The Goldfish Boy

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of mental illness, kidnapping, and bullying.

The Wallpaper Lion wakes Matthew up one night. In his dream, Matthew had asked the Wallpaper Lion a question: “How does it feel being stuck up there all day, Lion? Just watching the world go by?” (73). In response, the Wallpaper Lion said, “Surely you know how that feels…don’t you, Matthew?” (73). When the lion speaks to him, Matthew wakes with a start. He looks up and sees Wallpaper Lion on the wall, where he always is, and is comforted by the fact that his mouth is still shut.

It is 12:45 p.m. and Matthew has been napping for over an hour. Lately, he finds that inactivity leaves him feeling more tired than ever. Outside, Casey and Teddy are nowhere to be seen. Matthew moves to the office to see if anyone is in the front yard and sees Teddy playing with Mr. Charles’s flowers. When Teddy’s forearm catches a thorn, he screams in pain before wiping the blood on his blanket. Mr. Jenkins appears next door in running gear and breaks off into a jog. Teddy notices Matthew watches him and waves, referring to him as “Fishy” (75).