Summary and Analysis

Pan is a mythological figure associated with boyish pranks and nature. In the back of the family's courtyard, behind the toilet, there is a hole in the fence, where the narrator could escape the house into a field. In contrast to the decorum and society represented by the house, the field is a symbol of freedom. The narrator and his friends enlarge the hole and place a wooden plank over the murky river that flows out of the privy. On the other side of this makeshift bridge is a whole world to explore. One day, when out by he, the boy encounters a man he calls Pan.

Pan is crouched in the grass, filthy. He looks like a vagrant or a drunk. The boy pauses, terrified or fascinated. The man is sweating. His body is tense. His has a...