Teddy in “The Fall of a City” by Alden Nowlan and Alyosha in “A Trifle From Life” by Anton Chekhov both deal with betrayal. Imagine being bullied, betrayed or laughed at by your own guardians or even your mother 's lover. Teddy is a boy stuck inside his aunt and uncle’s house playing in the attic and constructing a cardboard palace. His uncle visits the attic and mentions to his wife that Teddy’s playing with paper dolls, and they laugh at him. On the other hand, Alyosha is a boy who is home alone with his mother 's boyfriend, Belyaev. They discuss about Alyosha’s father. Belyaev gets upset because of the comment that was made by Alyosha father that he was the source of Alyosha’s unhappiness, as well as his sister, Sonia, and his mother, Olga. Alyosha is deceived when Belyaeu tells Olga about their conversation, so he is lied to by Belyaev who said he wouldn’t tell. Thus, both Teddy and Alyosha experience betrayal by people close to them; the cluelessness of both Belyaev and Teddy’s uncle negatively affect Teddy and Alyosha physically and emotionally, which, ironically, makes Teddy along with Alyosha to be more aware of the adult world.
In “A Trifle from life” by Anton Chekhov, Belyaev is clueless and nosey towards Alyosha. Initially, Belyaev wants to know what 's going on so he asks “Did father say anything about me?” (19) .In fact, Belyaev is nosey to know if bad things are being said about him. Alyosha tells Belyaev “‘You won’t tell mother’” (18). Alyosha feels Belyaev