My impression of the boy is that he is very anti-social. He “leans against the playground wall” as he might have felt insecure and in need of company. But “back against the wall he stays”, he does various meaningless activities and “never plays”. This shows that he might have been to the playground for quite a number of times but he never plays. The boy is always at the wall, which shows that he too wants to play with the other children. However, he does not have the courage to do so and remains at the wall with a sad and dull mood. When the boy “wasn’t at the wall today” there were the words ‘watch this space’ chalked on the wall he used to lean on. This may have been the actions of the boy as he may have wanted to make his presence known for a moment when he was not around anymore. As he did not mix around with any of the other children I feel that he is an anti-social person.

My impression of the children is that they do not bother about the boy at the playground wall, as they “pass him running, skipping, walking” or gossip about him in “slow huddled groups” with low whispers. The children do not communicate with the boy when they pass him by. Neither the boy nor the children yield at his “shield or shell” of loneness. Even though the children occasionally have some arguments taking place among them, the arguments do not last long. The children do not take the initiative to communicate with the boy even when the boy has gone.