Whenever you want to understand the relationships between characters in a story, it helps to
keep an eye out for the questions of "Who has the power? Who doesn’t? How does this power shift?"
Next, think about the ultimate question: "How does this affect or explain the relationships
Our initial theory in ‘My Side of the Story’, was that Skip uses the fact that he is older and bigger than
Will to take advantage of Will. However, if I think about the story from Skip’s perspective, Will is probably not the only one scared of the dad. He might just want to protect himself as well, which makes me feel sorry for him. He might feel powerless at times too.
Choose one relationship in your independent reading book where it is clear that one character has power over another character. The power can be physical power or psychological. One character may hold power over another because of the setting or because of their age difference. One character may be blackmailing another character and they hold power because of that. The types of power go on and on. Discuss how the power may shift. Finally, talk about this relationship from both characters' perspectives and how each are affected by it. Please share examples and details from your story to back up your thoughts. Share a quote from at least one character and analyze that quote. Step into the characters' shoes and infer what you believe they are thinking and feeling.