The story of Appointment at Samarra is narrated by an unnamed omniscient narrator who tells the story intermittently from the points of view of several key characters. These characters include Luther Fliegler, Irma Fliegler, Julian English, Al Grecco, Dr. English, Caroline English, Mrs. Walker, Mr. Harley, Alice Cartwright, Harry Reilly, Mary Manners, and Ross Campbell. The story is set in the fictional town of Gibbsville, Pennsylvania, in 1930. The town comes under the anthracite coal mining region and is a stronghold of union labor politics. Race, religion, and wealth play a dominant role in the position of a person in the social hierarchy of the town. The major themes of the novel are the failure of love and marriage, loneliness, and the struggle between fate and free will.
The title of the novel refers to a retelling of an old Mesopotamian tale by British author W. Somerset Maugham, in which a man is faced with the inevitability of his upcoming death. Somerset’s short story was published in 1933.
Characters of Appointment at Samarra:
Julian English is the main character of the novel, also known as Ju. He is a college-educated 30-year-old married man who owns an established Cadillac dealership in Gibbsville. He used to be a reputed member of the community Lantenego Street Club; however, he is an alcoholic. Caroline English is Ju’s wife. She is a beautiful woman who is forced to live with Julian who continues to disrespect her and himself. She wishes to leave Ju and lead a better life but her mother insists that she must maintain her marriage vows. William English is Ju’s father. Harry Reilley is an Irish Catholic socialite and a major investor in Ju’s business who has bailed him out many times in difficult situations. Harry is interested in Caroline and Ju fears that Caroline will leave him for Harry and this creates a sense of animosity in him against Harry. Ed Charney is the local mob boss of Gibbsville. He is a dangerous strong man who buys cars from Julian's business and recommends Julian's dealership to other car buyers. Helen is the mistress of Ed Charney. Helen is an overly flirtatious beautiful woman. Ed Charney is insecure about her and appoints Al Greco to watch Helene at the Stagecoach to ensure she does not leave with another man. Greco is an affiliate lower-level mob of Ed Charney. Froggy Ogden is a wounded war veteran who is a cousin of Caroline. Ju believes that Froggy is his friend however, Froggy admits to Caroline that he never liked Julian and wishes Caroline had never married him. Lute Flieger is an employee of Julian and Irma is Lute’s wife.
Summary of Appointment at Samarra:
The story begins on Christmas Eve when Lute Flieger and Irma discuss the married life of Julian and Caroline. Irma says that she is not envious of Caroline but she is worried about her constant fights with Julian. Later on, they all meet at Lantenego Street Ckub where all those who live on Lantenego Street are having a party. At the party, Harry Reilley is stealing the limelight with his jokes, stories, and charms. Ju feels that Caroline is attracted to Harry and he gets drunk. He is resentful of Harry and wishes to throw a drink at his face to humiliate him. However, Harry is a major investor in his business and his business is not doing too well. Harry believes that he is a reputed member of the club but most of the other members are irritated by his rash behavior under the effect of alcohol. Julian throws a drink at Harry’s face. A big piece of ice from the drink hits Harry in the eye.
Julian and Caroline then return from the party and they quarrel about the incident. Ju accuses Caroline of infidelity with Harry. Caroline says that Julian always drinks too much and chases women as well. She reminds him that Harry has a mortgage on the car agency and a good deal of influence with the Catholics, and he is a man who can hold a grudge. The next morning, Ju wakes up with a hangover and feels guilty about his behavior. Caroline informs him that everyone in Lantenego Street is talking about the incident of the last night. Ju asks Caroline if she has any relationship with Harry which Caroline furiously denies. Ju thinks of visiting Harry and apologizing for his behavior.
Ed Charney, the boss of the local mob of bootleggers calls Al Greco to meet him at Apollo restaurant. Al Greco reaches there at the right time and starts having his lunch. Ed Charney fails to visit the restaurant because his son broke his arm and thus Ed Charney decided to remain at home with his wife and son. He sends a message to Al Greco to keep an eye on Ed’s mistress Helen Holman who is scheduled to spend her evening at the Stage Coach, a local club for the second-tier society of Gibbsville. Helen is an excessively flirtatious woman and Ed wants to make sure that she doesn’t offer herself to other men.
Jullian and Caroline go to meet Ju’s parents. William English, Ju’s father believes that Ju is more like his grandfather who committed suicide after getting caught in a bank fraud. William feels that Jullian too has similar immoral tendencies. As they leave, Caroline convinces Ju to meet Harry and apologize for his behavior. They visit Harry’s house but Harry refuses to meet Ju. Caroline is concerned about what this means for their social standing.
Before attending the party at night, Caroline insists that Jullian must promise that he will not drink alcohol. At the party, Ju notices that everyone is trying to avoid him while they whisper about the incident of the last party. He learns that most of them believe that he is religiously intolerant of Harry who is an Irish Catholic. Ju used to believe that he still is a reputable member of the Lantenego Street Club but realizes that nobody respects him. In his frustration, he forgets his promise and starts drinking again. Caroline tries to stop him but he demands that she should go out with him in the car. Caroline refuses to leave the party and he continues to drink more.
All the people then visit the Stage Coach for the festivities where they meet Al Greco, Helen, Lute, and Ed. Jullian continues to seduce Caroline and insists that she should leave with him but she continues to refuse him. Jullian then sits with Al Greco and Helen whom he knows because he buys his alcohol from Ed. Helen and Al Greco are friendly towards him. He notices that Helen is very beautiful and she is wearing a raunchy revealing dress. He gets obsessed with her and takes her to the dance floor. Everyone notices how flirtatiously Ju dances with Helen and then he takes her to his car where they have sex. After some time, Helen returns in a disheveled situation while Al Greco and others take out Jullian from the vehicle who is heavily inebriated. Al Greco is unhappy because he was assumed to take guard of Helen while Caroline feels humiliated in front of all the party people.
The next morning, Jullian goes out to work much earlier to avoid Caroline. At the office, Lute informs him that the business is falling again. Jullian is distraught as he knows that neither Ed Charney nor Harry will help him now. He contemplates committing suicide when Caroline calls him. He is surprised to notice that Caroline is not complaining about what he did the last night.
Jullian then goes to meet Froggy Ogden, his childhood friend to seek his help. Froggy refuses to help him and says that he never liked him. He chastises him for his behavior against Caroline who is Froggy’s cousin. Froggy dares Jullian for a duel but Jullian doesn’t wish to fight because Froggy has already lost an arm during World War I. Yet, Froggy continues to challenge him and they engage in a fistfight. When other people intervene, Jullian runs away from the place.
He goes to Caroline’s mother’s home and overhears that Caroline is complaining about him to his mother. She says that she wishes to divorce him because of his erratic behavior but her mother insists that she should continue the marriage. Jullian decides to go back but Caroline rushes out at the same time. Jullian informs her about the fight with Froggy. Caroline is aghast. She threatens him that she will leave him if he doesn’t stop drinking and cancels the party they had to visit that night.
Jullian returns home and starts drinking again. Meanwhile, a woman visits his house to ask about the list of guests for the party at night. He tries to seduce that woman who ignores him and goes out.
He drinks more and then goes to the garage and locks himself in the car and turns on the engine. He imagines a girl Mary whom he loved during his younger days but couldn’t marry because she was poor. Soon he suffers suffocation. He smashes the clock on the dashboard: it’s 10:41 p.m. and then he dies.
An hour later, his neighbor notices him dead and calls his father William English. The coroner declares that Julian committed suicide via carbon monoxide poisoning. Caroline is initially distraught at her husband’s death but soon accepts that it is time for him to die. Lute Flieger takes up the car dealership in Julian’s place.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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