For someone who loves comic books (with few words), Flora sure does love words and language. So much so that she even stresses out about misplaced punctuation, or gets totally excited about new words. But the fascination with words doesn't stop at Flora in Flora and Ulysses. Did you notice how words like malfeasance are repeated again and again? That's because the author wants us to pay close attention to those words, and what they mean for the book. Almost unsurprisingly, then, one of Ulysses's superhero powers is writing poetry. Words are a majorly big deal in this book.
Questions About Language and Communication
- Think about words that are repeated a bunch of times in the book (incandesto, malfeasance, capacious, etc.). Why do you think the author wants us to pay attention to those words? What is so special about them to Flora?
- How does the squirrel communicate? What's the deal with his poems—are they real poetry, or just random words jotted down?
- Why is language important to Flora? It's important to her mom, too, but is this different or the same as Flora's feelings about writing?
- Why do you think Flora likes comic books so much if she loves words and language? Why does she repeat phrases she read in her comic books?
Chew on This
Flora's obsession with language comes from her desire to understand everything around her and follow the rules. Just like preparing for disaster, the proper grammar and punctuation helps her feel safe.
Ulysses takes up language as a necessity because he wants to communicate, but soon he sees a beauty in words that no one else around him realizes.