Theme Analysis of “Trading Pumpkins” by Kyria Abrahams and “The Boy Who Didn’t Want To Catch” by Micheal Stahl (Essay Example)

Imagine never realizing that you have to work hard in life. You have realized that good scenarios come out of team work. It’s like not knowing basic life knowledge. When you finally do realize and understand it, a whole new world of possibilities are explored. You are finally able to make life easier for yourself and others. These life skills and scenarios are representative of the short stories, “Trading Pumpkins” by Kyria Abrahams and “The Boy Who Didn’t Want To Catch” by Micheal Stahl. In “Trading Pumpkins,” a girl named Tammy and her family were shown as local farmers. They had competition with a nearby farm and they both tried to get better profits from the growing seasons. When Tammy finally took the last straw through stealing, both families realized the importance of working together which benefited both of them. In the other short story, “The Boy Who Didn’t Want To Catch,” a boy named David was shown as a very talented and put-together person. He had high grades, made it onto the baseball team at a young age, and always makes time for his family.  David eventually had to take over the role of being the catcher. Although he didn’t want to, he accepted the offer. The motivational help from his friends and his own perseverance shined through when he helped his team gain a victory. He realized the importance of working hard and persevering. Although “The Boy Who Didn’t Want To Catch” and “Trading Pumpkins'' have entirely different plots, both stories demonstrate the importance of learning life skills to plan for the future. Specifically the life lessons of working hard, smart, and supporting one another. In “Trading Pumpkins,” Tammy’s family and the other family learned the importance of working together. Hard work is made easier with a helping hand. Similarly, in the short story, “The Boy Who Didn’t Want To Catch,” hard work was shown as something necessary for success and friendships as positive influences on others. 

    To begin, in the text “Trading Pumpkins,” it is clearly shown that working together and being supportive of one another is a major theme of the story. The different ways the neighbors had helped each other out and cooperated with one another proves how this is a theme. Instead of being enemies, they were able to benefit each other’s farms. The narrator mentioned, “She showed Mr. Shelby how to stack the hay to create a difficult maze. She showed him how to set up the decorations, how to dress up like a scary monster, and stand right at the entrance. Then he gave her pumpkins to take home.” These words prove that Tammy was able to help the other farm improve their maze and services while benefiting her own family’s farm. It shows that the “peace treaty” the two families came up with was working and demonstrating how important it is to support the community around you. The narrator had also stated, “l had a very long talk with Mr. and Mrs. Shelby. We came to the realization that we'd all be better off if we worked together on the maze instead of competing.” Those words imply Tammy’s family realized that the two farms working together are all that matters and that they should help each other. Also, after the jealousy and rivalries that have gone on between the two families it led them to accept that in the end friendship prevails over hate. To conclude, the character learned that they should always be supportive of each other while working together  because they never know when they might need someone by their side or visa versa.

Furthermore, in the second story, “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Catch,“ the theme of believing in yourself and working hard is clearly shown throughout the text. The way David had persevered as well as interacted with his friends who were very supportive of him supports this. By having confidence in himself, David’s mindset really changed throughout the story showing character development. According to the text, “David knew that a big reason for the team’s victory was that he agreed to be the catcher. From then on, he loved playing catcher because he could help the Woodchucks win in ways he never could before.” This shows that all of David’s efforts and perseverance had pulled through in the end and he was able to help the Woodchucks get a win. He had the courage to believe in himself because his friends supported him. It was what helped him shine as the new catcher for the rest of the season. Another example from the text states, “David began to understand what was most important. It wasn’t just the results. It was how hard one worked to achieve those results.” This evidence supports the claim because it shows that David had realized that hard work really is the key to his success. It should be what drives him to play great baseball games. This opened an entirely new world of thoughts for him and he was able to broaden his horizons with new thoughts. David accepted that being a catcher wasn’t anything bad and that as long as he believed in himself, he would do great. All in all, David learned that he should always persevere and remember that hard work is the key to success. Also, that his friends and family are going to be important influences in his life. They have helped David become the person he is now. This shows the character development being mentioned before as well as the fact that when people work together and work hard great things can occur. 

In conclusion, these two texts clearly show the theme of supporting people and their ambitions. As well as the other theme that both characters learn about working hard for what they enjoy. In life, many people just ignore the fact that so many people are struggling and that it doesn’t cost them much to help some of them. And in most cases, your kindness is almost always rewarded by a better feeling about yourself or an actual reward in the future. People just like Tammy’s family can ignore the fact that their competitors can actually be their greatest assets and together they build meaningful relationships. Also, people like David can forget how it’s important to face the struggle and challenges ahead so that the future ahead will be bright. So many great things can happen but it all starts from that first step of helping someone out when they need it the most, by being the shoulder to lean on, or by persevering no matter what curveballs life throws. All in all, it’s so important to remember to always be kind, and remember that no one’s ever really certain about what they can do for someone until they actually try.