"Once Upon a Time" by Nadine Gordimer - Theme

"...he dragged a ladder to the wall, the shining coiled tunnel was just wide enough for his little body too creep in, and with the first fixing of its razor-teeth in his knees and hands and head he screamed and struggled deeper into its tangle." (pg. 236)

The theme of this story is that there are so many dangers lurking in our world, and it is impossible to guard against them, so we can't live in fear. In the story, there are an infinite number of things that threaten the family. The parents and everyone in the neighborhood are so scared, that they build walls and fences around their homes. While this may or may not keep them safe, it does increase the paranoia and destroys the beauty of the neighborhood. The family no longer sees the beautiful lawns and elegant homes, but instead they observe which protections seems to be the most efficient. In the final paragraph, the little boy reads a story of a fearless prince, and he aspires to be like this, so he attempts to battle barbed wire, which his parents installed out of fear. The irony of this plot twist refers to the theme. By living in fear, the family created a new danger.