Children's Literature Chris Van Allsburg's, The Stranger, is the tale of the Bailey family and a mysterious visitor they receive one year during early autumn. It is told from the by an unknown narrator, but this unnamed narrator tells the story from the daughter Katy Bailey's point-of-view. One night the father accidentally hit a stranger in the road and brought him home to recover. Although the stranger never spoke a word the entire time he was with the family, he seemed to be happy during his short stay. This stranger acted in the most strange ways as well, as if he was new to the planet. The stranger also seemed to have an unnatural effect on the plant life surrounding the farm. It was early autumn and other trees had already changed to fall colors, but the trees on the farm did not change from green to orange and yellow as they should have done. This brought about an internal conflict within the stranger as he noticed that the trees on the farm had not changed color and thought that something was wrong. He finally came to realize that he was somehow causing the family's farm to remain unchanged, and that he had to leave the farm for things to return to the natural cycle. The concept of self-sacrifice is introduced to the reader as the stranger must sacrifice his happiness for the sake of the family and their farm. The story climaxes as the stranger appears at breakfast dressed in his old shabby clothes and the family realizes that he is leaving. The day after the stranger left, the trees on the farm suddenly...
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