The Man in the Well

After reading the title, I immediately think that the story is going to be about getting a trapped man out of a well. Beginning to read the story, the first words to jump out are the words “or something” that are used to describe the activity the children were engaged in. This expression shows that that narrator does not remember all details exactly. This brings into question the accuracy of the entire account. Next, the narrator describes a person as “the man.” This leads the audience to ask, “Why is this person not named?” Then, right off the bat, the audience discovers that the children decided not to help and that none of the children ever saw him. Why did they decide not to help? At this point, things are not looking so good for the man in the well, but I am still a little optimistic that “the man’s” fortune will not turn out too bad.
Looking back on the story, I see that it is a story about politics. It is politics between an adult stranger and children. Being down a well the stranger in this story is in a precarious position. However, he is an adult and has some power in relation to children. The audience first notices this type of power when the man instructs the children to go get a ladder. They start making their way to retrieve one, because they are “afraid to disobey”. Also, his power stems from the fact that no details about the man are known. From the beginning of the story, the audience sees that the children are weary of the man. The narrator will only go to the lip of the well so as not to be seen. The children’s first demonstration of power is when they turn around and decide not to get a ladder right away. Next, the children demonstrate power by waiting around (the man is on the children’s time), asking the man questions, and by lying to the man. Throughout the story the children play the waiting game by letting a half hour, hour, and entire nights go by without communicating with the man. The man too plays the game of cat and mouse by strategically responding when he wants and how he wants. He does not directly respond to the children’s questions. Another very significant power play is the children bringing food and water to the man and he is heard eating the food. The man’s power is further diminished by demonstrating a physical weakness in recurring coughing.
The story is also about the intergroup politics of the children. Each child in the group speaks up at different times. They carefully assess the situation by waiting around and allowing time for each other or the man to engage in conversation before offering up any words. The children were even conscious of their breathing that was an indication of their physical and mental disposition. The audience notices group cooperation when the children lie to the man and the narrator says it was “too important” that they deceived him. At one point, the children are all gathered at the well but as time passes they leave at different times. This provides some individuals an opportunity of access to “the man” without the entire group present to evaluate, influence, or weigh in on any interactions. This is precisely when the first problem arises for the intergroup politics: Wendy mentions Aaron’s name. The children were keeping their names a secret from the man so he could not identify them. The dynamics of the children really changes when Aaron hears the man say his name and looks at the others “as if we had somehow taken on a part of the man.” Finally, things blow up for the group when Aaron starts rattling off each of the children’s names. Later, the man started calling those names and from then on the children understood that the man knew their names.