Conrad: The Factory-Made Boy

2 ideas

1. The tinned boy who learned rudeness

   Berti Bartolotti, an untidy, impulsive woman who orders things by mail, receives a large tin containing Konrad, a factory-made seven-year-old who is polite, obedient, tidy and dutiful. The factory later discovers he was delivered to the wrong address and sends men to take him back to his intended parents. With the help of Kitti, the girl next door, Berti coaches Konrad to be cheeky, messy and disobedient, so that when the factory men arrive they find a naughty boy who fails to match their product specifications and leave without him.

2. Perfect obedience is a defect in children

   A child who always complies, never makes a mess and always gives the approved answer is not a better child but an incomplete one, because he lacks the self-assertion and imperfection that make a person his own. Konrad's flawless manners make him friendless and a target at school. They also make him unable to protect himself, and he only becomes viable once he learns to break rules.

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