The short story, " The Grave," by Katherine Anne Porter began in a secluded area that had once been the family cemetery. The cemetery was owned by the grandmother who had just passed away. In her will she had requested the land be sold and this required the family cemetery to be moved. Two children had come across the empty graves while they were hunting. Their hunting excitement is lost when they kill a rabbit and discover the rabbit was about to give birth. The central idea is about life and death and how it is a continuous cycle. A lesson is taught to these children through the sacrifice of this animal and the reality of life and death is experienced.
             The children in the story are the main characters. Paul who is a 12 year old boy and the brother of Miranda loves hunting. He is very serious about his hunting skill and is protrayed as the one in charge of the hunting expedition. He tends to be the teacher and the caretaker of Miranda in the story. Miranda is a 9 year old girl and considered by others as a tomboy. She is engrossed in everything that is around her and not especially interested in hunting but enjoys the sport of shooting the gun and being with her brother. They are both considered round characters. They are described with, "adventurous eyes", their voices are expressed with tone. The author provides you with a vivid description of how they feel as they jump into the grave and the smells that they smell. Later in the story you feel their shame and guilt for killing such an innocent creature as the brother expresses the importance of keeping this action a secret. The three flat characters in this story are the Grandmother who had just recently passed away, the old cronies that demonstrated their distaste for the upbringing of the children, the older sister, and the father. I would define both Miranda and Paul as dynamic characters. After the killing of the rabbit and seeing the baby rabbits the childre...