Themes and message

Appearances versus reality

The short story “The Good Samaritan” by Charles Ardai explores the theme of appearances versus reality by looking at the two main characters, the detective and Arthur, who turns out to be the killer. 

In Arthur’s case, appearances are deceiving. He looks “like someone’s grandfather” (p. 95, l. 20) and seems “harmless” (p. 95, l. 21). Whenever he approaches his victims, Arthur is kind and makes them feel important. His offer of cigarettes is much appreciated, but his intentions are evil. Arthur proves that he is a man with a distorted sense of perception. He thinks he is doing homeless people a favor by putting them out of their misery: “ ‘They’re so miserable,’ Arthur said. There were tears in his eyes. ‘Out here on the street, in the cold, on drugs, selling their bodies… No one should have to live like that’ ” (p. 97, ll. 9-11).

Appearances are also deceiving in the detective’s case. He initially seems a professional doing his job, but there are several hints that he too might have...