'Penalty Fare' analyse

Paul just got out of a relationship which can be a very tough situation to deal with, this has led to Paul feeling depressed. The easiest way for Paul to deal with this depression is by blaming it on the people around him or by soothing the pain drinking alcohol. These solutions are making him more miserable than before, the negative point of view that Paul has is reflecting back on him giving him a very bad day. When you are having this type of day the smallest problems can lead to great fury which is what he is experiencing, this fury is bringing up his temper and results in him assaulting the inspector. The fury leads to an even worse depression and he ends up tending to alcohol.Paul’s ex-girlfriend Tammy has a very large impact on his life, when the relationship ended Paul was left feeling very lonely and depressed. We never hear of any other people that Paul has contact to except Tammy, the people mentioned in the text seems to be of no interest to him. We are also told that Paul always wanted a brother to compensate for his three sisters and accompany him, which gives us the impression that Paul is indeed very lonely and has always felt that way. The only person that Paul really cares about is Tammy.The songs in the beginning of the story all have a symbolic meaning expressing Paul’s state of mind, when he receives a call from Tammy the radio is playing “Love on the Rocks” which expresses the passion that he feels for her, he immediately turns it up “to make an ironic point” and is also hoping that the next song will be “stand by your man” which would symbolize his wish for Tammy to stand by his side. Instead the next song that is played is “Hello” which hints Paul to be realistic and stop dreaming, he doesn’t take the hint and turns the volume down. “Daniel My Brother” is the last song played in the beginning of the text, this is when Paul mentions how this song always reminds him of his wish for a brother to accompany him, and therefore the song is an expression of Paul’s loneliness as he has always longed for a friend or brother. At the end of the story when Paul has missed his meeting with Tammy and he has reached the bottom of his depression the song “in dreams” is played which is a clear message that the relationship with Tammy is something that he can only dream off.The ending of the story is in no way happy, our main character Paul is left in a state much worse than he set out to be in the beginning. He has lost all hopes of ever getting back together with Tammy which was all he really cared about, and therefore he has nothing left to strive for. One could argue that this means freedom for Paul as now that he has lost everything he is potentially free to do anything, but it is very unlikely that he is capable of moving past the breakup. Losing all hope is to some people considered freedom because when they’ve lost all hope they only see reality and therefore they are not blinded by their dreams and they no longer have to work to achieve them or live with the consequences if they fail, which means they’re free. In this story however reality is too much for Paul, the fact that he cannot be with Tammy is devastating to him so even though he is indeed free to do anything he does not have the power or control to take advantage of this new achieved freedom. We get a clear message that Paul’s future is not looking bright as he ends up stuffed with anger and despair with only the solution to drink away his problems.The story is initially about Paul discovering reality and the impact that it has on him. It’s also about taking control of your life. In the beginning Paul has very little control over his own life and is grasping onto the hopes of getting back together with Tammy. In the end Paul loses that grasp completely and ends up with no control.