Short Story

“The Baby Brother”

It was a long sunny day in the stunning city of Boston, Massachusetts. Thirteen year old Paul was in high spirits as he can ever be riding his brand new, shiny bike outside his house that his parents bought him. Paul was accustomed to getting everything he wanted since he was the only child.  Paul was joyful with the life he had. He had his entire parent’s attention and everything in the house belonged to him since he was the only child. However Paul knew this might all change to some extent with the arrival of his new baby born brother.

            Paul was in his room playing his new video games and he hears his parents knocking on his door. “Come on in!” Paul screams. His parents enter with his baby brother, Adrian. “Look Paul it’s your brother, say hi.” His mom says. “Wow I don’t care about him mom,” Paul replies. His mother angrily scolds Paul for showing no importance for his baby brother and they ground Paul the whole day and make him stay locked up in his room.

            The next day Paul wakes up and he has a bad feeling about something, so he goes down to the kitchen table. Amazed, his parents are with his baby brother eating breakfast, smiling, laughing and feeding him while showing Adrian love and affection. Paul feels lonely and rejected by his mom and dad. He feels like if he isn’t part of the family and he hates the fact he has lost his parent’s attention. He then starts getting jealous of his baby brother for taking his attention away and feels that Adrian has ruined his perfect life.

            That same day, Paul’s parents put Adrian in his room. Paul then starts quarrelling with his parents that it’s his room and he does not want to share. “Mom, dad, this isn’t fair! This room belongs to me only and I don’t want to share with Adrian! I want him gone!” “Honey, you have to understand that Adrian is your brothers so were going to leave him in here regardless what you say.” His parents don’t listen and Paul is furious at his little brother and feels his life will never be the same.

            One day Paul’s parents left to the grocery store to buy food and made Paul babysit Adrian. Paul didn’t care and was minding his business but he heard his brother cry, he was hesitant to go check on him but he didn’t like to hear his brother crying. He went to him and made him laugh and stop crying. At that moment Paul was cheerful to have a baby brother like Adrian, he started feeling love and compassion for Adrian. At that moment, deep inside of Paul, he knew his baby brother was a good thing that happened to him. All the hardships were elapsed.

            Later that day his parents came and Paul seemed blissful. His parents were proud in his change of attitude. They were glad to see Paul appreciate his brother and his materials with him. It was a lesson learned by Paul the hard way. Now he will never forget to be thankful for what he has.

Point of View—the main character’s/narrator’s POV.

·         Paul love the attention he got from his parents but when the parents have another baby he gets jealous of all the attention his brother gets. He doesn't like the fact that he has a baby brother.

Character Analysis—identify each character (i.e. gender, strengths, weaknesses, purpose etc.)

·         Paul, boy, loves being an only child, gets jealous easily over something that should be appreciated and not hated. 

·         Adrian, baby boy, brother of Paul, gets more attention than Paul since he is a baby, he can't defend himself from Paul. 

·         Mom and Dad - both love their children but have a hard time paying attention to both but care for both brothers.

Plot/Central Conflict—what is the central conflict/issue of the story?

·         Paul loves all the attention he gets from his parents but when they have a baby boy, Paul gets angry and jealous that his brother gets all the attention instead of him making him feel rejected and lonely.

Setting—where/when does the story take place?

·         The setting is in the city of Boston, Massachusetts.

End/Resolution—how is the conflict resolved?

·         Paul, after being left to babysit his brother, finally sees the good in having a baby brother and appreciates the fact that he is a brother and realizes that he cares for his brother.