter’s mother loves him and seeks his affection and approval.

Peter’s father, Warren Hatcher, is a hardworking account executive in the highly competitive field of television advertising. He is a devoted father and husband; however, he lacks “hands on” expertise with regard to caring for his children. For example, when he is left in charge of his boys while his wife visits her sister in Boston, it is Peter who must remind him to change Fudge into clean clothing.

Mr. Hatcher seems to understand the degree of annoyance that Fudge causes Peter, and he attaches a chain lock to Peter’s bedroom door to prevent Fudge from entering after the child destroys the poster. He also is the parent who brings home the puppy given exclusively to Peter after Fudge unwittingly causes Dribble the turtle’s untimely end. Conversely, he is capable of losing his temper. While Mrs. Hatcher tries to cajole Fudge into eating by having Peter entertain him, Mr. Hatcher becomes so annoyed that he brings Fudge to the bathtub and pours the child’s uneaten cereal over his head. When Fudge screams in response, his mother wants to comfort him; however, her husband directs her to not to, indicating that he has “had enough of Fudge’s monkey business at meal times” (28). Though this technique may seem psychologically incorrect to contemporary readers, it effectively ends Fudge’s hunger strike.

Peter’s best friend and classmate, Jimmy Fargo, lives nearby. He and Peter have a special set of rocks in Central Park where they enjoy playing after school. Jimmy is also a relatively sophisticated product of an urban upbringing. He is the veteran of three muggings in Central Park. Additionally, he can mimic a variety of foreign accents because his father is an actor and part-time City College instructor. Jimmy is loyal and understanding. He demonstrates these qualities when Fudge destroys the poster that he and Peter labored on for their school project. Peter notes that Jimmy was a good sport about the event and cheerfully agreed to reconstruct the poster.

Sheila is Peter’s neighbor, classmate, and occasional nemesis. She seeks attention from him constantly; in fact, she accuses him of having “cooties” to provoke a reaction. Assertive and organized, Sheila demands control of the group project that she, Jimmy, and Peter must complete for school. She annoys the boys by indicating that she should be in charge and direct their work, leading Peter to note that she behaves as though “she was the teacher and we were the kids” (74). When Sheila begs Mrs. Hatcher to allow her to babysit Fudge in Central Park for 10 minutes, she loses focus, and the toddler falls from a jungle gym. Sheila is then displayed in a needy, frightened state as opposed to her normally confident persona.