My impressions of the Boy and the Children, in the poem, "The Loner"

Boy:
He is emotionally insecure, and has very low self confidence. From the fact that he is always leaning against the wall while watching the children play, he is really insecure that he has to lean on something literally for support. He is on the defensive, not wanting to make any changes to the current situation.

He desperately wants to have friends, but is unwilling to step out from his comfort zone. He “never plays”, tells us that he always returns to the playground, and that he might be envious of the children who are playing and desperately wants to join in and have friends. But he might not have the courage to do so as the children all seem to have very close friends, and their “familiar clique” and he might feel unwelcomed. He might also be overwhelmed by the fact that he is the only one that is lonely. His “loneness is his shell and shield”, and “neither he nor we will yield” tells us that they are both very stubborn, and are unwilling to break out from their emotional shield and comfort zone.

He is also really bored. From the fact that he actually “smacks his hands against the bricks” and “scuffs to make the tarmac squeak” while leaning on the playground wall tells us that he is so bored without friends that he does not even feel the pain when smacking his hands and does random “boredom-beating” tricks such as wanting to make the floor squeak.

Overall, my impressions of the boy are that he is an introvert and is really stubborn, to actually not wanting to take the initiative and step out and face the world.



Children:
They are unwilling to step out of their comfort zone. Though everyday they see him “back against the wall he stays”, clearly lonely and bored, they still do not take the initiative and go and get to know him. The children too are unwilling to step out of their comfort zone as all of them have their own “familiar clique”. Being in such a big group, they should take the initiative.

They are also very mean. They actually pass him countless times, but each time they pass, they are in ”slow huddled groups” , and “low talking”, clearly talking and gossiping about the boy, and making him feel even more uncomfortable. The boy is already very emotionally insecure, leaning against the wall all the time, and they should put themselves in his shoes to find out the actual reason why he does not have friends and not talk behind his back so noticeably.

They are also very narrow-minded. All of them only want to be in their own familiar clique, and none of them actually bothers to go and talk to him and find out why he is always all by himself, lonely and miserable. Since they are in such a big group, they should be more open-minded and take the initiative and talk to him, as the boy might be overwhelmed by the huge group of close playmates.

They also are rather childish and have a lot of pride in themselves and are afraid to have humiliation. In the story the boy is already characterized by the other children to be someone who belongs somewhere else, and they might have the mindset that like the loner, and belongs to another world, “for who don’t belong”, and anyone who talks to him are like him, and thus afraid to do so. They do not want to talk to the boy as if they do, as it might seem like they are like him, loners.

Overall, my impressions of the children are that they are rather childish and mean. They should care more for one another, and make the world a better place to live in.