Structure

The short story “The Royal Flush” by Lori Pollock is structured around the experience of a Western girl as a volunteer in Bangladesh. The story revolves around the conflict between different cultures and the way the protagonist, Lindsey, perceives this. 

The narrative loosely follows the elements of a traditional plot, but the accent is on cultural differences. As a result, the setting and the use of contrasts are most important narrative elements.

Title

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Beginning

The short story begins in media res (in the middle of events), in the middle of a dialogue between some of the characters:

‘Your chicken. It’s locally sourced?’
The server seemed to consider Lindsey’s question before leaning in. ‘It’s a Chantecler.’ (ll. 1-2)

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Middle

The middle of the short story focuses on Lindsey’s life and activities as a volunteer in Dhaka. The rising action is marked by tension points created by the conflict between Lindsey’s expectations about the project and the reality she experiences. First, she discovers that she needs to take a rickshaw to the project site, which is against her principles: “ ‘Rickshaw? I’m not comfortable with… with another human being pulling me like an animal – ’ ” (ll. 42-43)

Then, Lindsey’s expectations about her job are contradicted when she finds out that she will have to install eco-toilets:

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Ending

In the falling action, Lindsey expresses her disappointment about the failure of the party to her teaching assistant, J.P.:

“‘I don’t understand. Why didn’t they come to my party? They seemed interested, excited even, but then no one showed up.’  ”
J.P. kept his eyes on the ground. ‘Tough to say, and you might not know the whole story. Different customs – ’ (ll. 160-163)

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