Here in the Real World

Ware is the protagonist of the story. He is portrayed as an imaginative and introspective child—someone who sees the world through a unique artistic lens. He notices things like “the rain slide of electric colors” (30) from neon signs and compares real-life architecture to medieval castles, as shown when he imagines “castle designers incorporated sundials on south-facing walls like this” (32-33). Ware’s fantasy life is a lens through which he finds value, order, and possibility in the world around him. He claims the ruined church as his castle, an assertion of agency in a world that often treats him as too young or too odd.

Ware is often in his own world, and others make fun of him for it. Even his parents misunderstand his inner life, especially his mother, who still sees Ware as being a young child and tells him, "that’s not something for a child to worry about” (26). Ware wrestles with this isolation, wondering what’s “wrong” with him, especially after overhearing his parents wish for a “normal kid.” At the same time, he begins to assert his independence and find his purpose through his days spent at the lot.