I chafed against the work of school." These "follies" are also seen by the boy's school master as "idleness," which juxtaposes the perceived importance of the feeling for the boy with the more rational views of outsiders.

This rational view is also represented by the boy's uncle, who is reminded more than once that the boy plans to go to the bazaar. The climax of the story occurs with the boy's wild excitement on the day of the bazaar: "On Saturday morning I reminded my uncle that I wished to go to the bazaar in the evening. He was fussing at the hallstand, looking for the hat-brush, and answered me curtly..."

The Uncle was obviously busy with his own work, perceived by himself as much more important than the boy's need to go to the bazaar, which deserves no more than a curt reply. The first brush of reality then occurs when the uncle forgets the bazaar and arrives home only at nine, and finally when the boy arrives at the bazaar. No words...

In this way the work can be said to have universal appeal, although the described situation itself belongs in a time and setting that few readers will identify with. The sensory and climactic description of the boy's feelings makes the disappointment at the end all the more poignant. The theme depicted in the story thus relates to a universal truth that is beyond the boy's individual situation: it is almost always true that fantasy will outshine reality, and that reality will disappoint the dreamer.