Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
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 1970 paperback edition |
|
| Author | Judy Blume |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Young adult |
| Publisher | Yearling |
| Released | 1970 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 160 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-440-40419-3 |
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret (1970) by Judy Blume, typically categorized as a novel for young adults, is about a preteen girl in sixth grade who grew up with no religion. Margaret has one Christian and one Jewish parent, and the novel explores her quest for a single religion. Margaret also confronts many other pre-teen issues, such as buying her first bra, having her first period (and coping with belted sanitary napkins), jealousy towards another girl who has developed a womanly figure earlier than other girls, liking boys, and whether to voice her opinion if it differs from what her girlfriends seem to believe.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The main conflict in the novel comes from Margaret's need to reconcile her mixed religious heritage. Aside from that, she is also dealing with her issues of belief in God, as the story is frequently interlaced with her praying by beginning with the title's words. In school, she is assigned a year long independent study project, to which she chooses a study on people's beliefs, which proves to be more than she can handle as she is finding a lot about herself as well. She also is dealing with conflict between her grandparents on both sides of her family, as her maternal grandparents are trying to ensure that she is indeed Christian as she was born with a Christian mother. Margaret seems to enjoy instead spending time with her paternal grandmother, who seems to accept her for who she is and is more accepting of her son's interfaith marriage, although she has referred to Margaret as "my Jewish girl" and introduced her to synagogue services, but more for the purpose of showing her granddaughter what the Jewish faith entails. One particular scene happened when Margaret got in a heated argument with another girl, she went to a church and went inside the confessional booth. When the unseen priest asked her what her problem was, she had at first believed God Himself was talking to her, as she was not taught the concept of confession or how a confessional booth was built for the purposes of confidentiality. She simply responds "I am sorry", then runs out of the church in tears.
Blume's success with the Are You There God, It's Me Margaret had inspired her to write another book, Then Again, Maybe I Won't, which this time deals with Tony Miglione, a boy of the same age of Margaret who is dealing with puberty as well, although his transition from childhood to adulthood has some clearly different paths than did Margaret's.
[edit] Censorship
Due to its frank treatment of sexuality and religion, this book is one of the top 100 most frequently challenged[1] books at American libraries (i.e. books that have been requested to be banned), currently listed at number sixty-two on this list.
In the 1970s Blume experienced very few attempts at banning or censoring her work. According to her, this changed practically overnight after the 1980 presidental election. She states that one night a woman phoned, asking if she had written Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. When Blume replied affirmatively, the caller then labeled her a "Communist" and hung up. Blume often jokes that she never did figure out if the harasser equated Communism with menstruation or religion, the two major concerns in 12 year old Margaret's life.
[edit] Punctuation
Blume's preferred punctuation of the title is Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret with no comma between "there" and "God". While this is incorrect in following the commonly accepted rules of written English, Blume intended this so there was no separation in the story between Margaret and God.[2]. This is reflected in both the title of the novel and in the text as well; Blume never puts a comma to separate the word God whenever Margaret addresses Him.
[edit] Trivia
The phrase "I must, I must, I must increase my bust", which Margaret and her friends chant while doing exercises intended to increase breast size, has re-entered popular culture after being originally popular in the 1940's and 50's.
In the 2006 edition, belted sanitary napkins have been replaced with adhesive sanitary pads.
[edit] Popular culture references
The title of this book is referenced in:
- In Y: The Last Man Yorrick jokes while in a church about whether God can hear him. He further jokes that God has a sense of irony, because he saved the only man in the world who has read Judy Blume.
- In the Simpsons episode, "Old Yeller-Belly", Duffman cowers away from a shark and says "Are you there God? It's me, Duffman!"
- An episode of Camp Lazlo is called "Are You There S.M.I.T.S (Scoutmaster in the Sky)? It's me Samson".
- In the episode "The Dicks They Are A-Changin" of 3rd Rock from the Sun, Tommy mentioned having to do a book report on Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.
- Episode 1-09 of The Venture Bros., "Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean".
- In the South Park episode "Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!," Charles Manson writes a book called "Are You There God? It's me, Manson."
- An episode of South Park, "Are You There God? It's Me, Jesus" centered around Cartman, Kyle, and Kenny mistakenly thinking they have gotten their period (in actuality, it was a colon infection that causes bleeding from the anus) and Stan feeling left out for not having his "period".
- An episode of King of the Hill, "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret Hill".
- The Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode "Red Zone Cuba".
- An episode of The Daily Show, where Lewis Black begins one of his 'Back in Black' segments by stating "Are you there, God? It's me, Lewis, and I have a message for you … YOU'RE AN IDIOT!"
- The Lawrence Arms has a song entitled "Are you there, Margaret? It's me, God".
- In an episode of Lost, "The Whole Truth," Sawyer is reading a copy on the beach. He comments upon the book, saying it is "predictable", and that there is "not nearly enough sex."
- The Simpsons episode, "Bart Sells His Soul" (where Bart sells his soul to his best friend to prove that the soul doesn't exist) has Bart saying a prayer starting with "Are you there, God? It's me, Bart".
- In an episode of Freaks and Geeks, "The Diary", Jean Weir finds a copy on her daughter's bedroom, and mentions it to her husband Harold.
- In an episode of Will & Grace, Grace states that she and Will bonded over Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret in college.
- In an episode of Scrubs, Dr. Cox belatedly asks J.D. "What in the name of 'Are you there God, it's me Margaret', were you thinkin' about there, Sally?" In a later episode we discover that J.D. has a Judy Blume obsession as he advises a sick patient to read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing amongst other Judy Blume novels.
- The line "I must, I must, I must increase my bust" has been used as the title of a Lords of Acid song.[3]
- In the novel King Dork by Frank Portman, the main characters briefly claim that their band's first album will be called Margaret? It's God. Please Shut Up. Portman's band The Mr. T Experience also has a song that shares a title with the book on their album Our Bodies Our Selves.
- "I must, I must, increase my bust" is a rhyme also present in the Scottish comedy "The Steamie":
- "I must, I must, increase my bust,
- I must, I must, increase my bust.
- A bigger size, is the prize
- For doing this bloody exercise!"
- In Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Michael Clarke Duncan reads Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. to Will Ferrell after his car accident.
- In the novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, the main character describes reading Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret while her younger sister was reading War and Peace.
- In the graphic novel Cthulhu Tales by Boom! Studios, a particular chapter is entitled, "Are You There, Cthulhu? It's Me Margaret"
[edit] Notes
- ^ ALA: The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000
- ^ Weidt, Maryann N. (1990). Presenting Judy Blume. Boston: Twayne Publishers. ISBN 0-440-21093-3.
- ^ Lords of Acid - I Must Increase My Bust
