Life is shaped and changed drastically by decisions made in youth, and writers are able to display examples through their words and stories. Whether it be a positive or negative change, small impacts early on lead to large deviations in the choices one will make. The short stories “Wild Plums” by Grace Stone Coates and “Apollo” by Chimamanda Adichie, both display how simple decisions in the narrators' lives forged them into stronger people throughout the beginning, middle, and end of each story. In the stories, both narrators begin the story sheltered and uneducated about the lifestyles of others, leaving them curious. The unnamed narrator in “Wild Plums” describes an early experience in her life as, “The first time was when Sunday-school women …show more content…
Similarly, in “Apollo,” the climax of the story arrives in the final few sentences, leaving the narrator with a drastically altered outlook on life. After falling and fearing embarrassment after Raphael was acting cold towards him, he: “stayed on the ground, a stone sunk in my knee. ‘Raphael pushed me.’. I could have taken back my lie and left my parents merely to wonder” (Adichie, 254). At the end of the story, Okenwa makes a rash decision to lie, saying that Raphael shoved him to the floor. Okenwa’s family takes his side, becoming furious with Raphael, promptly removing Raphael as a caretaker from their household. However, as the narrator grows older, he begins to resent his decision, wishing that he had told the truth and became closer with Raphael. This story serves as an example that making hasty decisions while upset could lead to regret later on, encouraging the reader to think with a level head. Although both stories end abruptly, they are still able to convey important messages to the reader regarding decisions made in one's own life, potentially enriching the experiences and knowledge of the