Once Upon a Time

Question #6: In the story's final paragraph, the boy gets tangled in the very thing installed to protect him. The paragraph reveals the overall meaning of the story- that there is such a thing as over-protection. They were attempting to keep danger out, when they really invited it in. Society is always telling us to install alarm systems and gates and barbed wires. But all of these things trap us in as much as they keep danger out. There has to be a happy medium. It is implied that black people are the robbers they are trying to keep out. In the end, the black workers are the ones who save the boy. Another theme of this story is not to be prejudice.