This is where William spent his youth. His youth, he says, didn’t need grand events. Even the monotony of his childhood’s days were more impressive than the crimes and passions of his later eras.
He calls himself unusual, in that he remembers vividly even though there is little to remember. The emotions and sensations caused by those tedious daily events have stamped an eternal mark on William’s mind.
The vibrancy of William’s childhood goes beyond the ordinaryvibrancy of childhood memories, because William’s childhoodstands in stark contrast to his adulthood, which we are told is hellishbut is craftily kept a mystery by Poe.William’s energetic character sets him apart from his schoolmates and he finds himself able to dominate the playground,
with the exception of one boy, who coincidentally has the same first and last name as our narrator. Because this original name is so hateful to him, William’s rival will also be known as William
Wilson. This rival rebels from William’s followers and competes with him in everything he does.
William’s identity becomes more confused when we are introducedto this double character who, having the same name as William(though William of course has already explained that WilliamWilson is not his real name) must also be known by the alias WilliamWilson. The levels of remove from the man telling the story aremany at this point, completely blurring the identity of thecharacters. It's as if William not only has a double in the other boy,but is now a double of himself.Outwardly, William treats this rebellion with bravado,
but he is scared of it, fearing that the ease with which his rival equals him signifies the other boy's superiority. Strangely, none of his other friends seem to notice the rivalry. It is almost a private game, and the rival’s efforts mirror William’s so precisely that it seems to be his sole purpose to embarrass him. Sometimes, an affectionate side to the battle can be detected, and William puts this down to a certain protectiveness and almost narcissism of a doppelganger.
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