Fluke: IGCSE Short Story by Dinzei Maureen

 

Fluke By Gunsekera

Plot summary

The story begins with a description of Mr Weerakoon, a smartly dressed businessman with a “modern” computer case. He has an air of confidence and energy as he climbs into the back of a taxi. The narrator, Vasantha, the taxi driver, listens to Mr Weerakoon talk about his work. He is on his way to an important marketing meeting. 

At the conference venue, Mr Weerakoon asks Vasantha to bring his bags to a meeting room signposted “Marketing: The Secret of Success”. The meeting room has a view of a “pool”, “coconut trees”, and the “sea”. But Mr Weerakoon has trouble with the overhead projector. Although Vasantha is not a “computer man”, he thinks he can help. He explains that the human body has a “magnetism”, and that machines “respond to their touch”. It works, and Mr Weerakoon suggests the taxi driver stay to get a few tips on marketing. 

As Vasantha listens to Mr Weerakoon discuss “stuff about bell curves and market segmentation”, he decides it all seems over-complicated “hot air”. He remembers how simple it was to set up his small transport business once he retired at 55. 

At lunchtime Mr Weerakoon invites Vasantha for lunch on the “terrace”. There, Vasantha strikes up a conversation with a man who used to fight in the Sri Lankan civil war. The man, Lucky, tells Vasantha about his new venture using disused naval ships to take tourists whale-watching and gambling. When he starts to talk about politics, Vasantha excuses himself to get dessert. Mr Weerakoon stops him: he has lost his phone, a “Brand-new Nokia”. Vasantha is certain it is in the taxi, so he goes to look for it.

He finds the phone but, before he takes it back, he opens it with a pin number he says most people use. He decides to go on the terrace to close his eyes. There he contemplates the way the sea air can make one forget their troubles. He wants to tell Mr Weerakoon that marketing is easy, but the most important thing to know is how to deal with a small mistake, such as not having a secure phone. The ambiguous ending implies that “common sense” and peace of mind is the best way to achieve success.

Themes in the Short Story 

1. Individual identity  

Contrasting characters emphasise key differences between the lifestyles of Vasantha and the people he meets:

Mr Weerakoon is a “modern” entrepreneur who is “flustered” and preoccupied with his laptop and phone

Vasantha has a modest but successful business with no need for marketing or complex technology

He does “what I love”

Gunsekera implies modern versions of success create emotional turmoil and complications:

Mr Weerakoon is reckless with important information and becomes distressed at every small hurdle 

The man, Lucky, who “might have been a naval commander”, is “troubled” after his involvement in the war.

2.The natural world 

The story contrasts an over-complicated modern life with a traditional, peaceful life watching the “sea” “under the trees”

Vasantha thinks about the whales and how separated they are from human plans, and he refers to Japanese whaling:

The title of the story has a double meaning: it can refer to luck, and the shape of whales’ fins Gunesekera raises modern concerns about the natural world:

Vasantha’s passengers worry about climate change and tell him their “eco-preferences”

Gunesekera highlights changes in Sri Lanka through contrasts between nature and the built environment:

Through the conference centre window you could “just about glimpse the sea”

There is a meeting room full of “hot air” and a “terrace” with a “soothing” sea breeze

3. Reality and illusion    

The story presents the illusion of confidence through Mr Weerakoom who speaks “loudly” and is “bursting with energy”

But Guneskera reveals how insecure and foolish he is:

He loses his “Brand-new” phone which he says is a “Big, big disaster” and he cannot fix the projector

He carries a “pretend leather” briefcase 

In contrast, Vasantha is a small business owner who is insightful and unassuming:

He cares nothing for “rank” Ironically 

Vasantha ends the story with the upper hand 

The Writer's Technique

First-person narrator 

Using a first-person narrator, Gunesekera presents the perspective of an elderly taxi driver to show alternative attitudes to modern life:

Vasantha is humble and polite to his passengers

But his monologue reveals strong opinions:

He does not “give a toss about social standing or net worth”

He is also witty:

He describes Lucky as “the navy's latest secret weapon for commercial supremacy” “settled on a lounger”

Guneskera is able to raise themes about tradition and modernity by showing the thoughts of a retired man, Vasantha:

He sees himself as disconnected from the “brand-new face of our remodelled country”

Symbolism 

To explore themes about the natural world, Gunesekera uses natural imagery to symbolise peace:

Outside, the sea breeze is “making music with the trees”

Sibilance draws attention to nature as timeless and slow-paced:

The “sea keep[s] the same soft time”

Vasantha lets the sea air help him to “sleep like old people whose memories have finally receded and left them in peace”

This is juxtaposed with the modern, technological world where the men are “half-throttled by their plump polyester ties”:

The laptop case symbolises the constancy of work in a modern world and represents Mr Weerakoon’s reliance on technology

Mr Weerakoon repeatedly “patted the bag as if it were a pet”

Phones are “nursing secrets, aching to spill the beans”: the personification presents them as threatening

Gunesekera contrasts a humble life with the desire for wealth with the use of traditional and modern symbols:

Vasantha uses his “good chi” to solve technological issues, which implies a spiritual nature can make life easier

In response, Mr Weerakoon refers to expensive brands when he asks Vasantha to get his “Gucci” flowing.