preview

Summary Of The Man In The Well By Ira Sher

Decent Essays
Open Document

“The Man in the Well”, by Ira Sher is a short story that describes a situation where a group of children find a man stuck in a well and have no intentions of helping him.The children heard screams coming from a well while playing a game in an empty lot. The group proceeded to the edge of the well and decided not to help him. The story is written as a memory, which indicates the possibility of the regret of leaving the man in the well. Therefore, the theme of this story could be that adults may not forgive themselves for something they did in the past, even if they were children. The short story starts with, “I was nine when I discovered the man in the well. . .” (597). Immediately, the speaker announces himself as a nine year old child. The words, “was” and “discovered”, indicate the use of past tense meaning that the speaker is recalling the story, instead of living through it in the present. The speaker strengthens his memory by writing, “I remember that we were still full of games and laughter when we called down to him” (597). The words used in the text …show more content…

Once the man knew their names, they could not remain anonymous and were exposed to the possible consequences they were once protected from. Even though the man did not know them individually, he still posed as a threat to the group. The children, perhaps realized their mistake and felt guilty of their actions. As stated, “After that we didn't play by the well anymore; even when we were much older, we didn't go back. I will never go back” (601). As the years passed, the speaker seems to show remorse. Not being able to go back represents the feeling of guilt and the knowledge of wrongdoing. Not wanting to see what they have done, the group of friends were not able to go back to the well. The speaker was not able to forgive himself for the action committed with his

Get Access