“Identities” by W.D Valgardson: a Story of a Wealthy Man

This short story is about a wealthy man who lives in a wealthy neighborhood with his wife and children. He lives in a big house in a good neighborhood. “The houses all face the sun. They have no artificial divisions. There is room for everyone”(3) describes an area that is clean and orderly, the people are also very nice and there is not much worry about robbery or theft. Then, he gets in his grey Mercedes Benz and drives from where he lives into somewhere far away into a bad neighborhood. This area “a certain untidiness creeps in: a fragment of glass, a chocolate bar wrapper, a plastic horse, cracked sidewalks with ridges of stiff grass”(3). the areas change and things change from being clean and neat to dirty and broken. In the beginning of the story “The houses all face the sun. They have no artificial divisions. There is room for everyone”(3). This describes an area that is clean and orderly, and that is a neighborhood for well off people who can afford to keep everything clean. As the character passes out of this area “a certain untidiness creeps in: a fragment of glass, a chocolate bar wrapper, a plastic horse, cracked sidewalks with ridges of stiff grass”(3).

This contrast in the areas shows that the character is leaving the area where he lives and knows and is moving into an area that is less familiar and could pose a threat to him. When the character leaves his neighborhood, he steps out of his comfort area and is vulnerable because the does not know the area. An example of the contrast creating danger is that he is wearing “blue jeans-matching pants and jacket made in Paris”(4) and has an unshaven face . This would make him seem as if he fits in that area, but he is driving a gray Mercedes. These two things conflict with each other and confuse other characters, which is why there is conflict at the end of the story. The cop feels uneasy because the man looks like a stereotypical thief, yet he actually owns the car.