A purrfectly wonderful friendship.
As Socks stared at the strange creature in the bundle and listened to it smack and snuffle, he began to understand. His owners, his faithful, loving owners, had brought home a new pet to threaten his position in the household. Socks turned his back and lashed his swollen tail. He was filled with jealousy and anger and a terrible anxiety. The Brickers might love the new pet more than they loved him.
Socks is a 1973 children’s novel by Beverly Cleary, the author of the Ramona Quimby series, and originally illustrated by Beatrice Darwin.
Socks is a male cat who lives happily with his owners, a young couple named Bill and Marilyn Bricker. After about a year of being doted on, the stability of his life is disrupted when his owners bring home their new baby, Charles William. Now that he’s not the center of attention anymore, Socks is not happy. How will he deal with this strange new person in his house?
This book contains examples of:
- Affectionate Nickname: Tiffy, the little neighbor girl next door, adores Socks and calls him "Socksie," while Mrs. Risley the babysitter calls him "Skeezix."
- Alliterative Name: One half of the couple that owns Socks is named Bill Bricker.
- Baby's First Words: While his parents are treating Socks’ injuries from a fight with Old Taylor, Charles William is fascinated by the cat and says, "Ticky?" which is his way of trying to say "kitty."
- Bratty Half-Pint: While Debbie and George are trying to sell their cat's kittens, the first ones interested are three bratty, bickering siblings who they can immediately tell won't be good owners.Debbie: (quietly, to herself) Not Socks. Please not Socks. They’re the kind who will squeeze him and forget to give him water. I can tell.
- Cats Are Lazy: When Socks puts on a bit of weight, he mostly dozes around the house and stops playing with his toys.
- Cats Are Mean:
- Old Taylor is the neighbors’ mean old tomcat who is extremely territorial and will beat up Socks if he goes into the Taylors’ yard. At one point, he even comes over to the Brickers' yard and steals Socks' food. When Socks tries to warn him away, Old Taylor fights him and leaves him bleeding.
- Socks himself is an inversion. He may occasionally cause trouble, but he's fond of his owners and even gradually comes to like Charles William when the baby learns to play with him.
- Cheerful Child: Charles William is a happy baby who loves being doted on and, eventually, playing with his family's cat.
- Covers Always Lie: Downplayed. One reprint cover features Socks with a torn-up Brown Bear sitting at his paws. Though Socks does pounce on Brown Bear at the end without being interrupted, how much the stuffed animal gets torn is left ambiguous, given that it's not long before he goes to sleep with the baby.
- Foreshadowing: When the Brickers are about to purchase Socks, Bill mentions that he wanted a cat when he was a child, but never had one because his mother didn't like cats. Later, his mother (referred to as "Nana") visits the Brickers' home, and she is not fond of Socks.
- Full-Name Basis: Charles William is always referred to by his first and middle name, never just Charles or some other diminutive like Charlie.
- Go-to-Sleep Ending: The novel concludes with Socks making peace with Charles William after the baby tries to amuse him. He's tired from the playing and already planned to nap in the living room before being shut in the nursery. Therefore, when Charles William falls asleep, he hops into the crib and curls up beside him. Mrs. Bricker, upon seeing the baby and the cat interacting peacefully, lets him stay, and Socks goes to sleep.
- Happily Married: The Brickers are a typical, loving suburban couple trying to juggle life with their jobs, their new baby, and their cat.
- Infant Sibling Jealousy: When his owners bring home their new baby, Charles William, Socks is jealous because they are paying more attention to the baby, when they used to give all their attention to him.
- Jerkass to One: Nana adores her baby grandson and is a polite house guest when it comes to staying with her son and daughter-in-law. The only member of the Bricker household she doesn't like is Socks, as she dislikes cats and is afraid that he will scratch Charles William or give him an allergic reaction.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover:
- The Brickers love Socks very much, even when they have to devote the majority of their attention to their new baby.
- Mrs. Risley, a kindly babysitter who is hired one evening to look after Charles William and Socks. Somehow she understands that Socks has been feeling unloved ever since the baby came.
- Meaningful Name: Socks got his name because he has four white paws, which make him look as if he is wearing socks.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After Socks gets into a fight with Old Taylor and comes home wounded and covered in mud, his owners rush to help him. They blame themselves for his injuries, since they locked him out for lightly biting Marilyn on the ankle.
- No Antagonist: There is no central antagonist, since the main conflict of interest is Socks' jealousy of all the attention his owners' new baby is getting. While Nana dislikes Socks and scolds him frequently, and Old Taylor the neighbors' cat gets into a fight with him, neither of them are central to the plot.
- One-Word Title: Socks.
- Tastes Like Friendship: When Mrs. Risley comes to babysit, she shares a small piece of her meat patty with Socks so he won't feel left out. The narration comments that "somehow Socks did not mind receiving only one small bite of meat."
- The Unfavorite: When Nana visits the house, she dotes on her grandson Charles William, but disapproves of Socks and seems to find something wrong with everything he does.
- Unnamed Parent: Nana's actual name is never mentioned; she is only ever referred to as Nana or Mom.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: When Aunt Cassie, Uncle Walter and their son Mike visit, they notice that Socks has put on weight and suggest to Bill and Marilyn that they put him on a diet, which they do. The lack of food combined with the lack of attention from his owners due to their new baby makes Socks so unhappy that one morning he lightly nips Marilyn on the ankle when he is really hungry, which gets him temporarily kicked out of the house.
- Xenofiction: This book is from the realistic perspective of a house cat who has to adjust to living with a new baby in the house.
