Nowhere to Call Home: An Analysis

Stewpot is like a Tootsie Pop When we are first introduced to Stewpot, we had this vision in our head that he is a tough 15 year old boy who knew his way around the trains. Although most of that is true, we learn that he has a soft spot later in the novel. As you all may know, a tootsie pop has a hard candy shell, and then a sweet and soft tootsie roll in the center. Stewpot guides Frankie through the difficulties of the hobo life, as he himself learns how to open up along the way. During their time on the rails, Stewpot teaches Frankie how to expertly jump trains, bargain for necessary items, how to read symbols, and most importantly he teaches her the dangers of living the hobo life. It’s not exactly what he teaches that makes him look tough, but more of how he teaches. Stewpot uses his own experiences to educate Frankie on the do’s and don’ts of the hobo life. His knowledgeable actions give the readers the vibe that he is very strong and tough, like the outer layer of a tootsie pop. Every tootsie pop has a soft inside, which is also present in Stewpot. For their entire journey Stewpot has been showing his “tough” side, and refusing to go to the flop houses, but when Frankie asked him if they could spend one night there, he complied. Stewpot’s sweet inside is clearly shown to her when he talks about his struggles on the road, and his family. How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? Well the world may never know. Humans who attempt to find this answer are tempted to just bite into the shell because they get frustrated. Every now and then Stewpot would unknowingly hint at something that happened to him in the past, and Frankie always wanted to bombard him with questions to get to the bottom of it. At one part during the novel, Stewpot brings up Murph, and Frankie asks him about it, but when Stewpot doesn’t respond Frankie understands and changes the subject. What I’m trying to get at is that when your patient you get