Common Ground

At the beginning of the story, Alex is watching Jake split logs and he thinks that he will never be strong enough to do something like that. As the story continues, the reader learns that Alex has taken ballet lessons and greatly enjoyed them, but he does not believe that ballet is something Jake might enjoy. It is clear to the reader from the very beginning of the story that Alex feels that he and Jake have very little in common.

As the story continues to develop, the reader becomes aware that Jake feels that Alex is too small to do some of the chores around the house, such as splitting logs and carrying the heavy, sharp axe. However, one chore Alex discovers that Jake is not brave enough to tackle is dealing with a wolf spider. Jake is deeply afraid of spiders, especially spiders that are...