Point of View

"Things We Worried About When I Was Ten" is written from the first person perspective of a narrator who is reflecting on his childhood. Throughout the story, he recalls a number of anecdotes from his youth that were significant to him, even though at the time he did not necessarily know why. This combination point of view of an adult re-inhabiting his own consciousness as a child helps the author demonstrate the naiveté and innocence of childhood while suggesting that some of the experiences of childhood hold much more weight than children can recognize. That the narrator is returning to his childhood from an adult perspective suggests that he has processed his experiences and now recognizes why they were meaningful and memorable.

Language and Meaning

The language in "Things We Worried About When I Was Ten" is generally accessible, with few instances of elevated or...