‘Bridge to Terabithia’ explores love, loss

BY ALEXA DUMAS Web Editor

“It was up to him to pay back to the world in beauty and caring what Leslie had loaned him in vision and strength.”

Imagination is one of the largest aspects of childhood. These creative and fantastical elements allow children to think outside the limitations of their world.

Children’s playful and imaginative nature greatly aligns with Katherine Paterson’s 1977 novel “Bridge to Terabithia.” It explains how children creatively deal with obstacles in their lives.

“Bridge to Terabithia” follows the friendship between Jesse Aarons and Leslie Burke as they navigate through their lives as fifth graders. Although seemingly surface-level, Jesse takes on hefty chores on his family’s farm, while also taking care of his sisters.

Leslie, on the other hand, is new to rural Virginia and wants to be seen as an equal to her male classmates.

Jesse and Leslie’s friendship begins as an unlikely match, as they appear to be opposites.

Once Jesse notices that Leslie rides the bus with him and his sisters, he slowly starts to open up to her.

They become friends when Leslie wants to join the footrace during recess. The only problem is that Leslie is a girl, and the boys don’t let her try. However, Jesse wants Leslie to be able to participate, so Leslie runs and gains the title of the fastest fifth grader. These challenges can change how a child sees the world. Leslie and Jesse choose to escape from their challenges to a fantastical place called Terabithia. timately it didn’t help him win the fight. Round one began and Garcia came out hot and threw more than triple the amount of punches that Davis threw.