Antaeus (short story)
Encyclopedia
Antaeus is a short story
by Borden Deal
. It is named after the mythological figure Antaeus
, a giant who was unconquerable as long as he touched the ground.
The story is about a boy named T.J. from Marion County, Alabama
who moves to a city in the North. He organizes an effort by a gang of kids to grow a garden on the gang’s hideout on top of a factory building. After long, painstaking work, the kids are successful in cultivating grass, but are discovered on the rooftop by three strangers, including the building’s owner. The owner orders the garden to be shoveled off by one of the other strangers by the next day. Not wanting this to happen, T.J. destroys the garden himself, throwing the dirt and grass off the roof. After this sudden action he leaves and isn't found for another two weeks. When the police do find him he was walking on railroad tracks, heading home.
This story has appeared in many American and European School textbooks. It is an archetypal tale of rural ways clashing with urban lifestyles.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Borden Deal
Borden Deal
Borden Deal , was an American novelist and short story writer.Born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, Deal attended Macedonia Consolidated High School, after which he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and fought forest fires in the Pacific Northwest...
. It is named after the mythological figure Antaeus
Antaeus
Antaeus in Greek and Berber mythology was a half-giant, the son of Poseidon and Gaia, whose wife was Tinjis. Antaeus had a daughter named Alceis or Barce.-Mythology:...
, a giant who was unconquerable as long as he touched the ground.
The story is about a boy named T.J. from Marion County, Alabama
Marion County, Alabama
Marion County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Marion County was created by an act of the Alabama Territorial General Assembly on February 13, 1818. The county is located in the northwestern part of the state, bounded on the west by the state of Mississippi. It encompasses . Marion County...
who moves to a city in the North. He organizes an effort by a gang of kids to grow a garden on the gang’s hideout on top of a factory building. After long, painstaking work, the kids are successful in cultivating grass, but are discovered on the rooftop by three strangers, including the building’s owner. The owner orders the garden to be shoveled off by one of the other strangers by the next day. Not wanting this to happen, T.J. destroys the garden himself, throwing the dirt and grass off the roof. After this sudden action he leaves and isn't found for another two weeks. When the police do find him he was walking on railroad tracks, heading home.
This story has appeared in many American and European School textbooks. It is an archetypal tale of rural ways clashing with urban lifestyles.