The short story “Tin Man” by Judy Budnitz presents the theme of the impact of manipulation can lead to a person losing themselves. In this story, Arnie’s mother needed a new heart to survive and his aunts were manipulating him to give his own. An example of how this theme is present is when Aunt Fran says: “You’ve got muscles all over the place, can’t your spare one?” She looks earnestly into my face. “Can’t you spare a little bit of flesh” (Budnitz 91). This shows how the aunt was being manipulative to a point that did not make sense. Therefore, by minimalizing the heart’s importance to a…