A STORY

Dylan Thomas

Characters:

• Uncle Thomas
• Aunt Sarah
• Mr. Benjamin Franklyn
• Will Sentry
• O' Jones
• Mr. Weazley
• (There are 30 Characters excluding Mrs. Sarah and a Narrator)

(Travelling to: Porthcawl)

This story told by a boy presents the adult world as understood by a young boy. The story is the story of his uncle –Uncle Thomas – who means to go outing to Porthcawl, but never made it there. In the first part of the story, the boy describes his uncle and aunt using metaphors and similes. The uncle was big and noisy whereas his wife was small and quiet who used to move on padded paws. The boy compares his uncle with a buffalo and a dismantle ship. He compared his aunt with her cat because of her quick and quiet movement and with a mouse because of her nibbling habit and tiny tone.

Every Saturday night after heated arguments, the aunt used to hit the uncle on the head after the uncle lifted her on to a chair. The boy also describes uncle’s few friends in the story. Mr. Benjamin Franklyn collected the money for the outing and bought 20 cases of light wine. Will Sentry kept a strict vigil on Benjamin by following him everywhere in order to guard the money. One Sunday evening Benjamin and Will Sentry came to uncle with a list of persons who had paid for the outing for his approval. After their departure, the aunt asked the uncle to choose either her or the outing. The uncle however chose the outing at which she became furious at breakfast.

On Saturday morning breakfast time the boy's uncle saw his wife's familiar note that she wrote every year. Finally the boy describes that the uncle and his friends made a trip to Porthcawl for the outing. Uncle Thomas wanted to take the boy with him. He knew he would be opposed to by his friends for having taken his nephew but he nevertheless takes him along. The boy stopped outside and they objected to his uncle as presumed. The boy's share of money wasn't deposited. They forgot the boy when they talked about others. The charabanc had hardly moved out of the village on the beautiful August morning when they had to return to take on Old O' Jones, a regular outing-goer. After Jones got on, Mr. Weazley wanted to go home to take his (false) teeth, but his friends didn't see its necessity.

On the way to the Porthcawl they stopped at every public house (Bar) and drank alcohol leaving the boy outside as children were not allowed into the bars. The charabanc finally came to a river where they had a merry time. They didn’t actually arrive at Porthcawl. It was dusk and all the thirty members of the outing were wet and drunk. They were oblivious (not aware) to what was happening around them. They cared little about reaching Porthcawl. In fact Will Sentry said "Who goes there?" to a wild duck flying. They, eventually, stop at Hermit's Nest for rum to keep out the cold. A drunken talk goes on between Enoch Davies and a stranger.

On the way home there was moonlight. Old O. Jones began to cook his supper on a primus stove in the middle of the charabanc, but Mr. Weazley, ever so much the prime instigator (bring about or initiate) stopped the bus on the excuse that he was dying of breath. All climbed down to the moonlit field carrying out the remaining cases of ale, the primus stove of Old Jones. They sat down in the field and drank and sang while Old O. Jones cooked sausage and mash. The boy began to sleep against his uncle's large waistcoat. Will Sentry exclaimed, "Who goes there?" to the passing moon.

The writer in the story is also able to create humor by describing the uncle, aunt, uncle’s friends and their behavior. However, the writer points out towards the bitter aspect connected with human behavior and habit of drinking alcohol. Alcoholic drink may change people’s behavior making them selfish, cruel and indifferent towards others suffering. Alcohol brings the nice atmosphere of uncle’s family on the verge of breakfast. Uncle and his friends also exhibited cruelty towards the small boy after drinking alcohol as they were totally careless about him during the entire trip.

Q. Describe the narrator’s uncle and his Aunt. 

Ans: The description of Uncle Thomas and Aunt Sarah is quite humorous. The narrator, who is a small boy, has used child imagery to describe them. He has used different similes and metaphors and hints that the couple is unmatched. The Uncle is so huge that the whole room becomes smaller when he comes inside it. He looks like a buffalo squeezed into an airy cupboard. He is very noisy and his voice is compared with the trumpet of an elephant. He doesn't seem well mannered and when he eats, litters his waistcoat which is as big as a meadow for the boy.

But quite opposite to the husband Mrs. Sarah, the boy’s aunt, is quite small. She hardly makes her presence felt wherever she goes. Unlike her husband, she is soft spoken, which the boy tells is like the squeaking of a mouse. She is also a perfectionist and most of her time goes in arranging and dusting the things in her house. Above all she is a caring wife too. We see when she leaves for her mother’s house in anger she doesn't forget to remind Mr. Thomas about food.

The description of Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Sarah might appear unmatched from a small boy’s perspective, but the caring attitude of wife towards the husband and willingness of the husband to get the punishment from the wife also suggest that there is a good understanding between them.