83 pages • 2 hours read
Mr. Popper's Penguins
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Chapters 3-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 3 Summary: “Out of the Antarctic”
Mr. Popper is restless following the excitement of his conversation with Admiral Drake, and he is impatient to learn what the Admiral meant when he said, “Watch for a surprise” (11). The following morning, Mr. Popper wishes that he had the distraction of painting and papering local houses in Stillwater, but his work is finished for the season. He offers to wallpaper the living room for his wife; she refuses firmly and leaves for a meeting of the Ladies’ Aid and Missionary Society.
Later on, Mr. Popper does not answer the doorbell when it rings because he assumes that it is “just the postman” (14); however, the bell rings again loudly. A messenger from Air Express delivers a box from Antarctica; it has air holes and is marked with messages reading “Unpack at Once” and “Keep Cool.” When Mr. Popper unpacks the box and its outer layer of dry ice, he “suddenly hear[s] a faint “Ork” (15). The opened box contains a penguin that jumps out of the debris. He is the “size of a small child” and “beg[ins] to inspect the house” (16). The animal is very pleased with the bathroom; Mr. Popper fills the tub with cold water, and the penguin begins to play. Bill and Janie are very pleased when they arrive home from school and meet the penguin, who entertains them by tobogganing down the side of the bathtub. The children and their father name the bird “Captain Cook.”
Chapter 4 Summary: “Captain Cook”
Mrs. Popper is shocked to find that Admiral Drake has sent Mr. Popper a penguin as a gift. Her husband and children name the bird “Captain Cook” after a brave explorer. The penguin is quite inquisitive; he pecks at each upholstered chair in the living room to investigate its material. Upon entering the kitchen, the bird stares at the refrigerator. He seems to look at Mrs. Popper “pleadingly with his right eye” (23). She forgives him from having pecked at her ankle when they first met, noting that he is a “nice clean-looking bird” (24).
Captain Cook repeatedly makes his favorite sound, “Ork,” as he investigates the refrigerator when Mr. Popper opens the door. The icebox is not full; the family is buying less food because Mr. Popper is unemployed for the winter. Nonetheless, Mr. Popper places the contents of the icebox on the kitchen table so that the penguin can inspect the food. When Captain Cook makes the sound “O-r-r-r-h, o-r-r-r-h” (24), Mr. Popper recognizes it as indicating that the bird is pleased, according to his books about the Antarctic. He wonders if they should offer him seafood to eat.
Captain Cook answers this question by eating the goldfish from their bowl on the dining room windowsill. Mrs. Popper scolds the bird and “spank[s] him on his round black head” (27) in an attempt to train him. Afterwards, the penguin tries to hide in the open refrigerator. Mr. Popper suggests that the temperature would be comfortable for him there and plans to get another icebox to store the family’s food. He turns the temperature to its coldest setting and leaves the icebox door open so that Captain Cook can breathe. Mr. Popper makes plans to have the icebox serviceman attach an inside handle to the refrigerator door to enable the penguin to exit easily, as well as bore holes so that fresh air will circulate in the icebox. He places ice cubes under the bird’s feet to imitate the pebbles and stones that penguins use in the wild to line their nests.
Chapters 3-4 Analysis
Mr. Popper, the childlike, artistic protagonist, is portrayed as overwhelmed with anticipation and excitement while awaiting the mysterious package from Admiral Drake. He has the energy and curiosity of a little boy. When seeking the distraction of physical activity, he offers to re-paper the living room for his wife; however, she rejects this idea. Filled with creativity and wonder, he also misses the comforting schedule of his daily work routine.
Upon the arrival of the parcel from the Antarctic, Mr. Popper exhibits the capacity to be swept along by magic and wonder. He is happily accepting of the unexpected gift of a penguin, whom he and the children name “Captain Cook.” The authors use the content matter of the story to educate their readers about the South Pole under the guise of having Mr. Popper share his vast store of knowledge with his family. He mentions that Captain Cook was a brave, kind leader. Historically, Captain James Cook and his crew are thought to have been the first to enter the Antarctic Circle in their ships, HMS Resolution and HMS Adventure, in January 1773.
The penguin is the avian equivalent of Mr. Popper; the pair share a boundless, cheerful enthusiasm and curiosity about their surroundings. Ethereal by nature, Mr. Popper plans to allow Captain Cook free access to the family’s refrigerator (or “icebox”) as to provide him with a comfortably cold environment. However, Mr. Popper does not consider the problem of food storage for his human family until his wife raises the issue, underscoring his loving but otherworldly, impractical persona. Mrs. Popper reveals a more tolerant side upon meeting the bird. Although she spanks Captain Cook after he eats the family’s goldfish, she has a maternally forgiving attitude about the penguin having pecked her ankles inquisitively upon their first meeting.
The goldfish is a stand-in food source that would have constituted the diet of an Antarctic penguin. Along with blue whales, orcas, and leopard and fur seals representing Antarctic sea life, penguins in their native environment would consume huge quantities of krill, a primitive sort of shrimp, on a daily basis.
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