Moneyman

Manna Leitao is an old man who lives in a little town called Apana, is a very rich man. He lends money to the poor people who have not got enough money at the end of the month. They lend them for two weeks, and pay them back with interests. One day, he falls and breaks his leg. He is too stingy to pay for the hospital, so he goes to the poor peoples ward, were the service is worse but free. His relatives come to visit him, and even though they have travelled a long way, he sends them away, because he thinks, they are only there, because they hope he dies and they can inherit his money. When he gets out of the hospital, the family who found him with the broken leg takes care of him, but he never thanks them, and he starts taking their care for granted and starts being demanding to them. After this experience, he stops living alone and moves in with a family. The father of the family has a printing shop, but he is a drunkard and cannot run the shop properly. He has large debts and the bank almost closes the shop, but the mother takes over and tries to run the shop. She loans a lot of money from Mr Leitao, and it is hard for her to pay him back. He writes her a very rude letter and demands the money back with about 40 % interest. The next time he gets home to the family, one of the sons beats him up and breaks his other leg. This time he also goes to the hospital, but this time no one comes to visit him, and no one will take care of him while his leg is broken. This time he is left alone. (306 words) I have been told that the title of a short story is the key to understanding. The title of this story "Moneyman" already implies what the story is about: A man who cares more about money than he cares about anything else. In the setting we learn that he is a person no one really knows. He walks around alone, and in his world, time stands still. When everyone else gets cars, he still walks. The last thing we learn is something about the society. He lives in a small town called Apana in Uganda, in a society of natives called "Goans". Mr Manna Leitao, or the "Moneyman", is described like this: "Odd-looking indeed he was. He had a large mouldy face and his lips looked sensual." (L.10-11). He is the richest man in Apana and he