The fictional life and death of a twelve-year-old boy named Robert are vividly articulated in this moving tale by Thomas Wolfe. The reader learns about the boy's life through four well-developed points of view. The reader's first glimpse of Robert's character is expressed through third-person narration. This section takes place on a particularly important afternoon in the boy's life. The second and third visions are memories of the child, through the eyes of his mother and sister. His mother paints a picture of an extraordinary child who she loved dearly, and his sister illustrates the love the boy had for others. Finally, an account from the narrator is given in the ending. It is in the last section of this work that the narrator attempts to regain his memories of his lost brother. In the first section of the story, Robert's character is given a solid foundation. The boy is described as having a "gentle face, perhaps too calm and attentive for his age" (2001). He is a wise guy who pays particular attention to details. The reader soon discovers that the boy is budget-conscious and particularly hard on himself regarding the matter. This is made evident in the candy store scene with Mr. Crocker. After trying several times to convince himself to give up business with the "stingy" candy shop owner, the child in him wins. It is at this point that the boy offers some stamps, earned by running errands for the local pharmacist, in exchange for his candy. The boy pays the employee three times more than he should. Robert respectfully asks the man to return the three stamps. Mr. Crocker insinuates that the boy must have stolen the stamps and lets the boy know that he doesn't like that kind of trade, a... medium of paper... how can one establish a better understanding of the theme, the writing styles and technique. Although “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is a full novel and “The Lost Boy” is a short story, the writings are comparable in terms of writing structure and key characters. You can also associate the characteristics of Wolfe's story with those of “Daisy Miller”. These stories are similar in their theme of lost life and also different in many ways. Harry, the main character in Hemingway's “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” led a very different life from that of the young Robert, but the writings bore many similarities. The four stories depict humanity through the life stories of their developing characters. By comparing and contrasting literary works written by Wolfe, James, Hemingway, and Twain the student develops an appreciation for the literary community.