Both ‘The Train from Rhodesia’ and ‘The Tall Woman and her Short Husband’ present divided societies in which the powerful are cruel and exploit the weak and powerless. How far do you agree with this view?

There is sufficient evidence in the two stories to fully agree with this view, however there is also evidence which shows that the weak and powerless can use the rich to their advantage. For example, in ‘The Train…’ it would seem as though the young husband had exploited the vendor by buying the carving at such a cheap price. However, it is possible that the price paid by the man was more than what the vendor expected in the first place. In ‘The Tall Woman’ the odd couple live a very happy life, despite their neighbours constantly making fun of them. This shows that the powerful can be cruel, but they don’t always exploit the powerless.

In ‘The Train’, we can clearly see that the societies are divided. When the train comes towards the station, we are told that it cries ‘I’m coming’ which makes it seem like an interference, something which shouldn’t be there. Also, there is no reply, which indicates that there is a sense of unease amongst the blacks waiting at...