"Best Friends" or Not: Analyzing Keith and Stephen Dania Khan 10th Grade

In Spies by Michael Frayn, the description of Keith as Stephen’s ‘best friend’ does not suit him nearly as much as the ‘officer corps in [their] two man army. Keith is very obviously depicted as pushy, bossy, dominant and a bully on some occasions, always needing to be in charge, always needing to ‘have someone to be braver than.’ It is these times when we see just how little of a true friend Keith is to Stephen, and how he acts more like his leader than his equal.

Right at the beginning of the novel in chapter 2, Stephen feels as if he has ‘good fortune in being Keith’s friend’ which shows just how much Stephen is grateful towards Keith, to the point where he is willing to be pushed around and led by him. During Stephen and Keith’s first interaction, Keith’s social standing is much higher than Stephen’s as he lives in a posh, impeccable house, ‘number 2. Chollerton. The Haywards.’ And the boys are ‘socially color coded’ as Stephen goes to a public school while Keith goes to a private school. It is also worth noting that Keith is most likely the way he is due to his home life. Mr. Hayward is depicted as apathetic, formal and it has even been blatantly stated that he abuses Keith.

In the third chapter, as Stephen and Keith are...