Ernest Buckler's 'Long, Long After School'

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"Long, Long After School" by Ernest Buckler reveals that certain individuals may struggle more to fit into society than others. This is shown by the author when the protagonist recalls his memory of Ms. Tretheway, their third grade teacher. When Wes Holman realizes that Ms. Tretheway is beautiful after he "went down in the basement and drove [his] fist through a window" (Buckler, 114) Ms. Tretheway was willing to give Wes "a whole quart" of blood this led him to believe that Ms. Tretheway is an amazing person and thus he became interested in her. Prior Wes damaging his hand, the other students avoided him since they did not want to dance with him despite being "voted the best all-round student in High School" (Buckler, 15). His interest in Ms. Tretheway alienates him from …show more content…

They all immediately judged him because of his race. Wes knew he would not be able to fit in with the other kids even if he tried. Had Wes tried to include himself in friend groups at school, he would have to face rejection as well as embarrassment. Wes did not want to be chagrined and so he separated himself from the other kids by having an interest in Ms. Tretheway. The narrator did not agree with Wes when he said that Ms. Tretheway "was so beautiful". The narrator was one of the bystanders who watched the other kids tease Wes, occasionally joining in as well. Everyone excluded Wes throughout high school and by then he accepted that but when he gets voted as best all-around student he admits that he "was so happy [he] could believe anything.” (Buckler, 115) Wes believed that he was finally getting included with the others, he had hope and anticipation. In the end, he was let down and avoided which led to the incident in the basement. Not everyone finds it hard to fit in but those who do may struggle with the pressures of society for

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