The role Tammy has in all of this is that she could give his life some meaning, because when she isn’t around he doesn’t do anything, he hasn’t anything to do. Life is meaningless for him without her, so he is trying to show her how much he cares for her, and Christmas is about showing the people close to you that you love them.
The title “Penalty Fare” is an ironic way of telling that sometimes it feels like we are being punished for things we do by accident. Like with Paul, he gets his punishment because he misses his chance to make up with Tammy, and it’s like he is being punished for his irresponsibility from the old times. He says that: “It wasn’t my fault but there’s nothing I can do about it.” He tried to get a new start but he failed, and instead of taking this as a lesson in life, he is in denial, and wont face the reality, which we can see in the ending. He goes out and buys a bottle of vodka, because that’s the easy way to handle his problems. He has given up and takes it as it was his destiny.
In this story is another important theme beside this modern relationship; the role music plays in his life. He identifies himself with it, and he is an alcoholic. He is disgusted with the consumer society. When he talks about the CD’s and the food he says that he get nausea. He doesn’t feel comfortable there and he doesn’t belong there. So the music gives him some kind of comfort, it can understand him, and give him the sence of belonging somewhere. The music is a world of its own somehow, and nobody can take it away from him, so that could be why he connect to music that well.
Everyone has their bad times, and sometimes it all feels bad. So the easy way is to deny it, but that wont make the problem go away, it will be there eventhough you don’t want it to. You have to deal with it, because life goes on, even though you don’t want it to.
Translation
Last year the French scientists did a very interesting find: a seven millions year old skull of a human.
The skull was found in southern Sahara, an area that was fertile and wooded, at that time the owner of the skull was alive.
One has founded six million year old fossils, which show the first signs of human origin, but further back in time you know only a bit about the human’s development.
In despite of that the latest find has many human similar features, should there yet be more finds, so the scientists with certainty can reject the theory about that we are descended from the monkeys.
