Identity and Independence: Insights from Young Protoganists

“Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, [A] man does not lose his [identity] in the society in which he lives. [A] man’s life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of himself” (Ambedkar). The short story “Good Kids” written by Alexander MacLeod involves a young boy who recently moved to a small neighbourhood and acknowledges some boys whom he would like to become friends with. In comparison, the short story “King of the Raft” written by Daniel Moses involves a young boy who has grown up without any parental support which has caused him to be very mature and independent. Each of the stories involve young boys who experience challenges and/or failure

The young boy grew up without any parental support due to his father working away from home. He had to help his father with duties from a young age and was not taught valuable life lessons and ways to interact with others. This caused him to become independent and feel like an outcast within the community. The community consisted of other young boys with families who came to the raft following family lunches and church services but “...one of the sons who only had a father who came and went following the work” (Moses 294). As a result, the King of the Raft experiences conflict because he wasn’t easily accepted as part of the community due to his different family life and inconsistent appearances at the raft. Consequently, because the King of the Raft wasn’t accepted in the community, he tried to show dominance amongst the boys. One day the King of the Raft wanted “...to show his strength to the rest of the boys still on shore, [he] took a hank of the highway boy’s straight hair in hand and held the highway boy underwater till the highway boy saw blue fire and almost drowned” (295). This caused major conflict within the community because the parents did not care to accept the young boy into their community and the boys thought that he was very intimidating. Following the drowning attempt, the King of

After the King of the Raft had tried to drown the Highway Boy, the Highway Boy realized “he both feared the king of the raft and missed the waves in his blue black hair” (Moses 295). The highway boy was able to realize and admire the independence of the boy with the blue-black hair because prior to becoming the king of the raft he had done things on his own without parental support. After the King of the Raft was no longer accepted in the community, the boy who almost drowned...left the raft and the rest by the river early. On the dark road he met the king, who had something to say. They hid together with a case of beer in a cool culvert under the road. The king of the raft was going away with his father to live in Buffalo in the United States.”