Phantom Tollbooth in a Sense

Phantom Tollbooth

In a sense Milo's character transforms immediately after he enters the Land Beyond, which changes his perspective on reality and opens his eyes to the joys of wisdom and the here-and-now. Milo does not necessarily undergo any single transformation in the Land Beyond either, because each new character he meets adds to his overall understanding of his role and responsibility. Three situations in the Land Beyond have an especially profound impact on Milo, though. First, when King Azaz entrusts Milo with the mission of rescuing rhyme and reason, Milo surges with pride. Milo suggested the mission himself, indicating that he was already starting to take more interest in the world than he did as a disenchanted boy in the "real" world. Therefore, increased responsibility helped transform Milo from his perpetual ennui to full joie du vivre. Second, soon after he sets off on the journey to Digitopolis Milo meets Alec Bings. Bings is instrumental in aiding Milo's transformation by illuminating the importance of perspective. His increased self-awareness leads Milo toward his ultimate goal of rescuing the princesses.

More importantly, though, Milo develops a strong sense of self-confidence on his journey. The third and most significant transformation for Milo is when he confronts the Mathemagician. By this time Milo has fully accepted his role and has actively accumulated the wisdom and wherewithal necessary to accomplish his goal of rescuing the princesses. Whereas he was once a bored little boy, Milo has become a strong young man when he reaches Digitopolis. He is able to capitalize on the lessons he learned until that point that wielding not just words with the Mathemagician but semantics too: Milo manages to secure the princesses' freedom by pointing out that Azaz and the Mathemagician agree on one and only one thing: that they disagree.

Milo faces his final and greatest challenges on the mountain. Especially when Milo comes to understand the value of time he fully completes his personal transformation from ennui to enthusiasm. Moreover, Milo works through his fear of failure, coming through gloriously and ending up a hero. None of this would have been possible had Milo not passed through the phantom tollbooth.

2. I may not have entered a toy tollbooth into another land but many of my life experienced parallel Milo's. Like Milo, too, I have not undergone a singular transformation of character but have accumulated a series of life experiences that together contribute to changes of character. For instance, when I was in school I played sports and was talented enough to be one of the assistant captains. Because I was shy, however, I rarely emerged as a team leader until the day our captain fell ill with mononucleosis and would not be in school for three weeks. The coach surprised me in front of the whole team by naming me as the replacement captain. I assumed my teammates would be disappointed that the other assistant was passed up. What happened absolutely startled me: the whole team applauded. From that point on I felt like a new person. I was still shy but I had more confidence and acted decisively. It was as if all I needed was for someone to believe in me. The experience of leadership was immensely rewarding and led to my being attracted to similar positions in the future.