The reason the boys are upset at the idea of the girls getting the water is because by getting the water they get to skip some of class. However, the main reason is because by getting picked to get the water they show that they have a purpose, that they are big and strong. Basically, they get to show their dominance. If the girls get to participate their entire dynamic of being strong is compromised.
Some of the strategies the boys use to get them to stop is to bully them and harass them in mean and harsh ways like inking their hair or trapping them in the outhouse. The girls react by being there for each other and by comforting each other so that they all don’t break and give up.
The point of view of the story is told by one of the female students in the class/school. The student considers Miss. Ralston a very nice and considerate person while still staying strong and strict when she needs to. She thinks of the conflict over the water as something the girls and boys should share not something only the boys can do so she supports the girls cause.
The setting in the story is most likely a third world country. The evidence for this is that water is very precious for them and they must go far to get it. Also, the classroom isn’t the best with it having a stove in it and with the school having an outhouse and not a bathroom. Also Miss. Ralston went to 11 grade which is considered very special. This intensifies the conflict since if water is so precious it means whoever gets to get it for the class is very important. The conflict I would say is Character vs Characters since the boys fight with the girls over the water a lot throughout the story.
The main Protagonist is Alma Niles in the story because she is the one who has the most direct conflict with the antagonists in the story and she is the one who changes things for the better.
The way everything changed on that Friday is that it started to make things around the school more gender equal. The significance of Miss. Ralston’s action is that it shows that girls can do what boys can do and better too. The message or theme the author explored throughout the story is gender equality and how both girls and boys are equal.