Boy and Dane English Essay
Dane
English Essay
Laura Griffiths
Throughout the story “Dane” written by David Adams Richards, the poor friend of the main character, changes significantly. As the young boy gets older, his life begins to deteriorate. In the beginning the 5-year-old boy is a normal child but earns his own money so he can enjoy his childhood activities. As the boy gets older he begins to get into trouble by drinking and stealing. He dropped out of school even though he was top of his class, after he spend a few days with a ‘better off family’ during his hockey trip. Towards the end of the story he becomes an alcoholic, and briefly reconnects with his childhood friend, before being killed in a car accident.
The poor boy earns his own money in order to play sports as a child. He plays on the hockey team and creates his own baseball and cricket team. He organizes games against other parts of town. While the other boys in the community played with slingshots and hunted birds or squirrels, “he hunted the neighbor’s windows, porch flower pots, and the lights that shone near his street” (8) but he didn’t harm any animals. When the narrator took him to the movies the boy left him to be with other friends. To the surprise of the reader and the narrator he came back to watch the movie with his friend. During the movie the boy admits to the narrator that he snuck into the movie theatre that the narrator’s father owns, without paying. The narrator admits to doing the same thing at the ice rink and a bond forms between them. This is when the boy’s life begins to spiral downwards.
As the story develops the boy’s life deteriorates. Even though he was top of the class in school, he had to repeat a year as he lost interest in school and began drinking. When he went on his hockey trip, he was spoiled by “one of the better families” (31) which showed him of all the things he couldn’t have. This is when he began his drinking on a regular basis. He broke into the theatre, after breaking
English Essay
Laura Griffiths
Throughout the story “Dane” written by David Adams Richards, the poor friend of the main character, changes significantly. As the young boy gets older, his life begins to deteriorate. In the beginning the 5-year-old boy is a normal child but earns his own money so he can enjoy his childhood activities. As the boy gets older he begins to get into trouble by drinking and stealing. He dropped out of school even though he was top of his class, after he spend a few days with a ‘better off family’ during his hockey trip. Towards the end of the story he becomes an alcoholic, and briefly reconnects with his childhood friend, before being killed in a car accident.
The poor boy earns his own money in order to play sports as a child. He plays on the hockey team and creates his own baseball and cricket team. He organizes games against other parts of town. While the other boys in the community played with slingshots and hunted birds or squirrels, “he hunted the neighbor’s windows, porch flower pots, and the lights that shone near his street” (8) but he didn’t harm any animals. When the narrator took him to the movies the boy left him to be with other friends. To the surprise of the reader and the narrator he came back to watch the movie with his friend. During the movie the boy admits to the narrator that he snuck into the movie theatre that the narrator’s father owns, without paying. The narrator admits to doing the same thing at the ice rink and a bond forms between them. This is when the boy’s life begins to spiral downwards.
As the story develops the boy’s life deteriorates. Even though he was top of the class in school, he had to repeat a year as he lost interest in school and began drinking. When he went on his hockey trip, he was spoiled by “one of the better families” (31) which showed him of all the things he couldn’t have. This is when he began his drinking on a regular basis. He broke into the theatre, after breaking