The Littles

“William T. Little and his family were tiny people. They lived in a house owned by George W. Bigg. Mr. Bigg and his family didn’t know the Littles were living with them. They lived in tiny rooms in the walls of the house.”

The novel’s opening introduces the unusually small Little family and describes their living situation within the Bigg family’s home. It establishes important setting information and the scaled perspective through which the novel is told. The characters’ last names—Bigg and Little—are puns that establish the difference in their sizes, which is an important aspect of the novel’s plot.

“The Littles helped the Biggs in return for the things they took. Only the Biggs didn’t know it. For one thing, the Littles were good at fixing things. They ran back and forth inside the walls repairing the electric wires whenever they needed it.”

This quote provides an example of the mutualistic relationship between the Littles and the Biggs. While the Littles obtain their necessary supplies and food from the Biggs, they return the favor by secretly repairing the Biggs’ home whenever necessary. Through the Littles’ contributions to the Biggs’ home maintenance, the novel establishes the theme of Focusing on Cleanliness and Order, showing that this is important to the Littles.

“Granny Little sat in her rocking chair knitting a red sweater for Tom. ‘Don’t know why Henry Bigg made such a fuss when we took his old red socks,’ she said. ‘One of them had a real bad hole in the toe.’”

Granny Little repurposes a worn-out sock that the Littles have lifted from a member of the Bigg family in order to make a sweater for Tom. This is an example of the Little family’s resourcefulness, and it also shows how they depend on the Bigg family for all their materials. This quote develops the theme of The Importance of Adaptability and Resourcefulness since it shows how the Littles creatively repurpose scraps to meet their needs.