Analyse af novellen 'The Sampler'

The short story is a story set during the Christmas season; the story's action takes place in a small shop selling Christmas pudding. This story tells the story of an elderly gentleman who apparently cannot afford to buy his own pudding, the man is poorly dressed and does not seem to have an economy that is very good. Because of this, he comes every year and samples tasting the puddings for free. The focal point is when our protagonist offers the older gentleman and buys him a pudding in pure pity, this offends the gentleman and he pulls a winkled wallet out of his pocket in disgust, the man fumbles with a handful of coins which seems to be the last money that he has. The story ends with us being told that the man never came and tasted the puddings again because of the experience that occurred that day.

One of the themes explored in the novel is that, even if he wants to, a single man cannot save the entire globe but that, frequently, doing good deeds is misconstrued for seeking anything in return. “Pardon me sir, will you do me a favour? Let me purchase you one of these puddings. It would give me such pleasure” (p.96, 14-15). The narrator has sympathy for the unfortunate individual. Christmas is approaching, and everyone is out holiday shopping. The elderly man's disheveled look makes it obvious that he cannot afford the Puddings. The narrator thinks that by buying the elderly man a gift, he will be satisfied. This will allow the narrator to feel good about himself for having assisted someone else. This good deed comes with no conditions, with the possible exception of the narrator portraying himself to the other customers in the business as a kind person. Before the narrator even addresses the elderly guy, he is aware that what he is doing is wrong. “…one of those bursts which so often brings pain instead of joy…” (p. 96, ll. 12-13). The elderly man appears so tragic in the midst of the holiday cheer and the wealthy-appearing clients, and the narrator feels somewhat heroic and helps him out. or so he believes. The old man refuses to accept the narrator's gift of a pudding when the narrator requests his permission to purchase one. The elderly man is so humiliated that “the blood rushed into his wrinkled face” (p. 96, l. 17) and he is compelled to purchase the largest and most expensive pudding in the store in order to preserve his honor. “… while he extracted a worn little black pocketbook and began counting shillings and sixpenny pieces onto the counter”. (p. 97, ll. 2-3) The elderly man finds it humiliating to be reminded that he cannot afford the puddings, therefore in order to maintain his dignity, he is compelled to purchase the most expensive pudding. This purchase undoubtedly resulted in a lot of unpleasant hardships in other areas. The shop girl also feels bad for him. “You pay at the desk”, the shop girl was telling him, but he did not seem to understand and kept trying to put the coins into her hand…” (p. 97, ll. 8-9) The shop girl knows the man well because he visits practically every week to sample the puddings, and she is aware that he isn't making a purchase because of his financial situation. Because of her position, all she can do while she watches him make an unaffordable purchase is inform him that he must pay at the desk. The elderly man is also so perplexed and ashamed that his only thoughts are about paying for the pudding and leaving the shop as soon as possible. The shop girl is an illustration of a kind individual who is performing a kind act without expecting anything in return. “Well let him come” (p. 95, l. 12) he says, and she sincerely hopes that other retailers follow her lead. She is aware that the elderly man never purchases anything, and she assumes that he never will. But because she has a wonderful heart, she lets him stay at the store and have fun acting as though he can buy the puddings, as he presumably used to be able to.