A Woman of Fifty The recount of a tragedy between Laura, the count and her drunken husband.

. Tito eventually grows so suspicious of Laura and the count, that he murders his own father. The only way to save Tito from confinement in jail for the rest of his life, is for Laura to admit that the count and her were lovers. Although she denies the fact that they were lovers at first, in a conversation later she denies Tito as a murderer and insinuates that indeed her and the count were lovers.

The Lotus Eater The story takes place in the Italian city of Capri, where a man named Wilson is examined as a character. In the end we figure out that he visited Capri once and stayed there, even with his banking job. He retired early and has 25 years to live on the salary he has. He lives in a humble cottage where he walks the hills, bathes in the famous Bath of Tiberius, and sometimes attends parties. Eventually, the main character leaves the city of Capri, only to revisit after the 25 years have passed. He finds out that Wilson attempted to commit suicide by burning charcoal in his room, but he is saved. He barely survives but his brain is damaged. He lives the last few years of his life in poverty, and eventually dies in front of the skyline. This story examines a characters pursuit of happiness, and the downfall of the human race.

The Letter - This story presents a tragic case of a woman (Mrs.Crosbie) who murders a man (Geoff Hammond) over an alledged attempt of rape. Throughout the story we see the transition of the moral conscience (Mr.Joyce) who attempts to do the right thing regardless of the outcome. His clerk, a Chinese man named Ong Chi Seng, has an informant that finds a letter that Leslie wrote Geoff on the night of the murder. Her alliby is that he forced his way into her house and when she demanded him to leave, he attempted to rape her. Mr.Crosbie ends up paying 10,000 dollars to attain the letter which will help acquit Leslie. If he does not get this letter, then suspicion will rise about why Leslie wrote the letter to Geoff in the first place. She is eventually acquitted and admits to making up the story of the alledged rape, attesting to the fact that she and Geoff were indeed lovers. In the end we see the development of a character that exhibits so much grace and poise, but in the end everybody has a conniving dark side. An interesting note, Mr. Crosbie willingly pays the 10,000 dollars to obtain the letter, even knowing in his mind that Leslie was cheating on him. This shows the aspect of human compassion, regardless of the circumstances.

The Outstation An analysis of two characters, The Outstation starts with Mr. Warburton attaining a new assistant Mr. Cooper. They have completely different personalities and they rub heads quite a lot. Mr. Cooper treats his boys with the utmost disrespect and all of them run away except for Abas. Mr. Warburton is considered a snob by Mr.Cooper and Cooper is considered a cad. In the end Warburton warns Cooper of the dangers that lie ahead for the mistreatment of his boys. Cooper is eventually found stabbed in the heart by a kris. Warburton is relieved to have the pest of Cooper killed, and knows that he must punish Abas for the murder. This story reflects upon peoples hatred of each other, and the

ridiculous measures that thus said people will go to hurt the opposing side. In the end Cooper dies an idiot, and in a way Warburton does not win. He is still a complacent snob.

Neil MacAdam The story takes place in the setting of Borneo where Neil MacAdam is an assistant to Angus Munro. His wife Darya Munro seems to take a great liking to the much younger Neil. A key turning point in the story is the conversation between Bishop and Neil. Bishop accuses Darya of being promiscuous and Neil hits Bishop in the face, enraged. After this Neil starts having second thoughts, he even starts to have dreams about her. Neil, Angus, and Darya all go to the jungle as Neil and Angus are looking for new species for the museum that they manage. Darya eventually tells Neil that she is madly in love with him, and wants to be intimate. Neil has too much respect for Angus and denies Darya any form of intimacy. Eventually, Angus stays up in the mountain for a night, and Darya readily goes after Neil. He runs away straight into the jungle, which he knows she is afraid of, but she follows regardless. He threatens to tell Angus that she has been pursuing him intimately, but she counters saying that she could lie and tell Angus that Neil instead is the one in pursuit. After hearing this Neil runs deeper into the jungle and eventually finds his way back to camp. He ponders into the fact that he left Darya there and she does not know the way back. Angus comes back from his night trip, and tells of the storm that is brewing. He and Neil avidly look for Darya but they know it is inevitable her demise. This story like most of Maughams works shows the downfall of a character, as well as the pragmatic approach to the story. Neil is the protagonist in the story offering great moral resolve as well as sound loyalty to his protg Angus. However, he is stricken almost with the curse of Darya who is manipulative and deceitful. In the end justice is served where it is due.