The Taste of Melon by Borden Deal

In the short story, “The Taste of Melon” by Borden Deal, the narrator’s view of Mr.Wills changes as he discovers more about him. Firstly, in the beginning of the story, it is evident that the narrator feels that Mr.Wills is a tempestuous and atrocious person, and he is unmistakingly afraid of Mr.Wills. The narrator describes his thoughts on Mr.Will by saying, “Mr.Wills was a big man. He had bright,fierce eyes under heavy brows and, when he looked down at you, you just withered. The idea of having him directly and immediately angry at one of us was enough to shrivel the soul”.(Deal 131) This depicts that the narrator assumes that Mr.Wills is a fearful man based on how he looks in appearance; he judges Mr.Will based on his physical features but does not consider the fact that he does not truly know much about Mr.Wills’ inner characteristics. Furthermore, the narrator faces conflict against himself (within his emotions) when he encounters the aftermath of his actions, and this allows him to change his fundamental view on Mr.Wills as he realizes that Mr.Wills is genuinely a sensitive and thoughtful man. After Mr.Wills discovers that his seed melon has been stolen,the narrator says“I saw that tears stood on his cheeks, and I couldn't look at him any more. I'd never seen a grown man cry, crying in such strength”. (137) Therefore, the narrator sympathizes with Mr.Wills, and he feels guilty and ashamed for stealing the melon as he realizes that the melon had a more significant meaning to Mr.Wills than it did to him which depicts that Mr.Wills is not as fearful as he first assumed; he discovers that there is more to him. Additionally, the narrator resolves the conflict by confessing to Mr.Wills, and is stupefied by Mr.Wills’ reaction as it is not what he expected;he learns more about the reason why Mr.Wills was so overprotective of the melon, and that Mr.Wills is truthfully a good-hearted man. In the end of the story, the narrator notices that