‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’ by John Updike

Should Wizard Hit Mommy? by John Updike is the story of Jack’s habit of telling his daughter Jo a story before she goes to bed. And as children like routine, Jack’s stories are just a variation on a familiar tale with familiar characters, each one with its specific purpose.

But when Jack changes this routine and the little skunk is punished by his mother for going to the wizard and being transformed in a sweet smelling animal, Jo demands that “’Tomorrow, I want you to tell me the story that the wizard took that magic wand and hit that mommy’ – her plump arms chopped fiercely – ‘right over the head.’” Threading on dangerous territory with unhealthy connotation in their everyday life, the father refuses to please his daughter.

But what are Jack’s feelings when, after he finished telling Jo her story, goes downstairs to help his pregnant wife do the housework rests with the reader to find out by him/herself.

John Updike is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist, and critic who was born in 1932. He died in 2009.