The Best Offense is a Good Offense
- VanItch's new weapon takes the wind out of Grandpa's sails, and he returns again to Chief Yookeroo.
- Of course, the Chief isn't worried. Why should he be? It's not like he's got to go to the Wall.
- Instead of fretting, he says, "Slingshots, dear boy / are not modern enough" (76-77).
- Great! Modernization it is! Everyone loves new toys.
- They come up with a gun that's carried by a dog named Daniel. Poor little guy.
- Grandpa gets new, fancy clothes and is sent back to the front with the gun and the dog.
- This time, Grandpa is accompanied by fanfare. The arms race has spread to the other Yooks, and they cheer, "Fight! Fight for the Butter Side Up! / Do or Die!" (97-8). At least they're having fun, right?
- Were all the Yooks supporting Grandpa before? We don't know, but they're interested now, and they've definitely got team spirit.
- But again, VanItch is one step ahead.
- As Grandpa arrives at the Wall, he finds VanItch there on an eight-barreled contraption that's carried by elephants. Did Horton get a day job? Not likely.
- Grandpa calls VanItch an "old pig" (103). This name calling might fit the rhyme scheme, but it's hard to ignore the dehumanization that starts happening here.
- This ugly shift is an important aspect of the conflict and it's equally important that the rhetoric changes as the weapons become lethal.
- Needless to say, VanItch's weapon scares the pants off Grandpa and Daniel. They take off in a hurry.