Merry-Go-Round: Critical Analysis McAvley's purpose in "Merry-Go-Round" is to show the innocent beliefs of children viewed by a cynical adult. It portrays children caught up in the magical, surreal world of childhood before thrown into reality and the discordant life of adulthood. He employs specific stylistic devices such as imagery and diction, structure and tone to reveal this theme by discussing the appearance of the merry-go-round through the logical, educated eyes of an adult. The tone is one of excitement before it shifts to a detached cynicism as the adult appears to almost become immersed in the merry-go-round before bein