The Stone Boy by Gina Berriault is a short story, but the emotional significance of it is impressive. It is next to impossible to not feel for Arnold, a nine-year-old boy, who has to grow up quicker than his peers because of the tragedy he has to face. The plot of this short story depicts how several careless accusations and harsh words can break a person in a blink of an eye.
For any sane individual to kill another human being is a horrible tragedy. At first a person can feel nothing at all, it is like to find yourself in a terrible nightmare and to not be able to drag yourself out of it. Only then, when shock wears off, the realization of the tragedy takes place. That is why Arnold doesn’t cry or show any sorrow at all. It takes him a whole day to understand that Eugene is dead. He goes to his mother but finds no compassion, so he is left to deal with his thoughts alone. Just like any other child, he starts blaming himself, for there is no one near him to tell that it was just a terrible accident, that he is not responsible for it. It is not difficult to imagine what a terrible life awaits him in the future if he doesn’t get profession help. The words of the sheriff and his uncle’s accusation plant seeds of doubt in his mind, while his mother’s refection to hear him out only confirms his suspicions. He must be really mean if even his mother can neither look at him nor talk to him properly. The boy is ashamed of himself and that moment of weakness. Of course, it wouldn’t be right to put the blame only on his mother. The woman has just lost her elder son, so it is going to take her some time to get used to a thought that Eugene is dead. However, her behavior does puzzle. She doesn’t give Arnold a hand when he needs it, siding with the sheriff and her brother. No wonder that it causes further alienation of Arnold. Later on, she does decide to give him a chance but it is already too late. She has lost his trust and might lose him too in the future.
Unlike his wife, Arnold’s father doesn’t seem to blame him. On the contrary, he is curious why his son doesn’t cry or begs for forgiveness. It is like he sees him properly for the very first time. He doesn’t let the rest of the family treat him differently and Arnold is really grateful for it. He is relieved when he is acknowledged by his parents in the morning.
This short story is not only about death and a feeling of guilt. It is about help and forgiveness. The easiest thing is to blame but it always difficult to try to understand and forgive. Arnold’s story proves that not everything in this world is black and white. The moral of the story is don’t assume.
