Short Story - Man From the South

The short story, Man From the South, written by Roald Dahl is about a short little, old man in a resort in Jamaica who likes to bet a lot. In this story it shows how an American Sailor is lured into his devious plot. While in Jamaica an American Sailor who was there having fun and on a training course sat next to the little man after coming out of a pool, he offered to light the little man's cigar with his lighter, that he claimed "never failed". After hearing this the little man couldn't resist betting against this, offering his car as his bet, if the sailor could light his lighter ten times without failing, if not the sailor owed him his left pinky.  Despite being warned not to proceed the sailor still decided to go through. The little man then lead the sailor and the narrator, (who in this case was acting as a referee) to his room in the hotel/resort, in this room he then requests a chopping knife from the woman attending him. As the little man receives the chopping knife and the sailor starting lighting his lighter, another woman walks in and immediately stops everything and apologizes for everything, while she is demanding the little man to stop she explains how the cars the little man bets are all hers and how he already has claimed 47 fingers and lost 11 of her cars. Just as all this was going on her hand was visible, showing only one thumb and one finger.

I thought this short story was good, it had an interesting plot and develops many new ideas in a quick manner as you read through the text. Throughout the story, we see an innocent, simple old man who, as we continue to read through the text morphs in to an almost, psychotic character who has previously done the same bet over and over - become a somewhat professional at it, claiming the fingers of numerous people. As the story evolves, more clues lead to the idea that the old man had done this before, like the fingers missing on the woman, who I assume was taking care of him and trying to prevent anyone else from his rampage. In the story it shows the swift change in a character who seemed "innocent" and "friendly" into a devious, mad man. The author may have been trying to portray through the text how no one should be judged by their first impression or the feeling they first give you

I would recommend this story for anyone that wants a quick, enjoyable read, especially if you have been a fan of Roald Dahl's other books and short stories.