Perspectives

Works with the same themes

There are several ways to put “The Escape” into perspective. One is to relate the short story to similar texts.

In the short story “The Third and Final Continent” (1999) by Jhumpa Lahiri, the narrator tells the story of how he moved from India to London and then to the US, in order to build a better life for himself and his wife. This journey has similarities with the one Samir has taken in “The Escape”. The narrator in “The Third and Final Continent” has spent 30 years in the US and has decided to grow old there. This echoes Samir who has spent 40 years in England and eventually decides to move into an English retirement home.

The short story “Loose Change” by Andrea Levy (2008) features a female narrator ...