SHORT STORY 1 :THE UMBRELLA MAN- ROALD DAHL

SHORT STORY 1 :THE UMBRELLA MAN- ROALD DAHL

OUTLINE OF THE ESSAY:

*INTRODUCTION

*ABOUT THE STORY

*VISIT TO THE DENTIST

*THE GENTLEMAN

*SUSPICIOUS MOTHER

*THE EXCHANGE

*THE TRICKSTER

*CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION:  Roald Dahl is a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screen writer. He was a renowned short story teller for children in the 20^th century. Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are some of his best known works. Most of his stories had an unexpected ending.

ABOUT THE STORY:  The story takes place in London. A twelve year old girl is the narrator. Her mother is thirty four years old. The mother and the daughter are befooled by a stranger who is a trickster.

VISIT TO THE DENTIST:  The mother took her daughter to the dentist. The girl had a hole in her back tooth. She got her tooth filled in without being hurt. After visiting the dentist, they go to a café. The girl had a gorgeous banana split and her mother had coffee. As they leave the café, it starts raining. They waited to hire a taxi to get back home.

THE GENTLEMAN:  Many taxis sped past them with passengers. As they were waiting, an old man approached them. He seemed to be around seventy years of age. He was well dressed and appeared to be polite. He spoke to the mother and said that he had forgotten his wallet at home. He wanted to hire a taxi to get back home.

SUSPICIOUS MOTHER:  The mother was very suspicious about strangers. She questioned the man about how he could come there without any money. The man just said he had the habit of taking long walks every day. The mother asked him if he wanted only money. He immediately refused and said that he only wanted her to help him. He said that he had an umbrella for which the mother could offer a pound in exchange. He also added that he could hire a taxi with that pound.

THE EXCHANGE:  Both the mother and the daughter wished to get one such umbrella which the stranger offered for a pound. The girl did not like her mother to take the expensive silk umbrella for only a pound. So, the mother offered to give the old man the money for the taxi fare. But he refused. He gave his umbrella and took the pound in exchange.

THE TRICKSTER:  After taking the pound, the old man walked swiftly across into a building. The mother and daughter were astonished to see that he didn’t hire a taxi. They followed him and found that he entered into a pub. They could see him ordering a drink. The mother guessed that it was a treble whisky which cost a pound. After the drink, he went to the coat rack and grabbed another umbrella.

CONCLUSION:  The author shows that the old man was a person who wished to get his drink at the cost of others belongings. He was in the habit of taking others’ things from the pub and selling them to people like them on the street.  Thus he asked help to get only a pound for his costly drink. But for the mother, though she was suspicious about strangers, she has the heart to help the old man after a while.