Child Obsoletes Play Analysis

The first short story under analysis is titled Childʼs Play. The story is told by a first person narrator, which is at the same time the protagonist, Marlene. Through a series of flashbacks, she recalls and reflects upon one of her childhood memories, that seems to have been unconsciously hiding a secret; the terrible crime committed at a summer camp.
The story begins with some assumptions of the narrator about what had happened after the incident in the camp. However, the readers are not informed about it until the end. Then, there is a time jump to the past and the narrator starts telling the camp experience. Around the age of nine or ten years old, Marlene was sent to a summer camp where she met one her friends, Charlene. After sharing some details about themselves, Marlene told Charlene about her aversion to a special needs girl named Verna. Then, there is another flashback and the readers are told about the circumstances under which Marlene and Verna
In the last week of camp, Verna showed up together with a group of “special kids” to enjoy the final weekend of the camp with the other clindren. Marleneʼs aversion was instantly shared by Charlene after encountering Verna. Then, they both worked together to avoid Verna during the meals, playtime, and so on. However, the very last day of camp, during a swim in the beach, they noticed that Verna was approaching them in the water.
Then, there is another timeshifting. After the camp, Marlene did not keep in touch with Charlene. Some year later, she saw Charleneʼs wedding pictures in a newspaper and discovered that they both had been going to college in the same city but they had never seen each other. About fifteen years after that happening, Marlene received a letter from Charlene, congratulating her about the book she had published. Marlene decided to ignore the letter and not to answer. Some other details about Marleneʼs life are revealed during this