Hail and Farewell story
A young man, unable to age, makes a profession out of his situation, for his sake and others. Directed by: Allan Kroeker. Story by: Ray Bradbury.
19 total · 1 choice · 6 major · 12 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| what if I were not subject to the normal process of aging | choice | A point of the story, if there was one, was to imagine what it might be like for a young man to cease aging physically at the biological age of 12. As it were, after some time of discomfort, he settled on using his perpetual boyish charm to ingratiate himself with elderly ladies and childless couples. |
| belonging | major | Willie, owing to his being a man in the body of a 12 year old boy, had trouble fitting in wherever he went. He was pointedly denied a job at the traveling circus because he wasn't like the other performers (e.g., little people). The circus man concluded that "there just ain't no place for you anywhere" before turning Willie away. He was also ostracized at the orphanage. |
| childish bullying | major | Willie was bullied by the other orphans because he didn't grow big like they did. He was also pushed around by a stereotypical neighborhood bully. |
| human childhood | major | The story explores what life was like for Willie, a man who ceased aging physically at the biological age of 12. Even though he was much older, he lived and behaved like other children in his neighborhood. |
| orphanhood | major | Willie was an orphan and spent some years in a state orphanage together with numerous other orphans. |
| retarded aging effect | major | The story explores the consequences of Willie ceasing to age, for reasons that were left unexplained, physically at the biological age of 12. It turned out to be something of a curse, as Willie found it necessary to find a new family to live with every two years. |
| the desire to have children | major | Willie used his perpetual boyish charm to ingratiate himself with elderly ladies and childless couples, sometimes bereaved, who yearned to have children of their own. |
| coping with saying goodbye forever | minor | Willie bid farewell to his de-facto parents, John and Emma Webley.Willie was waved a teary-eyed adieu to a little girl as he left in a car. |
| coping with the death of a child | minor | Willie ingratiated himself with a couple who had lost their own child. |
| coping with the death of someone | minor | Willie sobbed in grief in reaction to the old woman expiring on her death bed. |