Themes and message

The main themes of the short story “Kiss and Tell” by John Sam Jones are sexuality and fitting in. The author explores these themes using the motif of coming of age (becoming a teenager) and that of homosexuality. The message of the author is that sexuality is a challenging aspect for teenagers and that sexual orientation is still a delicate issue in society, although it is formally accepted.

Sexuality

The theme of sexuality is explored through most of the short story and the characters. First of all, the narrative begins with a presentation of teenage students who have already begun to explore their sexuality, perhaps prematurely:

...Jane Jones, who’d got breasts that were the Promised Land of boys’ dirty talk, almost always had love bites on her neck, and Shân Jenkins boasted about going to the nightclub (...) There was even a rumour that Shân was on the pill. (ll. 3-8)

The story mostly follows Seimon’s self-discovery of sexuality and sexual orientation. The story maps his fantasies about his male teacher, from innocent “reveries” (l. 21) to explicit “sexual fantasies” (l. 77). However, because Seimon feels lonely among his peers and finds it hard to adapt, he reacts on impulse and presents his fantasies as reality.

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Fitting in

The theme of fitting in is explored at two levels in the short story—fitting in among teenage peers and fitting in among adult peers. Dylan Roberts, the teacher, illustrates the type of compromises adults sometimes make to fit in. As a new teacher at a new school, in a new city, Dylan decides to hide the fact that he is gay, and he does it because he wants to fit in.

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