Tony's story- Vedica Bhasin

In this story, both setting and dialog collectively contribute towards characterization. The rural, village home that was the only place the character feels safe in, congested with family (“it was noisy again like it always was”) further comments on the social and economic background of the writer that allows the reader to better understand the protagonist. Simultaneously, the “highway” that connects the writer to what may be assumed as more developed areas (such as the Grants) may be symbolic of the comment being made about a central theme- racism. The helplessness and inaccessibility experienced by the writer (“I sat there besides Leon imagining what it was like before there were highways or even horses”) and the constant obstruction of his path manifests as the physical highway. The Dialog interjections, especially by the presumably minor characters provide further insights about the surroundings and the reputation of the characters, for instance, “Leon goes looking for trouble- I wish you wouldn’t hang out with him.” And “I like to beat Indians with this”. The first statement by the writers father provide a third parties perspective about the central character while the latter by the policemen makes a general comment about the theme of racism and discrimination. Additional information provided by dialog interjections helps build the potentially lost credibility of a limited first person narrative