The White Feather facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | P. G. Wodehouse |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | A & C Black |
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Publication date
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9 October 1907 |
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The White Feather is an exciting adventure novel written by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published on October 9, 1907. The story takes place at Wrykyn school, a setting Wodehouse used in other books like The Gold Bat (1904) and Mike (1909). Like many of Wodehouse's early novels, this story first appeared in parts in a boys' magazine called The Captain. The phrase "white feather" is a symbol of being a coward.
In the novel, a quiet and smart boy named Sheen faces a tough situation. He runs away from a fight between his schoolmates and some local tough guys. His friends notice his fear and start to ignore him. To win back their respect, Sheen secretly trains with a famous boxing teacher named Joe Bevan. He hopes to prove himself brave in the boxing ring.
Contents
The Story of The White Feather
Sheen is a quiet student in the highest class at Wrykyn school. He goes to the nearby town with his friend Drummond, who is popular and a good boxer. They see a fight happening between Wrykyn students and some local boys. The fight is about who will be the town's mayor. Drummond joins the fight to help his schoolmates, but Sheen runs away.
Sheen's Difficult Situation
Drummond is upset that Sheen ran away and avoids him later. But he does not tell the other students what Sheen did. However, Stanning, another boxer who is also competing with Sheen for a school scholarship, saw Sheen run. Stanning tells everyone about it. The students in Sheen's house, Seymour's, believe Sheen has shamed their house. They punish him by acting as if he is not there. Sheen feels very alone and wants to fix his reputation.
Secret Training Begins
Sheen goes back to town, hoping to fight the local toughs and get his honor back. But he is easily beaten. Joe Bevan, a boxing trainer and former champion, stops the fight. He saves Sheen from getting badly hurt. Joe is impressed by Sheen's courage to try again. He suggests that Sheen start training with him to learn boxing.
Sheen begins his secret lessons with Joe at an inn called the Blue Boar. This inn is located up the river Severn. This area of the river is off-limits for students who live at the school. Sheen secretly travels to the inn by boat on the river. He is eager to learn from Joe and becomes more confident as he gets better. One day, his boat disappears. This happens because of the ongoing rivalry between the school boys and the town boys. Sheen gets help from Jack Bruce, a humble day-student at Wrykyn who is still his friend. Jack drives Sheen to and from the inn in his car.
A Chance to Prove Himself
Sheen wins the Gotford scholarship, but this does not impress his house much. Seymour's house has not had a good year in sports. So, Sheen hopes to win their approval by winning the inter-house boxing competition for Seymour's. Drummond, who is thought to be the best boxer in the school, gets sick and cannot compete. Sheen writes him a letter asking to take his place. Drummond doubts Sheen can fight and says no. Instead, he chooses Stanning to compete.
Stanning wins the competition. But then he pretends to have a wrist injury. He does this so he will not have to compete in the inter-school boxing competition at Aldershot. He is afraid of the strong boxer from Ripton School. Sheen is sad that he did not get a chance to prove himself in the inter-house competition. Joe Bevan suggests that Sheen should compete for Wrykyn at Aldershot instead.
Sheen explains his situation to Mr. Spence, a kind teacher who manages some of the school sports. Mr. Spence is worried that Sheen might get seriously hurt at Aldershot. But he agrees to let Sheen compete after Sheen shows his boxing skills to O'Hara. O'Hara is a former Wrykyn student and boxer who is visiting the school. Joe promises to go to Aldershot to help and encourage Sheen.
The Big Fight and Redemption
Sheen does well at the start of the competition. But he is disappointed that Joe is not there. Sheen struggles in the final round against the boxer from Ripton. Then Joe appears and gives Sheen advice. Sheen wins the competition and returns to Wrykyn.
Seymour's house holds a serious meeting about Sheen. Stanning mostly started this meeting. But the house decides Sheen has earned back his honor when they hear the surprising news that he won the boxing competition at Aldershot. It is also pointed out that the house should not listen to Stanning, since he is from a different house.
Mr. Spence has to tell the Headmaster that Sheen went to the off-limits area across the river for boxing training. But he explains that Sheen had good reasons. He carefully avoids mentioning that the training was at an inn. Jack Bruce then tells the Headmaster that Sheen did not cross the river by boat because he drove Sheen by car. So, Sheen does not get in trouble for breaking the rules. Sheen also becomes friends with Drummond again.
