Eden Robinson and Guy Vanderhaeghe both present stories of young boys faced with life-changing choices in “Traplines” and “The Watcher,” respectively. Charlie tells the superficial story of "The Watcher", while readers get a sense of the deeper story in his thoughts about the dysfunctional house in which he resides. “Traplines” is presented by Will, although readers have some idea of ​​the deep story, the deep story. The narrator uses short, simple sentences, which leaves a lot of room for interpretation of what is actually happening in the story. While on the surface, "Traplines" and "The Watcher" are both coming-of-age stories about a young boy faced with a difficult decision, the narrators each navigate deeper stages of their story in different ways . Charlie and Will are both beyond their years. , Charlie is only 11 years old and Will is just a teenager, and yet they have both been exposed to unconventional situations that have made them grow up very quickly. Charlie has been ill his whole life due to a bad chest inherited from his mother, with no source of entertainment he has resorted to people watching in the family home. His mother falls ill and he is sent to an even more dysfunctional home. Having an outspoken grandmother, Mrs. Bradley, a mentally ill aunt, Evelyn, and her manipulative boyfriend, Thompson, as role models, it's no wonder Charlie isn't the brightest of children. Neither Charlie nor Will have a promising outlook on life. With alcoholism, drug use, and abuse present in his home, Will has no source of mentorship in his family. Will, unlike Charlie, has somewhere to turn; when tensions rise, he can go to the Smythes. The Smythes offer Will a warm, loving place to escape to, completely different from his family home. The surface......in the middle of the paper......tions. Charlie killing Stanley is proof that the surface of "The Watcher" is shown through Charlie's actions, while the deeper meaning is revealed through his thoughts. "Traplines" moves through the surface and deep story in a much more discreet manner, with readers having to interpret the deeper meaning in their own way, which is proven by the open-ended nature of the story without a final decision be taken. The surface, underlying stories of “Traplines” and “The Watcher” are very similar, but the stories move between the ways of reading in a very different way. Works Cited Mitchell, Ken, Thomas Chase and Michael Trussler, eds. ShortFiction's Wascana anthology. Winnipeg: Hignell Printing Limited, 2004. Print. Robinson, Eden. “Traps”. Mitchell, Chase and Trussler. 378-395.Vanderhaeghe, Guy. “The Observer.” Mitchell, Chase and Trussler. 418-443.