“Shells” by Cynthia Rylant is a realistic short story about a teenage boy who learns to live with his prejudiced aunt and the fact that his parents are deceased. In the beginning, Michael moves in with his aunt and they don’t have a connection. He hates living there and she doesn’t make it any easier. Soon, Michael buys a crab and Aunt Esther lets him keep it. She starts communicating with him more and she’s not on the phone when he gets home. In the end, Esther gets the idea to buy Sluggo, the crab, a companion. She makes a scene in the store of how great the crabs are and buys every single one of them, Esther and Michael talk later and they bond through his dead mother. This story shows that Michael’s feelings for his aunt Esther changed.
In the beginning, Michael and Esther don’t connect. All they do is scream and fight, they don’t talk their problems out. For example, in paragraphs 1-11, Esther accuses him of punishing her every day for his own unhappiness. Which he then says, “Punish you? I don’t punish you! I don’t care about you!” Michael then screeches his chair back and runs out the door. This example shows he misses his parents and is
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They aren’t screaming at each other, plus they sit down and have a conversation. Michael in paragraph 64 states, “No, Aunt Esther. I don’t hate you.” and then they hug. They look over the tank to see Sluggo coming out of his shell with his new companions. This example means that Sluggo needed companions to come out of his shell and Michael needed his aunt to peak out of his. Sluggo’s example proves that Michael does not hate Esther.
Michael’s feelings for Esther changed throughout the story. Esther and Michael hated each other in the beginning. Soon after, Esther starts trying to be nicer to Michael, but tries a little too hard. At the End, they bond through his deceased mother, her deceased sister. To come out of your shell at a new place, be open with another person, make a