Assignment #1

1. Even in their later years, people may have trouble forgiving themselves for bad things they did when they were young.
2. Within groups, people may engage in conduct that is wilder, stranger, or more uncivilized than their usual behavior when alone.
3. People project their fears or suspicions onto others, even those who do not actually pose a threat to them.
4. Children fail to understand when an adult is in danger.
5. When dealing with an adult, even a helpless one, children may have in their minds images of parental authority that affect how they treat the person.
6. Children are capable of conspiring with one another against the adult world.
7. The psychological reality of children and adults is a deep well within themselves that they cannot see into.
8. We should be more compassionate toward people who are trapped.
9. Children may have difficulty sharing the perspective of another person.
10. People need to see one another's faces if they are to trust one another.

I found this story to be very disturbing.  To me it was very sickening that the kids did absolutely nothing to help the man.  Rather, they used the man as a sort of play-thing or toy, and his struggle was their entertainment.

I picked the statement  "Even in their later years, people may have trouble forgiving themselves for bad things they did when they were young," to be the number one theme to describe the story because of the connotation of all the words in the story.  This story has a very dark and somber tone, it is also very morbid.  The narrators point of view is very depressing and regretful over what he did.  He discusses how throughout the rest of his life none of them ever returned to the well, or the surrounding areas.  He could never truly come to terms and move on from what he did as a child, none of them could.  They all just left the man there to die, and he is depressed about his actions as a child.

I picked the statement "Within groups, people may engage in conduct that is wilder, stranger, or more uncivilized than their usual behavior when alone," second, because it also applies to the story very well.  If any of these kids were alone, rather than not helping the man, they would have went to an adult or their parents to find help for the man.  In group settings, people take on a pack mentality, and do things that are wilder than what they would normally do.  A good example is this story, the kids are brutal to the man, when he is in dire need of a help.

I picked the statement "People project their fears or suspicions onto others, even those who do not actually pose a threat to them," third because I found that it also applied very well to this story.  In this story, the kids fear the man, and the consequences they will face for not helping him.  Although the man is in no position to threaten them, they fear that he can harm them.

I picked the statement "Children fail to understand when an adult is in danger," fourth because I found that it also was very applicable to this story.  The children in this story simply toy with the man as opposed to actually helping him, resulting in his eventual and assumed demise.  The children didn't understand that by not helping him, he would die.

I picked the statement "When dealing with an adult, even a helpless one, children may have in their minds images of parental authority that affect how they treat the person," fifth because although it does apply to this story, I don't believe that it is the main theme in this story.  Children see adults as being invulnerable, and when put in a situation where the adult is in danger, they do not see that they can be harmed, as is shown in this story.

I picked the statement "Children are capable of conspiring with one another against the adult world," sixth, but, I don't agree with this statement as the theme, and don't believe that it applies to this story.  I don't think that these kids were conspiring against the adults, rather they didn't know the consequences of their actions.

I picked the statement "The psychological reality of children and adults is a deep well within themselves that they cannot see into," seventh because I although I see the connection between this story and the statement,  I don't believe that it is the main theme.

I picked the statement "We should be more compassionate toward people who are trapped," eighth because it isn't the main theme, but I think that the statement is true.  The kids should have been more sympathetic to the man, and helped him out, but they didn't.

I picked the statement "Children may have difficulty sharing the perspective of another person," ninth because I don't agree with it.  I believe that the children understood the perspective of the man, but just ignored it.

Lastly, I picked the statement "People need to see one another's faces if they are to trust one another," because I do not agree with it, and don't believe that it is the underlying factor in why the kids didn't help the man.