Setting

The story “Blackberries” by Leslie Norris is set in an unnamed town, most likely in the United Kingdom as the author is Welsh. Notable locations that feature in the story are the barbershop and Fletcher’s Woods. 

Mr. Frensham’s barbershop is described as empty of customers and with “no footmarks on the fresh sawdust shaken onto the floor” (p. 55, l. 3). The boy also notices “the boards were brown and worn, and dark knots stood up in them” (p. 55, l. 6). The barbershop is the same one the boy’s grandfather has been going for the past 50 years. Having his first haircut at the same barbershop then becomes a rite of passage for the boy who, thus, is on his way to becoming one of the men of his family. This also symbolizes his growing up. 

Fletcher’s Woods is a forest near the town w...