Old Knights and Little Girls

Instructions: Read the section called "Round and flat characters." Showing the contradictions in characters is one way of making them "round." Take a stereotype mentioned (in the reading) or use one of your own. Write a brief scene in which you portray that character in a complex way, going against the usual expectations.

The little old man looked tough as piece of old jerky, dried in the sun and hardened by his life outdoors. His voice was gruff and edged with bitterness. His clothes were clean and well-maintained, but gave the impression of secondhand wear and showed their age. The eyes that peered out from underneath his bushy eyebrows were hawkish and glared reprovingly at all of the young children that bounded past him with all of their youthful vigor. He sat outside of the general store every day, in an old rocking chair that looked to be of a similar age and disposition of the old man who occupied its seat. He always carried a thin wooden cane that he used to threaten kids that he deemed too rambunctious when they dared to cross the store's porch. Everyday he sat and rocked, eating sunflower seeds and spitting the empty husks into a Styrofoam cup. Occasionally, when some of the quiet girls or some of the more shy boys slipped out on the porch quietly, they would catch him with a faraway look in his eyes and a peculiar look on his face. It was almost as if this harsh, scary old man was thinking of something that he had loved, in another life. The children inevitably startled him out of his reverie, and he would always glare and mutter grumpy statements under his breath. One little girl, the quietest and most gentle of the neighborhood kids, often stood watching him for some minutes before he sensed her presence on the porch. She had once asked her mother about him, and her mother had told the little girl about the far off places the man had traveled and the very bad things he had seen when he was there. The little girl used her imagination to see him as a younger man, almost like the knights in her favorite fairy tales, fighting monsters and boogey men, and saving beautiful princesses. Every night she included him in her bedtime prayers. Sometimes when she was afraid of the dark shapes in her in the corners of her room at night, she would think of the old knight she knew and felt safer.

One day, the girl came out of the store in her usual quiet manner and caught the old man with that far away look in his eyes. He had not noticed her exit, and did not notice her presence with him on the porch. She took a tentative step forward, and when his countenance still did not change, she took another. She was so enraptured with the man, and he with his memories, that it seemed a very sudden thing when she appeared next to him.  She reached out a hand and touched him and he jumped to his feet, startled. His movement was so sudden, it caused the girl to drop her apple juice, and the bottle rolled with a loud rumbling noise off of the wooden porch and into the street below. The old man grabbed her arm out of reflex, and the girl, whose nerve had suddenly left her, began to cry. One solitary, glistening tear trickled down her cheek. She had not wanted to upset the old man. She had felt, in her childlike way, physical touch could somehow take away his sadness. If thinking of him at night drove the monsters from closet and the corners of her room, maybe she could help him smile. The old man began to yell, but at the sight of that single tear, something magical happened. His face changed. The harshness around his eyes and mouth softened into concern, and his fingers loosened on her arm, then began patting her shoulder.  He looked around for his cane, asked the girl if she was alright, then retrieved her apple juice bottle. He wiped it off with a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket after wiping her tear away. His severe look had returned, but his voice was much gentler when he asked her name. Until this point the girl had remained speechless. She had nodded that she was ok when he asked, but now words began spilling out of her. She told him what her mother had said, how she knew he was a knight, how she included him in her bedtime prayers and how he helped her drive away the darkness. At this the old man laughed, a strange sound to the patrons of the general store. Several middle aged farmers turned to see from whom the odd laughter was coming. He became so tickled that he slapped his knee and tears came into his eyes too, but these were tears of laughter. When he finally regained his composure, he assured her that he had definitely never fought dragons, but he was a knight of sorts. He had decided not to take away all of the girl's misconceptions of himself. He did not want her to be frightened of the dark, and if his image was a talisman against fear, he was happy to help. The two became instantly more comfortable with each other, the way some people discover they are soul mates in a split second. The immediate camaraderie led to animated conversation and even a song sung by the little girl. To the complete astonishment of the passing farmers, the old man got up from his chair, asked for another song, and began a little soft shoe jig right there on the porch. The little girl squealed with delight and clapped her hands, singing louder and jumping up to twirl in circles. The sight of the two dancing with such abandon drew a small crowd, who stared on in astonishment at the transformation of the oldest and crotchetiest, and the smallest and quietest, to two of the liveliest people in the town. They both sat down breathless and laughing, ignoring the onlookers, and began their conversations anew.

That night, when the old man stared into the dark corners of his bedroom, it was thoughts of a little girl who chased away the shadows.