Throughout their childhood, everybody experiences those life altering moments. These moments contribute to maturation and expansion of consciousness. This short story is about the difficult period of transition between childhood and adulthood. The themes include upbringing, parent-child relations and illusions.
             The story takes place the 50ties. This was a period marked by the population's fear of a nuclear war. In 1952, USA tested the most powerful weapon in the world, the hydrogen bomb, on an island in the Pacific. It proved to be more vigorous than the originators had ever imagined, and it caused extensive damage on the Island
             Douglas' family consists of four members; the father, the mother, Douglas and his brother Skip. The two brothers must be more or less the same age, if not, I see no reason why they would share the same room. "Try to get some sleep." Skip turned over .
             To all appearances, this is a middleclass family. In the text, no over-indulgence or poverty is being described. The father talks about moving, and in that context he mentions selling a business so he is obviously independent businessman. His wife, the mother of Douglas, is a housewife. This pattern of sex roles goes well together with the fact that the story takes place in the 50ties.
             In the middle of all this we find Douglas and his friend RT. Douglas seems to be a kind and harmonious boy. He shows concern for RT by bringing him an apple. The mother might have spoiled him a bit -like mothers tends to do; but on the whole, he is a carefree preteen chap.
             So far, the two friends haven't noted the complexity of international politics. They live in a kind of cocoon, in which they're uninfluenced by anything but childish doings. The circus and cinema hold a great significance to the boys. It creates at kind of virtual reality in which they're allowed to dream. It's an unproblematic oasis that symbolizes childhood...