City Of Orphans: An Exploration of Friendship

AVI’s adventurous story, “City Of Orphans” takes place in New York, 1893, which is full of life, crowded, filthy and dangerous. Maks Geles, a 13 year-old-newsboy needs to watch out for the Plug Ugly gang, or they will beat him up and take away all his money. One day, Willa has saved Maks from the gang, and they go on an agreement together for their own advantages. After a while, they are becoming best friends. A lesson that this story willing to tell us is that even if two people are taking benefits from each other to fulfil their own needs, this could lead to a life-long healthy relationship.

While some might argue that probably Maks actually likes Willa at the beginning and then afterwards wants to be her friends and at the same time getting some benefits from her, which is somehow kind of true. However, the consequences of the story is quite wrong. You have to remember that in the part when Willa climbs up on the fence to show where she lives, the author again describes that, “ Maks gets so interested in her climbing that he forgets to escape.” which can indicates that somehow one part of mind still feel scared of her. Now long after that, Makes says thank to Willa for his help and Willa replies back sure, the author shows Maks’s inner thinking, “ Relieved that Willa ain’t gonna hold on to him, Maks heads down the alley trying to act easy.” This illustrates that he feels happy to get out of that place and specifically, from her, he wants to get out there as fast as he could, however, he tries to act as cool as possible not to show that he is afraid of her. At this point, you can see that Maks absolutely really wants to get out from her, it is just when he thinks what if the Plug Uglies are waiting to ambush me when I step onto the street?, “ He can’t help asking himself if she and the stick might be willing to defend him a second time. He starts to say something, but it ain’t easy to ask a girl for help.” In this scene, he needs help from her again, he just feels he needs it, but as long as he is a boy, it seems not too cool to ask a girl for help, that makes him feel bad for himself. And that when he offers her some food if she goes with him again. To cut down his bad feeling, he just realised that according to the newsies rule, he owes her. So giving her food is actually good for both side-for her and for him.

Why does he choose to offer her food? If we look back at the beginning of the story, when Maks realizes that the one who helps him is Willa, the author really focuses on how Maks sees Willa likes, he uses many short and long, descriptive words and sentences to describe her, “ Her hair is dirty, gnarled, and twisted into greasy knots. She’s wearing a faded green shirt, which must have been some lady’s cause bits of lace, like tattered spider’s web, are curled round the collar…”, which reveals obviously that Maks is studying her by her appearance. He could tell that Willa is much worse than him. She is way more desperate, poorer, and even sadder than his family does. Also, he knows later on that the girl lives on the street and at least he has a home. With that, he can say that the girl might need some food. And he uses food to attract her. Also, it makes him feel like he is offering some benefits to her while he is also getting benefits from her as well.

Moreover, at this scene, why does Willa accept the invitation? Did she know that Maks try to take her as a protection by convincing her the food? Of course, she knows it, later on, on the street walking to Maks’s house, Willa asks Maks, “ They( referring to the Plug Ugly Gangs) really make you nervous, don’t they?”. In fact she knows what is happening, she knows the reason, but why does she still go there? The answer is because of business. It is like the trending in the market, I give you oranges, and I give you money. The same thing happens here, if Willa goes with him which makes Maks feels safer, than Maks would give Willa food back in a return.

However, this is just a short business only, Maks actually doesn’t want to be with her that much. Another detail that shows that Maks doesn’t want to be with her that much is when they walk on the street and another newsies walks past by and says, “ Hey, Maks mug, find ya girlfriend from the dump?”, and it says that “Maks isn’t too happy being seen with this dirty girl.” Later on, “ Maks wants nothing more than to get this girl in and out - fast.”. Consequently, Maks doesn’t want to be with her that long. He arrives home safely, and the next thing he promises is to give her food, and their goal afterwards is to get her away again.

It is not until the situation again changes when Ema, Maks’s sister was sent to prison because she was accused of stealing a gold watch. And then everyone is suffering. And that’s when Maks truly wants Willa to stay in his house.

From that day, Maks and his family gives love both mentally and physically to Willa, they give them food, bath, and act like she is one of the member of the family as well. On the other side, Willa tries to think of an idea to help Maks’s sister from the prison, she goes to sell the newspaper instead of Maks and takes care of his younger brothers. They show their loyalty on each other. When Willa is being kidnapped by the gang, he hurried quickly to help her. A moment later on, at the end of the story, Willa decides to give her new family her gold ring which she gets it from her dead mother, to sell it for Agnes, Maks’s another sister who is having wasting disease, for a medication treatment.

Sometimes, people are acting like they are friends, not because they are feeling life real friends, but because of there’s something from the other side of you that could benefit both to let us fulfil our own needs. Although, this can lead to a very happy ending relationship. Who knows. This is the nature of friendship. Things could change at any time. Nothing could tell whether this relationship is good or bad at first sight. No one!!!

By Khantey