Briefly analyse the Characters in ‘The Luncheon’.

The story is typical of short stories in that it deals with just the waiter and two guests. The poor waiter who might be called a minor character tries his way to cater to the guests in expectation of a tip.

The woman is gluttonous and a raven who creates the conflict by representing a financial problem for the poor man. By constantly repeating her ironic expression ‘ I never eat more than one thing ‘ she emphasized the conflict between what she says and what she does. The author- our poor man dislikes the woman and has his sweet revenge when he meets her after 20 years and finds that she weighs twenty-one stone.

The protagonist is a poor man who out of his gentlemanly conduct takes the woman for a luncheon. He gets increasingly nervous as the woman keeps ordering one expensive dish after other. The only positive experience of the author is that the woman speaks highly of his writing and boosts his ego. he is honest and sincere, even during his angry moments. The story depicts the protagonist’s initial child like feelings of flattery and excitement to disgust and anger due to the unfortunate sequence of events caused by the insensitive woman. In the end, the young protagonist learns that he should not be too generous for fear of being taken advantage of.