The Use Of Force And The Man In The Well By Ira Sher

The short stories “The Use of Force” by William Carlos Williams, and “The Man in the Well” by Ira Sher both involve the actions of children. Each of the stories entail children in different circumstances, and they show how the children act. Children are smarter than they look. Children are very cunning and wait for instances in which they can obtain power and trick their adults. They can also be stubborn or shy depending on their situation. Children naturally inherit a balance between seeking power and deceiving other people. They are able to coast through situations they dislike and take advantage of the ones that lean in their favor. The two short stories show examples on how children act in different situation. Depending on the circumstances, children act in a way that gives them power over the adults surrounding them. The story “The Use of Force” is told in the point of view of a doctor. The doctor is trying

Sher writes that the children never did look down the well but sat nearby and listened to the man talk. From the point at which the children found the man, they made a pact to never tell their parents about the man and to not allow the man to find out their names. Sher shows that the children leave the man in there for many days bringing food to satisfy him. The man finds himself crying out periodically, asking the children when their parents would be coming. One day, one of the children accidently gave out the name of Aaron. Once Aaron found out that the man knew his name he began to give the name of all the other children. Sher writes that the children felt that they had been violated. They no longer had the upper because they didn’t know his name. All of them decided that this would be the last time they would talk to the man in the well. They all quietly got up from around the well and quietly walked away as the man called out their