As she gets older, Rhoda feels more and more disconnected from the life going on around her. In a way, she comes across as the most distinct individual because her way of looking at the world is so different from the other’s (and, likely, to most readers’). In another way, she has the weakest sense of identity, since she copies the others in order to fit in. Note how she understands herself in reference to the others, however—even as they grow older, the children retain their initial bond.