Perspectives

Literary perspective

The short story “The Quiet One” by Stephen Gibbin can be considered to belong to the literary movement called Realism. 

Realist works of fiction usual…

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Works with the same theme

The short story “Blackberries” by Leslie Norris also presents the theme of growing up and coming of age. The story looks at a day in the life of a young boy who witnesses his parents arguing for the first time which changes his innocent worldview and makes him face a harsh and unpleasant reality. The story “The Quiet One” explores the theme of coming of age by looking at a teenager’s first romantic and sexual experiences and how they fail to live up to his expectations.

The short story “Smile” by Roddy Doyle also looks at the theme of bullying and violence in the life of a thirteen-year-old boy. In the story, a boy named Victor is bullied and beaten at school by his peers and accused of being gay. Similarly, in the story “The Quiet One”, Liam’s brother Kyle is bullied at school for wearing a second-hand girls’ blouse and accused of being gay because of it. 

Alice Munro’s short story “Boys and Girls” explores the theme of growing up by following the narrator’s transition from childhood to adolescence. Throughout this transition, the narrator wrestles with how she is expected to act as a girl and her relationship with her family. When comparing this to “The Quiet One”, it can be useful to consider which relationships are most challenging for the two teenage mai…