PLOT!
The Body is about 4 boys who are all best friends. They go out in the woods one night to look for a boy scout who was missing. The Boys on their journey to look for the lost boy grow closer. In the woods they try to find the boy scout whose name is Ray, they look for him in hope of fame and to gain the reward that comes with the fame. When they once find the body the realize that the it was not about the fortune and fame, and they should have never went to look for him in the first place. After they get back to their normal lives and make sure that the gang does not go and find the body to turn in they send an anonymous call to the sherifs office to tell where the body is that they found.
POINT OF VIEW!
The point of view in the story is told by one of the 4 boys, Gordie. Gordie tells the story as an adult looking back on his life telling the story and adventure him and his friends went through. At the beginning of the story he starts out to tell why everything was how it was then. Why he is like he is, and why his parents view him as a nobody because of his brother dying in a car accident. He tells what happend to th boys as they grew apart and where they were and are today. He made it known that their friendship was one that could not be replaced, and one that will always be remembered.
CHARACTERIZATION!
The main charaacters in the story are the 4 boys. Gordie, who is the one who tells the story who is second best to everyone he feels. He looks up to his brother who passed away, but because he passed away his parents look down on him. Teddy,is a boy with a strong and daring heart. If his mind is set on it he will do it. Vern, has a brother that is in the gang that always harrasss' the 4 boys. Chris is the tough one of the group. He stays strong even with his family backround. His dad is a drunk and his brother is a criminal. The town thinks he will end up to be a nobody just like the rest of his family and he starts to believe what everyone says.
SETTING!
The setting of the story at the beginning starts off in the boys tree house hang out. The tree house is where the boys go on a rainy day or just a need to "hang out," and get away. The next main place we see the boys is on the tracks. The boys make most of their journey on the train tracks, wheather it was them talking, almost getting hit by the train, or trying to decide where to go next. The next spot that is one of the main areas that the story is set at is in the woods itself. In the woods is where the boys are looking for the body and find the body.
THEME!
The theme that Gordie portrays in his story is that things that seem so big can great can mean so much more if you take the road less traveled. If the boys would have turned in the body the theme of the short story would be no where near what it is considering that they left it and turned in the body modestly. The theme basically says that with finding yourself and being with others and getting an understanding of what they go through displays a respect for not only yourself but those that you do not even know. In finding yourself you can understand why people are so modest about their own lifes. At the end of the story the boys fought for the right to turn in where the body was modestly against the gang who harrasses them. By winning that fight the boys rejoiced and with held a friendship that could never be broken.
