CHILDREN WANTED
LUCY PRATT, a frequent contributor to magazines, lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
So slight is the plot in Children Wanted that one might on reflection question whether there is a plot. In the actual reading, one becomes too absorbed in the very real situation that Miss Pratt presents to become coldly analytical. The vividness of Master Crosby Tarbell’s particular adventure with life is reflected, not only in the letter Mr. Henry Tarbell dispatches to a certain Pony Man, but in the reader’s own warm indignation at the carelessness, the cowardice, of compromising grown-ups in general. At the same time, Miss Pratt’s masterly use of commonplace detail, fully as much as the poignant bits of character delineation, such as that which ends the story, makes of Children Wanted as effective a bit of narrative technique as it is a striking example of the propagandist’s art.
Suggested Points for Study and Comment
1. Is the chief interest of the story in the principal character or in the underlying theme?
2. Would the experience have meant as much to any child?
3. Why is the 'lady on the hill road' added to the list of customers?
4. What does Crosby’s father add to the story that Crosby’s mother could not? Would you have preferred to be told more about Mrs. Tarbell?
5. Do you find any explanations for the climax in the previous characterization of Crosby? How has the detailed description of the barn helped to reveal the lad’s sensitiveness?