Custom «Boy» Essay Paper Sample

The short story 'Boy' describes the Roald Dahi's journey to the doctor together with his mother when he was around eight years old. They had gone to visit his grandparents in Norway when his mother mentioned to him that he would visit a doctor that afternoon. The story climaxes when they meet the doctor and his adenoids are removed. They slowly return home after the operation where they are welcome by grandmother (Dahl, 1984).

Throughout the story, the boy and the adults display a relationship that is full of understanding, care, trust and assurance. The author tries to bring out the impression that adults always understand, care for and they can successfully use words to assure the young that all is well even if something is really a mess. On the other hand, he reminds the reader that young people are always worried about everything but can totally trust adults and rely on every information they are given. For instance, before leaving for the hospital, the boy gets worried and asks his mother why they should visit the doctor while he is well. While it is very evident that he is suffering from adenoids and they must be removed because he has not been able to breathe properly, a condition that is dangerous for his health, his mother assures him that all is well. She tells him that the doctor just wants to look at his "nose and mouth" (Dahl, 1984). To some extent, mother is using these phrases to calm him down so that he does not panic and refuse to see the doctor.

When they eventually get to the doctor, the scene in the room gives the boy an impression that he has come to a dentist and he starts to suspect that their visit could have something to do with his teeth (Dahl, 1984). He is asked to open his mouth but at first he refuses after remembering that the last time someone worked on his teeth it was very painful. The doctor then, with a gently tone, assures the boy that "it won't take two seconds" (Dahl, 1984). Having built trust on adults, the boy innocently opens his mouth with no clue of what awaits him only to have the worst moment in his life. All this happens because of the trust he has for these people. At first, he trust his mother, one of the closest people in his life, only to be disappointed when he realizes that the doctor is out to make him feel some pain he has never had in life. Nevertheless, there was no other way that his mother could convince him that he was going to have adenoids removed except lying to him that the doctor was only going to look at his nose and mouth (Dahl, 1984).

After the surgery, the doctor tells him that he would be "able to breathe much better through the nose". The boy needed to hear this so that he could realize how serious his problem was and that the operation was not performed to cause pain but to bring relief to his breathing problem. The nurse on the other hand congratulates him for being a good boy for undergoing such a terrible process without too many difficulties (Dahl, 1984).

When the boy finally arrives home, he is welcome by his grandmother and he is allowed to sit next to her. She soothes him for some time and later reminds him that life is not as smooth as he thought and that he should always be prepared to face tougher situations. "This won't be the last time you'll go to a doctor in your life", she affirms (Dahl, 1984). This is meant to assure him that nothing comes easily in life and that he should prepare for tougher situations in life.

It can be concluded that the author of the short story 'Boy' tries to bring out the impression that young people are should always be ready to listen to adults for advice and any other suggestions since adults are always right in their words and are out to ensure that nothing bad happens to the young people. They have the ability to care for, understand and instill sense to the young people. The young on the other hand trust everything told by the adults. Thus the relationship between the boy and the adults is based on these qualities.