The First Hat
The book is about hats. Five-hundred hats, to be specific. But the opening page informs the reader that Bartholomew did not always have that many hats. In fact, he had just one and it is described simply and elegantly using the most stripped-down example of imagery:
“It was probably the oldest and plainest hat in the whole Kingdom...but Bartholomew liked it—especially because of the feather that always pointed straight up in the air.”
The 500th Hat
The book ends, of course, with the arrival of hat number 500 magically appearing atop Bartholomew’s head. The language remains simple, but the image being described here is significantly different:
“He was wearing the most beautiful hat that had ever been seen in the Kingdom of Didd. It had a ruby larger than any the King himself had ever owned. It had ostrich plumes, and cockatoo plumes, and mockingbird plumes, and paradise plumes. Beside such a hat even the King’s Crown seemed like nothing.”
Off with His Head!
An interesting use of imagery occurs when the King, frustrated that nothing is working to stop the appearance of new hats, commands that Bartholomew be sent for execution. In just a few short sentences, the imagery takes the tone from sinister to ironic:
“It seemed to Bartholomew he must be in the very heart of the mountain.
`Who’s there?’ said a voice from the blackness.
Bartholomew turned a corner and stepped into the dungeon.
The execution was whistling and swinging his axe idly, because at the moment he had nothing to do. In spite of his business, he really seemed to be a very pleasant man.”
The Kingdom of Didd
Clearly, the dominant tone of imagery in the book is a dialectic establishing oppositions. The first hat is very plain and the last hat outshines even the King’s crown. The man in charge of murdering citizens for the state turns out to be a happy-go-lucky good guy. This oppositional approach is brilliant conveyed through imagery at the beginning of the book which describes two different views of the Kingdom of Didd. The first is from the King’s perspective up high on the top of the mountain. The second view is from far away in the fields and is described as exactly the same view as the King, but backwards. Both the King and Bartholomew comment upon their relationship to their respective positions:
“It was a mighty view and it made King Derwin feel mighty important.”
“It was a mighty view, but it made Bartholomew Cubbins feel mighty small.”
