tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6741841501429118808.post5940234639673910505..comments2023-05-26T05:15:08.250-04:00Comments on Shark's Short Story Reviews: The Outstation - W. Somerset MaughamSharkbytes (TM)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08379841586422814410noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6741841501429118808.post-76600356187418662562012-07-10T00:41:57.085-04:002012-07-10T00:41:57.085-04:00I see this as a story of irony. Both characters a...I see this as a story of irony. Both characters are not part of the "in" crowd. Mr. Warburton is jeered by the higher levels of society by being a snob, which was a snobbish thing in itself to do. He was tolerated, as he was useful to lose at cards, make small loans, and was always properly thankful to be allowed to operate on the fringes.<br /><br />Cooper had everything against him, not being from England, attending a respected private school, and not even a dignified rank during WWI. However, instead of trying to ingratiate himself with the inner circle, he relished the part of the outsider.<br /><br />So the conflicts came when Warburton and Cooper had diametrically opposed philosophies about the fate they shared due to being "on the outside looking in."<br /><br />This struck me as a truth I see today when I see Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street react differently to being the political "have nots" in this country, and they end up taking on each other instead of confronting the people responsible for the frustration they share.<br /><br />In the end, Cooper and Warburton end up making each other miserable, since Cooper's personality is to push away those who push him away, while Warburton is drawn to those who would keep him at arm's length. Both disapprove of the other's mechanisms to handle rejection, and they remind each other daily that this rejection is felt, even though the both put on a brave front for themselves, if not for each other.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com