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Loose Change

Satisfactory Essays

Loose Change
The short story is a about a woman who lives in London or a ”Londoner” as she calls it. One day her period comes early as she is walking into the National Portrait Gallery to get warm. She doesn’t have any change for the tampon machine so she asks in the bathroom if anyone has got some change she could borrow. One girl responds. The girl and her brother fled from Uzbekistan, she is now homeless and all of her money can be kept in one pocket. The woman decides to take her out for a cup of tea out of gratefulness for the change she borrowed from her. The girl tells the woman about why she is now in England and how she and her brother are now sleeping on the streets of London every night. At one point the girl starts crying. The …show more content…

In this last part of the text the woman shows a great lack of compassion and is almost at the edge of cold hearted.
I see this short story as a critique towards the British- or maybe even wealthy first world culture. This poor, good-hearted girl comes to a new country in the hope of a fresh start, but gets rejected by society. The woman in the story is made to look like the British stereotype. She is shallow, minds her own business and she is mainly focused on herself and her own problems. The girl and the woman are basically opposites. When the girl steps into the woman’s life, the woman is curious but when she hears the girl’s story she gets uncomfortable and leaves. I think this story is a critique towards countries, like England, where society is not exactly welcoming to foreigners or immigrants.
The bible says to love thy neighbour as yourself and I think that this is what this story is about. In The Bible there is a story about a man who was robbed and beaten, left to die on the street. A priest comes by but ignores him and keeps walking even though it is against is faith. Later a Levite walks by and like the priest he ignores him as well. Then a third person walks by and sees the wounded man, he bound his wounds, fed him, gave him money, got him a place to sleep and took care of him. This is a true act of kindness and compassion which is everything the woman

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