Peter's Family Relationships

The relationship between siblings is often one of the most important in a youngster's life, and the relationship between brothers Peter and Fudge Hatcher is one of the driving themes of this novel, second only to the relationship between Peter and his parents. These relationships are presented entirely from Peter's perspective in this novel meaning the reader knows only what Peter observes about Fudge's feelings and often has to evaluate what the others feel based on their words and actions. The sibling relationship evolves somewhat over the course of this novel, especially as Peter begins to see some of Fudge's actions in a different light. The relationships are affected by the age of the two boys, by Fudge's tendency to mimic Peter, and by Peter's emerging understanding of his parents.

Peter is nine and Fudge is two and a half as the novel opens...