Social Context

In her autobiography, Stories of My Life and Study Guide for Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson draws upon and shares personal events in her life as well as her own childhood that led to her inspiration for writing Bridge to Terabithia.

• In the biographical section of her study guide entitled, Study Guide to Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson "sees her choice of characters---children who are different from their schoolmates---as a reflection of her own childhood experience of having been an outsider in different cultures and frequently the new kid in school" like Jesse and Leslie. (Paterson, K., Study Guide, n.d.)
• While this may be an indirect or inadvertent reference to Mrs. Myers in Bridge to Terabithia, in her autobiography and chapter, At home in an alien land, Katherine Paterson recalls a kindergarten teacher at Garland-Rhodes Elementary School which she refers to as a "dragon lady" who constantly belittled her (Paterson, K. Stories of my life, 2014).
• In the same chapter, Katherine Paterson, after becoming an established writer, recalls telling her mother about coming home from school without any valentines on Valentine's Day. At the time, her mother asked Katherine why she didn't write a story about the day she didn't receive any valentines. Katherine responded with, "Why, Mother," I said, "All my books are about the day I didn't get any valentines." (Paterson, K. Stories of my life, 2014)
• Fourth grade for Katherine at Calvin H. Wiley Elementary School also proved to be a miserable year. In addition to her difficulties in transitioning from learning one handwriting method to learning a new method, Katherine had to contend with, or at least endure a seventh grade bully named Pansy, who, with two other large friends, terrorized her on the playground. (Paterson, K., Stories of my life, 2014)
• After an incident where Pansy threatened to report Katherine to the school principal for walking on the "imaginary grass", Katherine started to cry in music class. Her kind music teacher, like Miss Edmunds, tried to comfort and reassure her that she would not be expelled or reprimanded and allowed Katherine to clean up in the restroom until she felt ready to go back to class (Paterson, K., Stories of my life, 2014).
• Another interesting parallel or coincidence in Katherine's school life to that of Jesse and Leslie in Bridge to Terabithia, was becoming friends with a boy, Eugene, in her fourth grade class, who was an outcast like Katherine felt herself to be. Since it was unusual in the early 1940s for boys to want to become ballet dancers, Eugene was considered weird by his classmates. Katherine and Eugene did, however, remain friends for the remainder of their fourth grade year and up to seventh grade (Paterson, K., Stories of my life, 2014).
• As Terabithia was a sanctuary for Jesse and Leslie away from school bullies and tormentors like Jesse's sisters, Katherine, while working as a library aide in her school cultivated her desire to read and became an avid reader. Katherine Paterson in her autobiography writes, "I do not think it would be [too much]to say that [the school library] saved my sanity," (Paterson, K., Study Guide, n.d.).
• Being diagnosed with cancer and another tragic event occurring the same year (1974), was the ultimate inspiration driving Katherine Paterson to write Bridge to Terabithia "in order to make sense out of a time in my life that made no sense to me." (Paterson, K., "The Lure of Story," 1993). Katherine Paterson's youngest son, David at seven years old had become best friends with a girl, Lisa Hill, in his second grade class. They did everything together. However, when Lisa and her family had gone to the beach in Delaware, Lisa was struck and killed by lightning. Knowing David's special friendship with Lisa, one of the Hill's neighbors had called to notify the Paterson's of Lisa's unexpected death. Katherine and her family were understandably shaken and saddened. However, as Katherine knew David would be devastated by Lisa's death, even she admitted she had difficulty knowing how to comfort her then eight- year old son who just lost his first and only best friend (Paterson, K., Stories of my life, 2014).