Story #3: "Sunday in the Park" by Bel Kaufman

I liked this story. It poses an interesting question dealing with conflicts and proper resolutions. In the story, a mother and father are sitting in the park on a Sunday afternoon. Their son, Larry, is playing in a sandbox. Another boy in the sandbox starts to throw sand at him, and the mother demands him to stop, but he refuses to listen. This sparks an argument between Larry's father and the other boy's father, and in the end, the parents decide to drag Larry home (literally). As the parents are walking and discussing what just occurred, Larry continues to cry and drag his feet, which makes the father extremely angry. He starts to advance towards his son when the mother says the repeated line, "Indeed? You and who else?" (I still don't quite understand the meaning behind this.)

I think the parents made the right decision when they left the park- even though it still wasn't right for the boy to be throwing sand, it was only going to get worse if they had chosen to stay. It wasn't worth picking a fight with the other father because the argument would have (most likely) gotten much more serious than it had to be. On the other hand, it's interesting how the parents deal with disciplining their children/children in general. I liked how the mother handled the sand situation because she simply told the boy to stop throwing it- she didn't get any more involved with him because he wasn't her child. However, when they were taking Larry home, the father dared to do something to him, saying, "If you can't discipline this child, I will." I thought that move was very unnecessary, although it could've gotten worse if the mother hadn't stepped in.

If you decide to make a move or stand up for someone/something, I think you need to make sure it's for the right reason and to the right degree- that's from a quote we discussed in health class. It's really important to inspect the situation and react appropriately. Sunday in the Park reminded me that people tend to overreact because they don't think of the consequences that will come afterwards.