I believe the question is related to the story about "Rodney."
Rodney's weakness in the story was his "<em>height"</em>because he was <u><em>shorter than the other boys. </em></u>This was the reason why he couldn't keep up with the other kids when it comes to sports and other games. This is being told as a <em>"backstory." </em>This event is mentioned in order to provide a background on another event that is going to happen.