What are your impressions of the boy, as well as the children in the poem? Support your answer with relevant lines from the poem.

My impressions of the boy are that he is anti- social and lonely though he does want to have friends whom he can rely on. The loner does not interact with others at all. But instead always lean against the wall and never play with others. From this quote: “Smacks his hand against the bricks” and “And other boredom-beating tricks” tells us how lonely and bored the loner is. He is so bored that the pain from hitting the wall becomes his ‘entertainment”. I can tell that he wants to have friends because he always stay at the wall, waiting for someone to invite him to play with them. If not, he could have stayed at home so that he would not be gossiped by others. Instead, he chose to stay there, thinking that he could have a chance of letting others acknowledge his existence. But, none of the children gave him a chance.

My impressions of the children are that they are quite heartless and unfriendly to the boy. The children did nothing to break the ice with the loner but instead “We pass him and never speak”, thinking that a loner will always be a loner. Thus ignores the loner's existence though he has been always been at the wall. They are unfriendly to the boy because they do not care about how the boy feels, but “In slow huddled groups, low talking” gossips about the boy. “And a place at the wall”, “For who won’t belong” tells us that the children has always thought that due to the boy’s difference, they could actually ignore and hurt his feelings. But they are wrong because everyone is equal.