Themes

Two themes prevail in the short story “The Sampler” by Ira Victor Morris: generosity and the misinterpretation of kind gestures.

Generosity

This theme is illustrated by both the shop girl and the narrator. When she talks about the old man who usually samples puddings in the store, the shop girl comes across as kind but also generous. She has no problem in letting the old man sample the pudding varieties, and she even hopes that other shops offer him the same opportunity: “And what’s more, I hope there are a lot more stores where he can go and get his share as well. He looks as if he needed it all right, poor fellow, and I guess they can afford it” (p. 95, ll . 13-15).

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Misinterpretations

When the narrator sees the poor old man, his first reaction is a “sudden burst of benevolence” (p. 96, l. 13); because he wants to help the old man and give him the chance to enjoy a pudding at home, the narrator draws too much attention to himself and to the old man, ...

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