The birthday walk
An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.
On each of Ellen’s birthdays, her father had led the family up Beacon Hill before breakfast. This year, for the first time, his place at the front of the little procession was empty. Ellen carried the basket, while her younger brother James followed in boots that seemed too heavy for his thin legs. He had been ill during the winter, and even the short walk from the house had left him pale.
When they reached the signpost, Ellen turned away from the hill and took the level path beside the river. James stopped. Their father had never chosen that path. Ellen replied that the hill would be muddy, although both of them could see its dry, bright slope above the trees. James looked at her for a moment, then followed without answering.
At the river meadow, James sank gratefully onto the grass. Ellen opened the basket and took out two currant buns wrapped in their father’s red handkerchief. She spread it between them as carefully as if she were laying a cloth at the head of a table. James smiled and divided the larger bun, giving half to her.
On their way home, the top of Beacon Hill appeared above the hedges. James asked whether they would climb it next year. Ellen said they would, if he were stronger. “Father would have called today cheating,” James said, though there was a half-smile on his face. Ellen thought he might be right. Yet, as they entered the garden together, she wondered whether the old walk had ever truly depended upon reaching the top.
“What gives the birthday walk its meaning is Ellen’s care for her family, not the path they take.”
Evaluate how successfully the writer presents this idea.
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Support your judgement with detailed references to the passage.