Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era Summary
Sterling North

Everything you need to understand or teach Rascal by Sterling North.

  • Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era Summary & Study Guide

Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era Summary

The story line of Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era stems from the basic idea that humans and nature should develop a mutual respect that would allow them to live together and to develop fulfilling bonds of love. North paints a believable picture in Rascal that avoids unreachable idealism, and the essential realism of his work is its primary merit. Living in a time of crisis in American life, young Sterling North, along with his constant friend Rascal, faces a personal crisis that accompanies his emergence into manhood. He confronts, with the easygoing encouragement of his father and the more disciplined shove of his sister, his need to grow when he is forced to cage his pet raccoon and to move his half-built canoe from the living room.

Although minor incidents in comparison to the larger picture of life during World War I, these confrontations with responsibility...

(read more from the Short Guide)