The theme of childhood is generally presented as that of youthful happiness and freedom. James Joyce takes a different approach, however, as he exposes the vulnerability that comes naturally with childhood but is often not expressed in literature. He does this through his use of language, free indirect discourse, and through the content he chooses to include in stories such as “The Sisters” and “An Encounter.” These two stories show the vulnerability of childhood, without presenting the child as naive, which is particularly true in “An Encounter”. Each story takes place over different periods of time, as "The Sisters" shows how an authoritative and trusted adult figure is able to take advantage of a child over a longer period of time than the stranger featured in "An Encounter." These stories provide two useful insights into the different levels of vulnerability of children. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay Joyce presents the vulnerability of childhood by placing children in her stories with perhaps inappropriate adult characters, which is clearly visible in “The Sisters”. and “An Encounter”. The inappropriate relationship between the priest and the boy in "The Sisters" is evoked more subtly than in "An Encounter", as the boy's uncle says: "I wouldn't like my children to have too many things to say to a man.” like that.' Here, references to a possible inappropriate relationship with the priest continue later in the story, as the boy dreams of the priests, with a "grey and heavy face", which gives the priest a monstrous and grotesque appearance. A juxtaposition between this image and the conventional image of a priest conveys the message of his inappropriate relationship with the child and therefore the child's vulnerability. The boy said, referring to the priest's mouth as he confessed something to him: "I wondered why he kept smiling and why his lips were so wet with spittle." The priest confessing to the boy functions as an effective metaphor for the inappropriate nature of the priest, as he does not properly assume his pastoral role but instead confesses his own sins to the boy. This could be seen as having sexual overtones, as he might confess to the boy sexual acts that are perceived as sinful. The fact that the priest smiled during his confession shows that he took a certain pleasure in the act, which further supports the previous thesis. The phrase "why the lips were so wet with spittle", while explicit in its imagery, goes even further in suggesting an inappropriate relationship between the boy and the priest. This relationship cannot be defined as proven, however, as Joyce only goes so far as to suggest and imply, without ever explicitly providing the information necessary to qualify the relationship as completely real. Inappropriate interaction between adult and child is comparatively briefer and isolated. in "An Encounter", showing the full extent of a child's vulnerability. The child featured in the short story is older than the child in "The Sisters", as evidenced by his ability to recognize the potential danger of the situation, when a strange man approaches him and his friend and begins to make inappropriate comments to them. The man asks if the boy has any, "darlings", he is then suspended in incredulous disbelief when the boy says he doesn't have any. This can be interpreted as flirting, as if the man is saying that the boy is too attractive not to have a sweetheart. Inappropriate affection for young people becomes.