In Elizabeth Janet Gray's Adam of the Road, Adam rarely falls into the trap of crying and feeling sorry for himself, for he is a minstrel in training, and therefore, he knows that he needs to experience many things, both good and bad, so that he can sing about them for his audience. Let's look at this in more detail.

Adam ends up wandering on his own after being separated from Roger, his minstrel father, and he has plenty of adventures along the way. All that time, he wants to prove himself to be mostly grown up and to keep up his spirits. He is determined to live and learn no matter what happens to him, even though he is by himself and missing his father and his dog, Nick.

Yet after Adam falls off the church wall and is injured, he finds himself in the company of the parish priest, Master Walter, and the priest's sister, Dame Prudence. He is confused and in pain, and when the priest questions him about his father, Adam is annoyed to find that he has tears in his eyes. He has tried so hard not to cry, and now, he can hardly control himself as he explains that he has been looking for his father for three weeks. Adam has at last reached the end of his rope. He is, after all, only eleven years old, and he has been through a lot. It is natural that he would cry, even though he does not want to.