Borden Deal's Antaeus

671 Words2 Pages

In the story "Antaeus," by Borden Deal, the main character T.J has three capabilities that make him different from his friends. First of all, T.J. is a very intelligent boy. His new city companions did not maintain the wisdom T.J. has about the world and how to deal with people around. T. J. is also a receptive boy, a soft-spoken person who feels an attachment to the land. Finally, T.J. is a tenacious boy who sticks to his plans once he starts it and who would reject to the idea about destroying what he has created.

From T.J.’s own words and actions and through the narrator’s observation, the reader learns that T.J. is smart and unique. It was T.J.’s idea to build a roof garden, and he figures out how to build it. He knew how to speak to other people, persuading them to do what he wanted them to do. For example, he informed the other boys to find sand and carry it up to the roof. The narrator stated, “T.J. was smart enough to start in one corner of the building, heaping up the carried earth two or three feel thick, so that we had an immediate result to look at…” He did not want to plant grass, but the other boys kept on telling him how great it would be to play on it and to have picnics. T.J. still wanted to plant crops, but he was smart to give in. “He always knew when to give in” the narrator in the story states. He knew how to motivate the other boys and knew when to compromise. When the building owners came up and asked what they were doing, T.J. then suggest...

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