What are your impressions of the boy as well as the children in the poem?
My impression of the boy is that he is a very silent and mysterious. He is anti-social and watches the children playing in the playground. He keeps all his feelings in his heart and never expresses them. I think the boy has been inflicted with some physical abuse by bullies and fears the people around him. “His loneless is his shell and shield.”This shows that the boy is lonely, like said above. He hides his loneless in him and his loneless is to protect him from the others. Thus, I feel that he is a pathetic boy who could not have friends although he longs for one unless he changes his mindset and forgets about his past.
The children are lively and contented with what they have. However, they should not be huddling in small groups and talking softly, gossiping about the boy. They should go up to him and offers him to play with them. With the children gossiping, the boy would feel more inferior. “In slow huddled groups, low talking.”This shows that the children have a bad impression of the boy and as said above, the children should not be like that. I feel that the children should have gone up to him and play.
