short stories: the escape, loose change, the third and final continent, the rain missed my face

Alternativer Bildtext:

Mala the house where he used to live for six weeks they meet old Mrs. Croft, who expresses her admiration for Mala, the relationship between the narrator and Mala becomes more intimate • later, he learns that Mrs. Croft has died and deeply mourns her death • about 30 years later, the narrator still lives in Boston area, he and his wife are American citizens and their son attends Harvard University. • Characters: - narrator • in his thirties in the 1960s (*- 1933) • educated and ambitious • lives in modest circumstances both in London and Boston, but does not complain (e.g. about frugal meal of cornflakes and milk) • finds it hard to adapt to America at first and is quite lonely polite and kind to Mrs. Croft, admires her for her old age and finally grows quite attached to her dutifully complies with the traditions of his home country (arranged marriage, cremation ceremony) • at first rather disturbed by his wife's presence and his responsibilities toward her however, treats Mala with understanding and respect and they grow very close and end up having a loving marriage ● - Mrs. Croft tiny 103 year-old widow, almost fierce-looking, speaks in a loud, commanding voice • raised her children by giving piano lessons after the death of her husband quite fit for her age, although not fully mobile and tends to be forgetful independent-minded although she cannot really care for herself (needs to eat pre-opened soups, for example) • has her fixed routine (always wears the same dress, always sits in the same place, eats the same food) patriotic (proud of American moon landing) • eccentric (rents only to students from MIT or Harvard, insists on the narrator using the word "splendid") old-fashioned ideas about deceny • values narrator's manners and consideration (handing her the rand money instead of simply depositing it on piano), grows attached to him and also approves of Mala . . ● - Mala daughter of a schoolteacher, a good housekeeper and well-educated • 27 years old at time of arranged marriage, not very pretty, has been rejected by several men at first very unhappy and lonely in her marriage to a stranger and a foreign country (clings to traditional clothing, food, etc.) ● • narrator discovers her kind side during visit to Mrs. Croft they grow very close and both adapt to America as their new home • misses her son when he has moved out . - Helen • Mrs. Croft's daughter, 68 years old, short, thick-waisted, silver hair, pink lipstick • looks after her elderly mother regularly. • down-to-earth, pragmatic, not overly emotional about her mother ● topics/themes - gender relations - arranged marriage - sense of belonging - immigration - death - cultural differences Arranged marriage → most important: bond between two families (rather than the relationship between the couple being married) → property / land → aim of securing the social status → secures marriage agreements → divorce is no option: big pressure of society and the two families L low divorce rates → denying the arranged marriage → sign of deep disrespect to the parents • Themes and Interpretation - narrator goes through several stages of alienation and privation (UK, USA) - overarching theme of loneliness (new country, marriage to a stranger) - Mrs. Croft, who is quite lonely herself, helps narrator to overcome these feelings - move to USA especially difficult for Mala speaks only little English, only moves there to follow a husband she hardly knows, loneliness and homesickness. - 30 years later: narrator and Mala's integration has been successful mix of cultures: American citizenship, keeping in touch with their Bengali roots - narrator encourages his son to follow in his footsteps of overcoming challenges, but muses that the next generation might even go one step further and give up Bengali traditions • characters Samir (73) -Sabiya: dead -4 children - Samir siblings explanation of the title: • Plot: • content THE ESCAPE M 73-year-old Samir,a Pakistani immigrant, who arrived in the UK in the 1960s, visits Pakistan, his land of origin, and realises that his real home is now England Samir makes several "escapes", the last two are his trip to Pakistan and from there back again to England - Samir, 73-year-old widower, Pakistani immigrant, tells his family he will visit his homeland Pakistan for a few months. - three days later in Pakistan, he is put up by his brother's family and amicably welcomed - he visits his parent's graves an muses about his wife's recent death as well as his own burial, which he is sure will take place in Manchester - flashback: Samir remembers the days of his arrival in England where he stayed an worked in various places until he finally settled in Manchester and established a successful knitwear manufacturing business - Samir calls at home of a widow his wife supported and promises to continue sponsorship and pay for the education of the widow's daughters - he leaves to visit the Date Darbar in Lahore and prays for his wife's soul as well as for himself - Samir returns to his brother's and informs the family (to their surprise) that he will be flying back to England - on the plane he meets Ibrahim, a man of his age, and both wonder whether their homeland is Pakistan or England - Samir asks Ibrahim to join him in his new home (an old people's home) - he leaves his house to his children, instructs them to continue the support of the widow in Pakistan and moves into an old people's home - Samir feels his escapes are over and he has finally arrived (he calls himself and Ibrahim "the new English babus") Characters: - Samir • 73 years old. • born and raised in Pakistan, immigrated to the UK in the 1960s, based in Manchester area religious Muslim, devoted family man, loves his children and grandchildren has made it from shy, insecure man, who moved from place to place and job to job, to successful business and house owner • feels lost since his wife's recent death • fuelled by his loneliness, he searches for his homeland (and comes to the conclusion that is now England) - Samir's Manchester family • Samir has four children: two sons and two daughters as well as several grandchildren • all seem financially secure and well-integrated • treat Samir with kindness and respect, want to make him feel comfortable • cherish Pakistani traditions, but feel that England is their home cannot believe that Samir wants to go back to Pakistan. - Samir's Lahore familys • receive Samir very hospitably • still Samir feels like a burden and not really at home there • surprised when Samir calls England his home • Themes and Interpretation Samir as a typical example of feeling torn between two homes (wants to escape loneliness in England, but realises that Lahore is no longer his home either) • inner loneliness connected to homelessness though this might not be the real problem Samir has made it in England and has always believed in the country • his children represent second generation of immigrants: cultural ties to Pakistan (partly even more pronounced than in Samir's generation, e. g. beards to show their heritage), but completely at home in England Characters: • Plot: - the narrator - Laylor and her brother HELP ME! LOOSE CHANGE • Content: - The narrator is given a few coins by a young woman, who turns out to be a political refugee. She feels sympathy for the girl, but fails to help her. • explanation of the title: few coins as element which connects the two women, symbolises the narrator's feeling of obligation, but also her final desertion of Laylor - the narrator is short of change and receives coins from a young woman (Laylor) in the lavatory of the National Portrait Gallery in London judging from her accent, Laylor is obviously a foreigner (narrator conjectures she could be a Spanish tourist) - while the narrator is in the lavatory, Laylor leaves to look at pictures in the gallery - the narrator finds her there and together they look at several pictures, their tastes are quite different - the narrator invites Laylor for a cup of tea to giver her back her change in the conversation the narrator learns that Laylor is from Tashkent, Uzbekistan - Laylor's brother comes to the café and they argue in their language - after he has left, the narrator learns that Laylor and her brother had to flee from Tashkent and are sleeping rough on London's streets - the narrator begins to observe details about Laylor's scruffy appearance (dirty fingernails, crumpled collar) she knows deep down that she has the means to put Laylor and her brother up at least for some time - she thinks of how warmly her grandmother, who came from the Caribbean an was also sleeping rough, remembered a stranger helping her however, putting these considerations and memories aside, the narrator simply leaves on the pretext of fetching tissues for Laylor • Characters: - the narrator Londoner, third-generation immigrant (grandmother emigrated from the Caribbean to the UK) • single mother, working at school, middle-class background with comfortable three-bedroom house describes herself as typical Londoner keeps herself to herself, rather distanced to strangers rather out of obligation and responsibility, gives up her unapproachable manner and becomes more open with Laylor . however, sees this change in her behaviour ("this fraternisation") as defeat . when she realises that the homeless girl is in a desperate situation, two conflicting interests would like to be welcoming and helpful (like a stranger once was towards her grandmother), but on the other hand does not want to be involved in Laylor's poverty • finally leaves the girl alone in a rather cowardly fashion Laylor • about 18-year-old refugee from Uzbekistan, daughter of politically prosecuted parents • black hair, wide black eyes, round face, a solid jaw line, speaks with an accent · partly unrefined manners (in the narrator's view): speaks with a loud voice in public, drinks tea despite specks of dust in it, "forces" her story on stranger however, disarming openness only person to help the narrator out with coins (despite her poverty), partly innocent good mood and interest in arts (despite her forlorn situation). desperate and helpless homeless, scruffy outer appearance, fears for her parents - the narrator's grandmother • does not appear in the story in person, but important influence on nartor HELP ME! • came to the UK as an immigrant from the Caribbean looking back, she keeps praising her "Good Samaritan" who put her up when she first arrived • today, however, she passionately opposes immigration, denouncing refugees and asylum seckers as scroungers and troublemakers • both her memories of being a helpless immigrant and her current hostility and xenophobia seem to influence the narrator's attitude •Themes and Interpretation: • narrator influenced by two different sets of values her grandmother's own experience of being dependent on a stranger's help and her self-assessment of being a "true Londoner", who keeps out of and aloof from others' trouble grandmother's own development from dependent immigrant to UK citizen, who is indignant and prejudiced towards refugees • Laylor and her brother because of their sudden hasty flight from Uzbekistan life has changed completely within a week • as soon as Laylor's true status as homeless and poor refugee is revealed, met with suspicion and rejection • Laylor and her brother do not seem to know where they could turn to for help • Plot: Characters: Samir, Youssef, Aquil, Hamza, - Faris THE RAIN MISSED MY FACE AND FELL STRAIGHT TO MY SHOES • Content: displaced persons work illegally in London; the narrator is at a crossroads: he can either go to Paris with his friends or remain in London alone • explanation of the title: symbolises the lack of protection and the difficult living conditions of undocumented immigrants, also small note of hope • Samir, the narrator, sneaks into the cinema where he used to work thanks to the help of his friend Faris and meets his friends Youssef and Hamza there • Samir tells Youssef that his mother fell ill in Cairo and his family wanted to fly her to London to be treated in the NHS to pay for his mother's ticket, Samir stole money from the cinema, was found out and lost his job • mother was treated in London hospital, but died after 17 days •Samir now needs money for his mother to be buried in Cairo . • Samir meets Youssef and his friend Agil, who is from Iraq, in a café • they criticise the British involvement in the Iraq War and the ensuing chaos (vandalism, destruction of cultural monuments) Aqil cannot help Samir ("If I knew where to get money, I would get it!") . while Samir is working in the kitchen of Café Tangier. Aqil offers him to go to Paris with him and Youssef • Samir hesitates: he is afraid of being left alone in London and afraid of going with his friends to unknown Paris open end: Samir does not know what to do Characters: - Samir · Egyptian, undocumented immigrant in London, always anxious, worried, afraid of being arrested because he has no papers no fixed home, no girlfriend, no steady job drinks and smokes hashish influenced by his friends, because he is a rather hesitant character himself • not sure about the direction he wants to give to his life does not want to be a criminal but has to do all kinds of jobs, even illegal ones, just to survive • ashamed of the low jobs he is doing, does not want his family to know, even wishes he were on the run from political persecution to give a sense to his existence, poverty and criminality - Youssef · Egyptian self-assured, not afraid of people, strong personality strong influence on insecure Samir his decision to go to Paris with Agil seems to be decisive for Samir's future (without Youssef, Samir would feel all alone) . - Aqil • Iraqi • short, stocky, wears thick glasses, former weightlifter doctorate degree in physics, left Tragi army and escaped to England • works in video shop, politically interested, follows the news • against European and American involvement in Iraq, strong emotional reaction to destruction of cultural items • sees the downfall of Iraq as a result of the inactivity of his compatriots to fight against European and American influence - Hamza • Somali • can speak neither English nor Arabic well • does not like Samir coming to the cinema, worried about losing his cleaning job •Themes and Interpretation • Samir and his mates are immigrants without proper documentation, living in constant fear of being. detected and deported • due to their illegal status, victims of exploitation, working only in low-skilled, low-wage jobs (nightshift in the Underground, kitchen help, toilet cleaner) • cannot lead normal lives (Samir: "All I want is to live simply.") • desperate situation forces them to break the law (Agil: "I left my country to escape from criminals and I came here, and I became a criminal.") dilemma Samir's mother has a better chance for medical care in the UK, but emotional connections to homeland (burial in Egypt) ..Samir is ashamed to tell his family in Egypt about his demeaning existence • life without any purpose makes Samir depressed (even wishes to be politically persecuted) • fearssoffoonbetesolitude without his friends, who want to leave London for Paris