Retell the story on the part of 1) Bill, 2) his wife, 3) Biffs dealer.

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 366.

The Filipino and the Drunkard¹

W. Saroyan

This loud-mouthed guy in the brown coat was not really mean², he was drunk. He took a sudden dislike to the small well-dressed Filipino and began to order him around the waiting-room, telling him to get back, not to crowd among the white people. They were wait­ing to get on the boat and cross the bay to Oakland. He was making a commotion in the waiting-room, and while everyone seemed to be in sympathy with the Fili­pino, no one seemed to want to come to his rescue, and the poor boy became very frightened.

He stood among the people, and this drunkard kept pushing up against him and saying: "I told you to get back. Now get back. I fought twenty-four months in France. I'm a real American. I don't want you standing up here among white people."

The boy kept squeezing politely out of the drunkard's way, hurrying through the crowd, not saying anything and trying his best to be as decent as possible. But the drunkard didn't leave him alone. He didn't like the fact that the Filipino was wearing good clothes.

When the big door opened to let everybody to the boat, the young Filipino moved quickly among the people, running from the drunkard. He sat down in a corner, but soon got up and began to look for a more hidden place. At the other end of the boat was the drunkard. He could hear the man swearing. The boy looked for a place to hide, and rushed into the lava­tory. He went into one of the open compartments and bolted the door. The drunkard entered the lavatory and began asking others in the room if they had seen the

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boy. Finally he found the compartment where the boy was standing, and he began swearing and demanding that the boy come out.

"Go away," the boy said.

The drunkard began pounding on the door. "You got to come out some time," he said. "I'll wait here till you do."

"Go away," said the boy. "I've done you nothing."

Behind the door the boy's bitterness grew to rage. He began to tremble, not fearing the man but fearing the rage growing in himself. He brought the knife from his pocket.

"Go away," he said again. "I have a knife. I don't want any trouble."

The drunkard said he was a real American, wounded twice. He wouldn't go away. He was afraid of no dirty little yellow-faced Filipino with a knife.

"I will kill you," said the boy. "I don't want any trouble. Go away. Please, don't make any trouble," he said earnestly.

He threw the door open and tried to rush beyond the man, the knife in his fist, but the drunkard caught him by the sleeve and drew him back. The sleeve of the boy's coat ripped, and the boy turned and thrust the knife into the side of the drunkard, feeling it scrape against the ribbone³. The drunkard shouted and screamed at once, then caught the boy by the throat, and the boy began to thrust the knife into the side of the man many times. When the drunkard could hold him no more and fell to the floor, the boy rushed from the room, the knife still in his hand.

Everyone knew what he had done, yet no one moved. The boy ran to the front of the boat, seeking some place to go, but there was no place to go, and before the of­ficers of the boat arrived he stopped suddenly and be­gan to shout at the people. "I didn't want to hurt him, why didn't you stop him?

Is it right to chase a man Eke a rat? You knew he was drunk. I didn't want to hurt hitti, but he wouldn't let me go. He tore my coat and tried to choke me. I told him I would kill him if he wouldn't go away. It is not my fault. I must go to Oakland to see my brother. He is sick. Do you think I'm looking for trouble when my brother is sick. Why didn't you stop him?"

NOTES:

¹ drunkard — пьяный

² mean — грубый, зловредный
³ribbone — ребро

I

Find in the text English equivalents for the following words and expressions:

невзлюбил, сесть на корабль, казалось все ему сим­патизировали, продолжал толкать его, старался не попадаться ему на пути, не оставлял его в покое, был хорошо одет, искать более укромное место, тебе все равно придется выйти, горечь сменилась яростью, дважды ранен, зажав нож в руке, поймал за рукав, никто не двинулся с места, деваться было некуда, пытался задушить меня, это не моя вина.

II

Give Russian equivalents for the following words and expressions from the text and use them in the sentences of your own:

come to one's rescue, try one's best to do smth, de­mand that smb. do smth, fear smth, make some trouble, hold smb/smth, shout at smb., chase smb., let smb. go, hurt smb.

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HI

Questions on Ню text:

1) How did it happen that the boy and the American
found themselves in the same room?

2) In what condition was the man?

3) What did he begin to do?

4) Did anybody try to save the Filipino when the man
began to tease him?

5) How did the man explain his behaviour?

6) What did the poor boy do?

7) Why did the boy rush into the lavatory?

8) What made the Filipino bring the knife out of his
pocket?

9) He warned the man of the possible trouble, didn't
he?

10) What happened when the boy opened the door?

11) What did the Filipino accuse the people of?

IV

Discuss the following:

1) Give a character sketch of the drunkard. Find in the
text the words and phrases he used to hurt the boy
and to praise himself.

2) Do you think the man would have behaved so if he
hadn't felt the silent support of the people? Do you
agree that silence is sometimes more dangerous than
words?

3) Comment on the words "the boy's bitterness grew
to rage." Why did the boy feel bitterness? Why did
he fear the rage growing in him? ^ч

4) How would you qualify the boy's behaviour if you
were a fair judge? Was the man's death the Filipino's
fault?

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5) What is the main problem raised in the text? Is it
acute nowadays? Does it exist in this country? Give

examples.

6) Where do the roots of the problem of race discrimi­
nation lie? What do you think must be done to elimi­
nate this phenomenon? Why is it dangerous?

V