This is the result of your preferences from the survey carried out in class last week, short articles instead of the complete book. Most of you have found rather difficult to understand the first twenty pages, and have looked up a lot of words in the dictionary; for that reason we''ll stick to the original idea,that is, reading short stories.
So our next story is "The Force of Circumstance" by Somerset Maugham. Below you have the text, but I have omitted the end since I didn't like the writer's much.
How would you end it differently?
Write your own ending for this story (150-200 words).We'll have an oral discussion about it on Friday 26th.
The text
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THE FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCE (Yolanda MartÃn)
From the deck of the coasting steamer she could see that last sunrise, where the exuberant nature of that country was saying her goodbye.
She never thought that fate had prepared her that moment; from the depth of her broken heart she couldn’t believe it yet. It was hard to be aware of the terrible mistake she’d made when she got married.
How it was possible to live with a woman for ten years and, in a particular moment, a man decides to send her back because she wasn’t white?
How it was possible not to be able of love your own sons and daughter?
It was clear I didn’t know Guy well, she thought.
While steamer went away she wondered if they had been married too soon; she didn’t know anything about Guy before although she also remembered her strong feelings when they met each other; but now it was taking place the beginning of a new time for her.
She knew it would be difficult to start again, but she got new illusions, she would see her mom soon and, have new experience because now she had began a travel, a long journey to her own destination.
One day, five years later, while she was working in the parliament, she received a letter from Singapore.
It was from a law firm. Suddenly her heart began to beat inside her chest, she had managed to forget the time spent there, and now everything was returning unexpectedly.
What had happened?
Slowly, she opened the envelope and began to read, in that moment she felt a mixture of feelings among bitterness, sadness and tranquillity.
Bitterness because of her memories of the time lived in Sembulu.
Sadness because of her husband had died: Malaria was the diagnosis.
Tranquillity because now she was a widow, so now she could marry the man she was in love.
She returned to England thinking in the last six months she had passed with Guy and asked herself how she could stop with their relationship. Guy started to think about the possibility to begin a life in common with the native girl and their children. However, when some months had passed he felt that he stayed with her because they had three kids. He thought that it was unfair. He wasn’t fall in love with the native girl.
So, he decided to leave Malay and go to England to get a second chance with Doris. He was ready to leave his life in this exotic country to stay with his true love. But reality was different. Doris had made her life with a rich old man, called Adam. When Guy knew the truth about the Doris’ new life, he decided to go back to Malay and tried to be a good husband and a perfect father.
When he returned to Malay, he knew the hard true. The native woman had begun a relationship with a foreign person who had just installed 3 days ago. “Women are the most dangerous specie on Earth”, he thought.
Meanwhile, in England, Doris’ life turned over when she knew how Adam, her new rich husband, had a secret life without her. Suddenly, she discovered the real Adam’s wife and their 3 children too in their house. Story repeated. “Women are the only specie who make the same mistake over and over”, he thought.
THE FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCE(my end of the story)
The boat was moving away silently. There was river waves’ murmuring only audible. Sembulu didn´t have any force to say good bye to Doris, because she gave her marriage future up.
She was going home to England. She was destroyed. Her jolly little man wasn´t able to make her smiling anymore. Maybe Guy´s “charm” infant carelessness made her fell in love with him before nine months, but now it made her go away. At the beginning she thought he was too open to tell her quickly “all” about himself. But he forgot some very important details, his Malay woman and three small children who needed his love and care. He didn´t think about them when decided to marry Doris, because he didn´t consider them as a part of his life.
Now it was impossible for the young white woman to close her eyes and forget about them. How brave was the native woman. Her dramatic scene with the baby on her arms was her wrestling with men´s discriminative attitude and the way to give back the father of her children.
Guy was feeling completely lost without Doris. He needed her self-confidence, her sense of order, and her sense of life. But as he wasn´t completely sincere with her, she went away.
Three months later Doris was notified by a notary from Singapore, her husband was dead. His lifeless body was found floating in the river. Guy couldn´t get through his difficult situation but drowning his pain in alcohol.
Elizabeth
Everything seemed to work properly. Doris had to leave her current husband forever and she wouldn´t see him nevermore. She began to feel guilty and she could even regret to leave Sembulu. She exhalted a very profound sigh and now she changed her mind once more.
-No no, definitely! I must leave this place right away!
Nonetheless, there was someone else, gazing steadily and ready to proceed. He was a black-skinned, bad tempered and frowning man. He was waiting for the right time and suddenly he spitted:
-Stupid man, Guy! How you dare! How couldn´t you realize those were not your children!
-Who the hell are you?
-I´m Abdul! I´m their real father! Can you remember me? You don´t know my wife at all, Guy! She´s always teased you!
Everyone were surprised over there, nobody could understand anything. All of a sudden, Abdul took out his shotgun and shot the boat.
-Doris, you´ve got something that belongs to me!
All the native guards were approaching Abdul with their arms when finally, lots of armed black men appeared among the trees, ready for the shooting.
Doris wasn´t wrong at all, she must leave that place as soon as possible!
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