As all three stories are short stories, they fulfil to the short story genre. They all face adversity, as I said before. In the poor relations tale, Michael is shown as a very quiet man that appears to be run over wherever he goes. People seem to take advantage of him, and he is too weak to become a strong business man. He himself says, “I failed in my expectations from my uncle Chill, on account of not being as sharp as he could have wished in worldly matters’’, Although Michael puts up a front saying he wants to be solitary, he is ecstatic when he finds his wife, and says family occasions are a party for him! It appears that at the start we are informed of his sad life, but in the middle he starts telling us of how his life suddenly turns exceedingly good! Everything appears to go up and he gets married, has kids, grandkids and appears to be happier then ever…. And when the readers are deeply into the story, comes the twist and we find out it is all a dream t. In twenty six men and a girl, the prison like environment, and the constant abide of living underground pays its toll. They don’t ever go out, and unlike Michael, they admit their wretched environment. They say that they live a miserable existence Like Michael however, they need to escape from the hell, but in a mental way. They decide to idolise the pretty 17 year old girl who comes to collect the pretzels everyday. They say, ‘‘Like all human beings, we were unable to live without worshipping at least something. Until comes a soldier, Who dared to take her from them” It came clear to the men their idol may fall… In the unexpected the main enemy of Dorothea, is the role of women at the time of her life. When she meets the ‘man of her dreams’ she can’t wait to get married. She calls him very handsome in her own way when she describes the painting of him... Until he comes back ill and is completely different. Then she decides to do something you’d never expect.
The main character in Dickens’ story is quite a weird one. He appears to be have withdrawed from the rest of society, but we are not told much of Michaels looks, just his behaviour… However he appears to think everyones his friend, “I am no ones enemy but my own … They seem to have nothing to do in their poor miserable lives, but worship Tanya. We are also not told much about the twenty six men, but we are informed of their pale and miserable lives, and their poor state. In the unexpected, Dorothea appears to be very down to earth. She is very traditional at first, being as any lover would, but when her lover returns she appears to be a completely different woman. We are told she is loved very much by Randall. When she is put under pressure by the transformation of Randall she can’t escape reality like the others.
Michael himself thinks himself as a quite successful well-dressed man, whereas the rest of the audience and family seem to think of him a reject from society. We are let into Michael’s thoughts and dreams in his story, so we can make up our own mind of what he is. Gorky uses a third person style as an insight into one of the bakers’ thoughts and views, but it also lets us know everything that is happening in the plot. In the unexpected we are let in very deeply to Dorotheas thought process. We can perceive the horror of when her husband comes back all thin and ill, and imagining having to marry him, so we can understand her final decision.
The poor relations story is set in post-industrial Britain. It shows the middle class family of Michael, but his rich uncle. His uncle wants Michael to be a very good business man- who Michael cannot be. Without any business Michael is forced to live a very poor life. He decides he does not need money but looks for the friends and family he desperately wants… In Twenty-six men and a girl the scene is set in a pre industrial Russia. The poor people in Russia, however, live like in the worst conditions possible. The working class were treated like slaves, and that’s why they were pushed to the limits of worshiping Tanya, to feel like they were normal. At the time of the unexpected, women were supposed to be very supportive to men, and to get married to them. It appears however quite hard to choose between love and money… especially for Dorothea. At the time it was almost impossible to call of a marriage, no mater what, as women were almost essential to men. She however decides to almost break the mould
Michael appears to get everything good in his life taken from him. He loses his wife to his partner in business, he loses his uncles love, and he loses his job… But he still rebels… by imagining his life is as good as possible. He wants to get away from his problems, and no matter what happens to him he’ll always fall into his dream world. I believe it’s OK unless he realises that his life has been wasted, and his illusion is shattered. I think he wishes he could be ‘normal’. He appears sad that his beloved Michael might turn out like himself. The twenty six men delude themselves and their disappointing lives by idolising Tanya… they seem to try and give all their love and devote their lives to her, giving them a reason to live at all. Their fragile and fake relationship with her makes them blind to see the truth, and when they test her- and she fails, it appears they can’t cope. They all blame her and lose their only aim in life- So there temporary rebellion was shattered, leaving them worse of then before. Dorothea appears to lead the strongest rebellion, as hers is a physical one. She appears to realise her love was skin deep, and when the skin is removed… Even money can’t win her. She won’t marry him for the money so she cuts off the relationship- but who knows what percussions this may have, however at least she may have avoided unhappiness, and successfully rebelled to complete her aim.
