My Family and Other Animals: Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary & Analysis

Not long after the family moves into the pink villa, Mother decides it's time for Gerry to receive education. The entire family offers opinions as to what should be done: Leslie offers to teach Gerry to shoot and sail; Margo insists that Gerry must learn to dance; and Larry declares that Gerry must receive a good grounding in literature. Mother urges her children to accept that Gerry needs someone who will encourage his interests, but Larry bitterly mentions that a bee flew out of a matchbox at him that morning and Gerry's "interest" in bugs is just a revolting phase.

Larry suggests that one of his friends, George, should teach Gerry, and this idea delights Mother. Gerry decides to head outside to escape the "imminent danger of being educated," though he meets George for the first time days later. George teaches Gerry French, math, and English, though his favorite subject is natural history. George teaches Gerry to record observations in a diary, which Gerry discovers focuses his love of the natural world and makes it easier to understand.

George and Gerry spend their days shut inside. George gives Gerry math problems and practices his fencing steps while Gerry struggles. Gerry never does learn much math, as George is far too distracting. They have better luck with geography, as George explains what animals come from different parts of the world. They create luxurious maps sprinkled with animal life. History only becomes a successful subject when George discovers that by sprinkling in irrelevant zoological details, Gerry becomes interested. Gerry learns about Hannibal's trek over the Alps only because he also learns the name of every war elephant.

Roger finds the whole business of education boring, but he spends his mornings under the table nonetheless. Quasimodo tries to join in for a while, but she is eventually banished. Some mornings, George conducts his lessons outside. They swim in the sea while George points out interesting fauna. George and Gerry devise a game with sea slugs and then they sit in the shallows while George tells Gerry about various historical happenings, all of which have a distinctly zoological flair to them.