Provide a character sketch of Norman Gortsby in "Dusk."

According to a Wikipedia article on Saki which references an essay by Dominic Hibberd in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:

Saki was a Tory and somewhat reactionary in his views.

This information is helpful in understanding his story "Dusk" and his characterization of Norman Gortsby. Norman is a young man and has a lot to learn about human nature and reality. He is quite an observer of humanity but has not yet digested what he has observed. Saki uses this young, naive viewpoint character to dramatize his thesis, which has a "Tory" and a "somewhat reactionary" foundation. Gortsby's sentiments about suffering humanity change from indifference to sympathy and back to indifference, if not antipathy--all as a result of his experience in the gathering darkness.

When the story opens, Gortsby is observing the

Men and women, who had fought and lost, who hid their fallen fortunes and dead hopes as far as possible from the scrutiny of the curious. . .

He had failed in a more subtle ambition, and for the moment he was heartsore and disillusioned, and not disinclined to take a certain cynical pleasure in observinig and labelling his fellow wanderers as they went their ways in the dark stretches between the lamp-lights.

"Not disinclined" seems like a double negative. He was inclined to take a cynical pleausre in observing the "men and women, who had fought and lost." Gortsby is a bit of a Tory and reactionary himself. He sees life as a struggle, bellum omnium contra omnes, "the war of all against all." He is a poor choice for the young con man who sits down and begins to tell him a hard-luck story about losing his hotel and needing to borrow money to rent a room for the night.

Gortsby listens tpatiently, and then:

"Of course," said Gortsby slowly, "the weak point of your story is that you can't produce the soap."

Gortsby does not say that he would have given the other man any money if he had been able to produce a cake of soap from the chemist's. But when he discovers the cake of soap on the ground and naturally assumes it belonged to the other man, he feels ashamed of his cold-hearted attitude towards his fellow man. No doubt he is experiencing mingled emotions of guilt, shame, and remorse as he races after the stranger and gives him a sovereign and the expensive soap. As he returns in the direction of the bench where they had been sitting, he tells himself:

"It's a lesson to me not to be too clever in judging by circumstances."

He is becoming less of a Tory and more of a Liberal. But then he discovers that the cake of soap he found actually belonged to the elderly getleman who had been sitting beside him earlier, and he realizes that he was a sucker for trusting the young man to repay the sovereign. He must also realize that the elderly gentleman might  be another con man telling the same story to suckers but having the foresight to procure a cake of soap which he left near the bench intending to come back and use it as a gambit to start a conversation with Gortsby.

Now Gortsby realizes that you can't trust anybody. It really is a struggle for survival of the fittest, a war of all against all, bellum omnium contra omnes. Gortsby will harden his heart as a result of his experience. The lesson he learns is the Malthusian-Darwinian lesson Saki wants to teach the reader.

We can imagine Gortsby's growing bitterness when he remembers how desperately he searched for that young con man in the dusk in order to hand over a sovereign.

Provide a character sketch of Norman Gortsby in "Dusk."

Norman Gortsby is a young city dweller who considers himself something of a philosopher as well as a shrewd judge of human character. He is not a gentleman of leisure. He does not have a university education, although he seems tolerably well educated. He probably works in a London office and is sitting on the bench  because he has gotten off work and doesn't want to go home to his modest apartment where he may eventually cook his own supper. He is feeling "heartsore and disillusioned," either because of disappointment in a love affair or some career reversal; the author does not specify the cause. Gortsby is

. . . not disinclined to take a certain cynical pleasure in observing and labelling his fellow wanderers as they went their ways in the dark stretches between the lamp-lights.

This description suggests that the young man who sits down beside him to tell his intricate hard-luck story is going to have a hard time extracting any money from Gortsby, who is willing to listen but not in a charitable mood. He seems to take a sadistic pleasure in pointing out the flaw in the young stranger's story.

"Of course," said Gortsby slowly, "the weak point of your story is that you can't produce the soap."

It seems unlikely that Gortsby would have helped the other man out even if he had produced the soap. But when Gortsby finds a cake of soap by the bench he feels guilty--not only guilty for rejecting the young stranger's story, but also guilty for feeling so cynical and cold about all of humanity. When he rushes to find the other man and give him the sovereign, he is doing it for himself. He is making a decision to change his attitude about his fellow man and become more generous and more "Christian" in the future. The sovereign he gives the young man is like an offering in church, a symbol of atonement.

Saki has been described as a Tory and staunch conservative. He was not the type of person to observe needy people and reflect that the government ought to do more to help them. What his story "Dusk" is really suggesting is that it is a mistake to feel sorry for other people. This is a dog-eat-dog world in which the strongest survive.

The scene pleased Gortsby and harmonized with his present mood. Dusk, to his mind, was the hour of the defeated. Men and women, who had fought and lost, who hid their fallen fortunes and dead hopes as far as possible from the scrutiny of the curious, came forth in this hour of gloaming...

The phrase "who had fought and lost" is indicative of Saki's view that life is a struggle of all against all. He presents his character Norman Gortsby as a sucker for feeling remorse, guilt and shame. Gortsby is not to blame for others' misfortunes, nor is he responsible for helping them out. If the situation had been reversed, if Gortsby had asked the young stranger for the loan of a sovereign--would he have gotten it?

Gortsby has learned a good lesson, according to his creator Saki. When Gortsby sees the elderly gentleman searching for the cake of soap which he just gave to the young con man, along with a sovereign, he realizes that he has been a sucker. In fact, he probably realizes that the elderly gentleman may be a con man himself--and a better con man than the young stranger because he has had the foresight to procure a cake of soap and left it by the bench intentionally, with a plan to come back and use it as an excuse to open a conversation with Gortsby, who in the meantime has left in search of the other con man.

Provide a character sketch of Norman Gortsby in "Dusk."

Norman Gortsby is what Americans today would call a yuppie. He is sitting on a park bench and appears to be a man of leisure, but since it is already around six-thirty, he may have gotten off work in some office within the last hour or so. He is fairly well dressed because he would have to be properly attired in conservative clothes in his job. He is not an aristocrat, by any means. He is not an Oxford or Cambridge man, but he has some education and he has an upwardly mobile job, possibly in stocks and bonds. The type of work he does calls for dealing with people, making judgments and decisions, and no doubt with denying many requests. He is not affluent, but he has a better-than-average income and good expectations for the future.

Money troubles did not press on him; had he so wished he could have strolled into the thoroughfares of light and noise, and taken his place among the jostling ranks of those who enjoyed prosperity or struggled for it.

Because he is fairly well dressed and appears to enjoy lounging on park benches watching the passing parade, he has been approached innumerable times by people with hard-luck stories. He has become a bit cynical because he has been taken in by liars before. He is self-reliant; he is not afraid to be sitting there alone in the gathering dusk. He feels confident he can take care of himself in any situation.

When the young man comes and sits beside him, Gortsby probably anticipates some sort of opening conversation and then a request for money. It would seem from his manner and his dialogue that he is willing to amuse himself by listening to the stranger's tale of woe but has no intention of giving him a penny. He automatically assumes that anything the young man will tell him will be untrue. Gortsby has become a connoisseur of hard-luck stories; he has heard them all, both the male and female versions of distress.

Dusk, to his mind, was the hour of the defeated. Men and women, who had fought and lost, who hid their fallen fortunes and dead hopes as far as possible from the scrutiny of the curious, came forth in this hour of gloaming, when their shabby clothes and bowed shoulders and unhappy eyes might pass unnoticed, or, at any rate, unrecognized.

Gortsby is well aware that there are plenty of people in the visinity in financial distress, but he is

. . . not disinclined to take a certain cynical pleasure in observing and labelling his fellow wanderers as they went their ways in the dark sretches between the lamp-lights.

If he tried to help out everybody who appealed to him for money, he would become one of the poor himself. Like Saki himself, Gortsby is a Tory. He knows it is a cold, cruel world and a Darwinian struggle of all against all. He shows his cynicism and his hardened attitude when the young stranger beside him finally finishes his complicated story and prompts him for some sort of response with the words

"I'm glad, anyhow, that you don't think the story outrageously impossible."

"Of course," said Gortsby slowly, "the weak point in your story is that you can't produce the soap."

This slow, thoughtful reponse shows that Gortsby is intelligent, urbane, experienced, judgmental, and cynical. The young stranger's angry reaction suggests that he is sorry to have wasted so much of this valuable twilight time on such an adamant prospect. Gortsby has at least taught him a good lesson. He will buy a cake of soap at the nearest chemist's shop.

Provide a character sketch of Norman Gortsby in "Dusk."

Norman Gortsby is young, fairly sophisticated, apparently fairly affluent and well-dressed. The source of his income is not specified. He may be a member of the leisure class, a more numerous class in Saki's day. Gortsby is a great observer of humanity and something of a philosopher. He thinks he is more clever than he actually is. He might be said to resemble Bertie Wooster in the highly popular "Jeeves" stories of P. G. Wodehouse.

Gortsby is a bit cynical but also basically kind-hearted and generous. He ends up giving a complete stranger a soverign to help him out of his trouble. A sovereign, a coin worth one pound, which would have been equivalent to a little over five American dollars at the time of the story--but five American dollars would have been equivalent to at least fifty dollars in buying power today. With a guinea the young man who receives the coin could rent a room for the night in London. An equivalent room in London today would cost at least a hundred pounds.

Gortsby's prosperous appearance and body language are an attraction to a con artist. Gortsby is lounging on a park bench watching the passing parade. It would obviously be easy to start a conversation with him. Park benches seem to invite such approaches. Anyone who sits on a park bench in a big American city today is almost certain to find a friendly stranger sitting beside him who will fairly quickly ask for a dollar or two after striking up a conversation.

Gortsby has probably often killed time lounging on public benches over the years with his hands in his pockets and his legs stretched out in front of him. Consequently, he has undoubtedly been approached by many strangers who have told him many sob stories. He enjoys listening to their stories because he is interested in humanity, and he has probably parted with a lot of coins.

The conclusion of the story is intentionally puzzling. Who is the con artist? Is it the young man who gets the guinea or the elderly gentleman who left the soap by the park bench, either accidentally or on purpose? The elderly gentleman who was sitting beside Gortsby first may have been planning to tell him exactly the same story about having lost his hotel and his soap; but being older and more experienced at the con game, the elderly gentleman may have deliberately left the soap as an excuse to come back and start a conversation, as well as to provide verification for his story. There is no doubt that it is his soap. But what about the other man? He claims he too lost a cake of soap. Gortsby will only know which is the con man if the elderly gentleman begins to tell him the same story about having lost his hotel when he came out to buy a cake of soap--but the story ends before that.

Is there any chance that the young man who borrowed the guinea will actually mail it back to Gortsby as promised? Not likely!

Provide a character sketch of Norman Gortsby in "Dusk."

Norman Gortsby is sitting on a park bench at the time between sunset and nightfall. It is getting dark. According to Gortsby, dusk is the hour of defeat. Truly, the defeat of man is evident at dusk, the time of day that characters of less integrity emerge.

While sitting on the bench, the first man that sits next to Gortsby seems dejected and reluctant to go home. Gortsby assumes he gets no respect at home. Of course, this is Gortsby's perception. Gortsby is cynical. He is nontrusting.

When the second man sits down on the bench and has forgotton the name of his hotel and has no money with him, Gortsby is skeptical. The man claims to have gone out to buy a bar of soap. When he cannot produce the bar of soap, Gortsby assumes he is a con artist trying to get money.

Gortsby is definitely skeptical and cynical until the man walks away.Then Gortsby happens to see a bar of soap under the bench. Now, he feels embarrassed for assuming the wrong thing about the second man. He chases after him and gives the con artist money, money that the second man promises to repay.

When the first man comes back looking for his lost bar of soap, Gortsby realizes he has been duped. Again, he is cynical and realizes he will never see his money again.

Dusk is the hour of defeat. Gortsby decided that those who had lost fortunes or had encountered disappointments came out at dusk, thus no one would recognize them or their shabby attire. Of course, Gortsby's trouble is not related to finances, but he is in disillusionment:

He had failed in a more subtle ambition, and for the moment he was heartsore and disillusioned, and not disinclined to take a certain cynical pleasure in observing and labelling his fellow wanderers as they went their ways in the dark stretches between the lamp-lights.

Clearly, Gortsby takes pleasure in his cynicism, and he is not entirely wrong for being cynical for the second man was definitely of lesser character.

Provide a character sketch of Norman Gortsby in "Dusk."

In the short story "Dusk," Norman Gortsby is observing people at dusk. Gortsby is a cynical observer. He believes the defeat of man is evident at dusk. He is judgmental of those who sit, or share, the park bench in which he is sitting.

As people are scurrying about, one man joins Gortsby on the bench. From Gortsby's observations, the reader learns that this man seems dejected and reluctant to go home. Gortsby assumes that the man receives no respect at home. Gortsby's assumption indicates that he is cynical and skeptical. He really has no foundation for his assumption about the first man that sits down.

The second man to sit down is truly a con artist. Ironically, this is the man that Gortsby actually or ultimately trusts. Although this second man gives every reason for Gortsby to be cynical or skeptical, in the end, Gortsby decides the second man is trustworthy based on the coincidence of finding a lost bar of soap. Gortsby gives the con artist money, money he will never see again.

Finally learning the truth, Gortsby is justified in his cynicism. It does appear that dusk is a time for the defeat in man to show up. Sadly, it is too late to get his money back.

Provide a character sketch of Norman Gortsby in "Dusk."

We aren't actually given that much tangible information regarding this character in "Dusk" by Saki. It is clear however that he is not in want of money and that he could participate in the world of those who are successful. However, for whatever reason, he chooses to dwell in the realm of dusk, which he sees as symbolic of human failure and defeat. Note what we are told about his own defeat as a character:

He had failed in a more subtle ambition, and for the moment he was heartsore and disillusioned, and not disinclined to take a cynical pleasure in observing an dlabelling his fellow wanderers as they went their ways in the dark stretches between the lamp-lights.

Thus we see that Norman Gortsby is a man who is rather pessimistic and cynical, having suffered his own unspecified failure. Likewise, he shows himself to be rather suspicious and quick-thinking in the way that he draws attention to the one piece of evidence that would make him believe the story of the young man. He is likewise humble enough to admit when he has made a mistake and to learn from it, saying that he will not be so quick to judge in future, even though it transpires that the young man was actually lying and by a curious twist of events had successfully duped Gortsby.

Provide a character sketch of Norman Gortsby in "Dusk."

A rather supercilious man, Norman Gortsby, sits on a bench in Hyde Part amidst "the defeated" and yet does not consider himself the same since he is without money problems.  His failure, one "in a more subtle ambition," is perhaps in the area of love.  In his disillusionment, he cynically amuses himself with passing judgments on people who traverse the park.  And, he feels confidence in these judgments.  For instance, Gortsby perceives an elderly gentleman next to him as one who has never commanded respect in his life.  Now he is probably isolated either by being ignored in a home or by himself in a lodging. 

As soon as this old gentleman leaves, a young man seats himself in a flurry next to Gortsby, who obligingly takes notice. Of course, while the young man speaks of his misfortunes, the cynical Gortsby gives him no credence.  He tells the young man of the flaw in his story,"...the weak point of your story is that you can't produce the soap," a detail which he says was a convincing one. But, in his smugness, he is defeated by Chance which puts the soap on the ground near the park bench.  Discovering it after the man has departed, and believing it to be the young man's, Gortsby chides himself for being presumptuous and runs after the young man.  With apologies for his disbelief, Gortsby hands the young man the soap.

After he returns to the bench, Gortsby sees the elderly gentleman searching around the bench for his lost soap.  Gortsby is defeated a second time in an illusion. Now, he truly belongs on the bench in the twilight.

What is a character sketch of Norman Gortsby in "Dusk" by Saki.

"Dusk" is told by an omniscient third-person narrator through Norman Gortsby's point of view. He is sitting on a park bench watching people. This would seem to characterize him as something of a loner, an introvert, an intellectual, a man with some education who considers himself a philosopher. The young man who tells him his hard-luck story sounds like an English gentleman, and he takes Gortsby to belong to his own social class. Both of them have to work for their livings, but they would only consider doing work appropriate to gentlemen, such as trading in stocks and bonds.

One outstanding character trait of Gortsby is that he is skeptical. This is because he is an urbanite. This is hardly the first time he has sat on a park bench watching the passing parade. A man like him who is fairly well dressed and at leisure is sure to be approached regularly by men, and some women, who have different stories to tell but who all want money. He listens to the young man's story of losing his hotel, but his attitude suggests that he has no intention of helping him out with a loan. He even waits until the stranger has finished with the concluding gambit:

"I'm glad, anyhow, that you don't think the story outrageously improbable."

Then:

"Of course," said Gortsby slowly, "the weak point of your story is that you can't produce the soap."

The word "slowly" is significant. It suggests that Gortsby has been listening patiently and evaluating every detail. It also seems to suggest that Gortsby enjoys hearing the different stories people will invent in order to extract money from the gullible; and it further suggests that Gortsby never had any intention of giving the young man any money whether he was telling the truth or not. Gortsby is a little bit cruel, but he has been cheated too often in the past and doesn't mind getting back at one of these tricksters.

Nowadays it is common to hear the telephone ring and to have someone working in a boiler room tell us how they are raising money to help women with breast cancer, or children with leukemia, or perhaps to help wounded veterans. The caller is probably reading a standard pitch off a card, and the funds collected will probably go mostly to those who are raising them. But some of us will listen to the whole pitch, partly for amusement and partly because the caller makes it impossible to get a word in edgewise until he or she is ready to ask for the donation. That is Norman Gortsby. He is a man with a great deal of leisure time, and he is probably lonely, like most unmarried people who live in big cities. He might just as well be listening to this articulate young man as sitting there alone. But he is not a soft touch. He has seen plenty of people like this young stranger get money from one person and then go on to ask for more money from the next likely prospect.

It is only when Gortsby finds the soap that he feels ashamed of himself. The soap convinces him, not only that the stranger was really in trouble, but that he really only wanted to borrow money which he fully intended to pay back as soon as he could locate his original hotel.

Gortsby is not as sophisticated as he would like to think he is. He is still young. He has been conned before and has made up his mind that he is not going to let that happen again. But he is basically what the young stranger took him for, i.e., "a decent chap." He still has some of that "milk of human kindness" that grifters count upon to earn their livings.

What is the characterisation of Norman Gortsby in the story "Dusk" by Saki?  

In Norman Gortsby, Saki created a character who would serve to illustrate his moral, which is that charity is often a mistake. Gortsby is young. He has a lot to learn about life and people, although he considers himself urbane and sophisticated.

As the story begins, he is observing downtrodden humanity without sympathy.

Money troubles did not press on him; had he so wished he could have strolled into the thoroughfares of light and noise, and taken his place among the jostling ranks of thse who enjoyed prosperity or struggled for it. . . . for the moment he was heartsore and disillusionised, and not disinclined to take a certain cynical pleaure in observing and labelling his fellow wanderers as they went their ways in the dark stretches between the lamp-lights.

Saki uses an omniscient third-person narrative technique. It enables him to go inside Gortsby's mind and decribe his thoughts and feelings in detail. Gortsby is obviously intelligent and sensitive. He is unmarried and a loner. He has to be a bit of a philosopher and observer because the story is about humanity as perceived by one man who is Saki's creation. Gortsby has a better-than-average job but is by no means a wealthy gentleman of leisure. Otherwise, his loss of a sovereign to the young con man would not be so painful. It has to be painful to make Saki's point.

Gortsby notices the elderly gentleman on the bench beside him and understands his unhappiness without feeling any pity. Then when the old man leaves and the young man plops down beside him, he expects a hard-luck story and is prepared to reject the conclusion in a request for money. Obviously, Gortsby has heard so many hard-luck tories in this cold, heartless city of London that he has become a dispassionate connoisseur of people's real or pretended misfortunes. He listens patiently to the intricate and creative tale of the lost hotel. Then:

"Of course," said Gortsby slowly, "the weak point of your story is that you can't produce the soap."

When the young stranger has left in a huff and Gortsby finds the cake of soap on the ground, he feels guilty and ashamed. He rushes to find the con artist and give him a sovereign and the cake of fragrant soap as a bonus. He regrets the cynicism and skepticism he has developed as a protective shell. He will change his attitude. He will become compassionate, generous and understanding.

Then when he sees the elderly gentleman looking for his lost cake of soap all around the park bench, Gortsby realizes he has been swindled. He even suspects that the old man may have been planning to swindle him too, and with the same story about a lost hotel. The old man could have deliberately left the soap there with the intention of coming back to use it as a ploy to open a conversation with Gortsby, who in the meantime had found the soap and gone in search of the young stranger.

The moral of Saki's story is that you shouldn't be too trusting or too charitable. The world is full of crooks and otherwise undeserving people. You should look out for Number One and let others look out for themselves.

Saki has been described as a Tory and a reactionary. He may have been a Social Darwinist, who believed that the struggle for existence improved the human species. He undoubtedly opposed government handouts to the needy. His character Gortsby has learned a painful lesson. His cynicism was the right attitude in the first place. He will be even more cynical and skeptical about humanity in the future.

Provide a character sketch of Norman Gortsby in "Dusk."

Norman Gortsby is probably in his mid-twenties. Saki wanted him to be young because the moral of the story is conveyed by Gortsby's painful learning experience. He is not a wealthy gentleman of leisure. He probably has a good job in a bank or brokerage firm. He must not be too affluent because Saki wanted the loss of a sovereign to be painful. He probably wouldn't have parted with that much if he hadn't believed it was only a loan and that the young con artist would return the money by mail.

Dusk, to his mind, was the hour of the defeated. Men and women, who had fought and lost, who hid their fallen fortunes and dead hopes as far as possible from the srutiny of the curiouos, came forth in this hour of gloaming, when their shabby clothes and bowed shoulders and unhappy eyes might pass unnoticed, or, at any rate, unrecognised.

These observations tell many things about Gortsby. He is in the habit of sitting on park benches and watching people. Otherwise he could not have formed these opinions. He must be something of a loner. He must be a bachelor; otherwise he would have gone home to his wife. He does not feel sympathy for the defeated-looking people he observes. His notion that they "had fought and lost" indicates that he, like his creator Saki, is a Tory, a reactionary and probably a Social Darwinist who believes that the struggle for existence improves the human race by insuring the survival of the fittest.

Gortsby must have a fairly good education and a good mind. He not only observes people, but he thinks about them and draws all sorts of conclusions. He understands why they wait until dusk to come out of their dwellings, and he goes on to consider the socio-political implications of their existence and their fates.

Since Gortsby likes to sit on park benches watching people, he must have been approached innumerable times by people who hoped to get some money from him. He has developed a calloused attitude because he cannot be handing out money to all the poor people in London. He has heard many hard-luck stories and has probably been fooled by some of them, just as he is eventually fooled by the hard-luck story of the young man who claims he lost his hotel. As a result, Gortsby has become cynical, skeptical, unsympathetic, and street-wise.

He listens to the young man's hard-luck story with interest because he has become a connoisseur of such stories. He probably has no intention of trusting the young man even if he is telling the truth about having lost his hotel.

"Of course,' said Gortsby slowly, "the weak point of your story is that you can't produce the soap."

This shows that Gortsby is intelligent, experienced, skeptical and sophisticated. He undergoes a change when he finds the soap and believes it belongs to the young man who has just left in a huff. He now feels obliged to lend the con artist some money because he feels guilty and ashamed of himself, whereas he probably had no intention of lending him any money before.

The whole point of Saki's story is that Gortsby was right in the first place in being cynical and skeptical about his fellow man. When Gortsby vows to be more trusting and charitable in the future, he finds out that he was being played for a sucker. Even the elderly gentleman may have intended to play him for a sucker, using the "lost" soap as an excuse to come back and start a conversation.

People should look out for themselves in the battle of life. Those who do not are suckers. That is Saki's message.

Provide a character sketch of Norman Gortsby in "Dusk."

Saki does not share physical characteristics about Norman Gortsby in his story “Dusk.”  Everything in the story is seen through Gortsky’s thoughts and feelings although he is not the narrator of the story. The story’s name comes from the setting of the story which is about 6:30 p.m. in the spring in London.

Norman, the protagonist of the story, is sitting on park bench near a famous place in London called Hyde Park.  He labels this time of day as the “hour of the defeated” among which he counts himself.  On this evening's dusk, Norman feels somewhat trounced upon because “he had failed in some subtle ambition.”  Money is not Norman’s problem as the narrator implies.  Since Norman carries around business cards, he probably is some kind of professional.

What else can the reader elicit from the story about Norman? He is obviously educated and verbose, probably thinking himself smarter and more clever than he really is.  Self-described as extremely sad and disheartened—Norman  finds himself in a sardonic mood ready to watch people and make mocking judgments about them. Condescending in his opinions of others, Norman seems to almost enjoy the unhappiness or misfortune of others.  

He was …not disinclined to take a certain cynical pleasure in observing his fellow wanderers as they went their ways in the dark

Judging the old man who sits beside him on the bench, Norman decided that he is  one who moans about everything.  He immediately vanquishes the old man  to the land of those who barely pay their bills and live without respect. 

Norman, in his arrogance, thinks he has misjudged a young man after accusing him of not telling the truth.  He hurries to find him, apologizes,  and loans him money assuming that the young man will pay him back.  In the end, our protagonist finds that he has been deceived by the young man by a bar of soap.  Appropriately, Norman finds himself back on the bench where he belongs in the land of the defeated.    

How would you characterize Norman Gortsby in "Dusk"?

The story "Dusk" by Saki is about a man who gets duped despite of his self-proclaimed attainments in the understanding of people and their behaviors. This self-proclaimed ability to analyze people comes together with other character traits that include unnecessary boldness in expressing his thoughts, obstinacy, and sarcasm. He is also judgemental and, it is also safe to say, annoying. This latter trait comes from the fact that, although Mr. Gortsby feels presently frustrated with some aspects of his life, he does not do anything different to make up for it.

The first indication of this characterization appears right at the beginning of the story. The mere fact that Gortsby has determined and decided that dusk is "the time of the dejected" is quite silly. Yet, he religiously abides by his rationale and has made a practice out of visiting Hyde Park at this time.

He had failed in a more subtle ambition, and for the moment he was heartsore and disillusioned, and not disinclined to take a certain cynical pleasure in observing and labelling his fellow wanderers as they went their ways ...

This quote indicates that Gortsby does have a tendency to place a judging eye on others and speak his mind on the subject. Case in point, when the "young man" sits next to him on the bench claiming to be in need for money to resolve a temporary problem caused by going to get soap, Gortsby shamelessly calls him a liar when he does not obtain proof of what the young man is trying to say

It was a pity," mused Gortsby; "the going out to get one's own soap was the one convincing touch in the whole story, and yet it was just that little detail that brought him to grief.

Gortsby also tends to overanalyze to the point of maybe even confusing himself. This is exactly what occurs when, insisting on analyzing the people in the park, he completely misses the fact that there are some people who can think faster than him, and may be plotting against him. Isn't he surrounded by "the dejected", as he claimed at first? How can he be so comfortable and trusting?

Therefore, Gortsby is not only too self-confident, but also too comfortable in his own intellect; unfortunately for him, and for many who are like him, the results are always the same: they become fooled by their own pretentiousness.

Who is Norman Gortsby in the short story "Dusk"?

Norman Gortsby is the protagonist and narrator of the short story "Dusk" by Saki. Not much is known about Gortsby, such as his life or occupation, other than the fact that he likes to ruminate on the nature of things and has a particular fascination with people who seem to have been defeated by life and are depressed in the wake of that defeat.

Norman sits on a park bench in London at dusk, a time that he considers to be for the defeated. All the content, victorious, and successful people who typically wander around in the daytime have gone into their well-lit apartments, and he considers the scene more fascinating and peaceful. He strikes up a conversation with a young man who claims to be a traveling businessman but who Norman suspects is a panhandler. Through a series of lies and fortuitous circumstances, Norman is swindled out of some money, making him feel a bit defeated at the time of dusk as well.

What do you think about the Norman Gortsby in the story "Dusk"?

Norman Gortsby is the viewpoint character in "Dusk." The author's intention is to show Norman having a learning experience which will convey a message to the reader. At first Norman does not feel particularly sympathetic to all the people he sees at dusk whom he considers "defeated"--that is defeated in the struggle for existence. There is an "elderly gentleman" seated beside him on the park bench who also appears to be one of the defeated, and Gortsby feels no particular sympathy for him either. Shortly after this elderly gentleman departs, his place is taken by a young man who tells Gortsby a very complicated hard-luck story. This stranger represents himself as a member of the country gentry who doesn't know a soul in London.

"In a foreign city I wouldn't mind so much," he said; "one could go to one's Consul and get the requiste help from him....Unless I can find some decent chap to swallow my story and lend me some money I seem likely to spend the night on the embankment."

Gortsby listens to the story with amused skepticism.

"Of course," said Gortsby slowly, "the weak point of your story is that you can't produce the soap."

But after the young man has left in a huff, Gortsby finds a cake of soap below the bench. He immediately experiences a change of heart, not only about the young stranger but about unfortunate people in general. He vows to be more understanding and sympathetic in the future.

"It's a lesson to me not to be too clever in judging by circumstances."

Gortsby is by no means a gentleman of leisure. He works in an office during the day and relaxes on a park bench before going home to his little flat. He has to be the sort of man to whom the loss of a sovereign (one pound) will be a painful experience. He hurries after the young con artist because he feels he has wrongfully insulted someone who belongs to a higher social class and that he has missed an opportunity to make a valuable friendship, one which would have cost him nothing, since he now believes the con man would have paid him back within a day or two.

Then when he returns to the vicinity of the park bench, after giving the con man a sovereign, the cake of soap, and his card,

...he saw an elderly gentleman poking and peering beneath it and on all sides of it, and recognized his earlier fellow occupant.

"Have you lost anything, sir?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, a cake of soap."

Gortsby realizes that his original cynical and skeptical attitude had been the correct one and that his soft-heartedness and gullibility had cost him a sovereign. Furthermore, the fact that this elderly gentleman seems so certain he lost his cake of soap by that bench strongly suggests that this old man is another con artist who left it there deliberately with the intention of coming back and using it as a ploy to start a conversation with Gortsby. It seems as if the world is full of con artists. You can't trust anybody. You should look out for Number One.

Gortsby's epiphany is Saki's message. Saki has been described as a Tory and a reactionary. He was undoubtedly strongly opposed to the growing popularity of socialism in his day. His character Norman Gortsby will be even more cynical and unsympathetic than he was before he fell victim to a clever trickster who wanted to enjoy a life of leisure at the expense of others who had to work hard for their money.

In "Dusk," what type of character is Norman Gortsby?

The article on Saki in Wikipedia states: "Politically, Munro was a Tory and somewhat reactionary in his views." It gives as a reference an essay by Dominic Hibberd in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. This helps clarify the meaning of the story "Dusk" and the characterization of Norman Gortsby. The young con man who sits beside Gortsby on the park bench and the elderly gentleman who "lost" the soap are "flat" characters. Only Norman is a "round" character, and the story is about his learning experience.

Gortsby is not an educated gentleman but a naive young clerical type who has probably been working all day in some office and is relaxing on a park bench before going home. He is observing the "defeated" people who only come out in the dusk. Gortsby thinks of them as

Men and women, who had fought and lost, who hid their fallen fortunes and dead hopes as far as possible from the scrutiiny of the curious. . .

When the young man sits beside him and tells his complicated story about losing his hotel, Gortsby listens skeptically. It would appear that he has no intention of giving the stranger money regardless of whether or not he is telling the truth. He says bluntly:

"Of course, the weak point of your story is that you can't produce the soap."

The young man departs muttering angrily, "I must have lost it." There is nothing sympathetic about this con man. When he sits down

As if to emphasize the fact that the world went badly with him the new-comer unburdened himself of an angry and very audible expletive as he flung himself into the seat.

He is angry when he sits down and angry when he leaves. And when Gortsby chases him down to give him a sovereign and the cake of soap:

He turned round sharply with an air of defensive hostility when he found Gortsby hailing him.

This young man wouldn't give anybody a sovereign, or even a shilling. That is part of the message.

Gortsby is portrayed as a young urbanite who thinks himself sophisticated. He has no sympathy for any of the "defeated" people he observes and none for the young man who sits down beside him. But then he finds the cake of soap on the ground and he  feels ashamed of himself. He was in a bad mood and naturally was regarding the people around him with a jaundiced attitude. He feels shame, guilt, and remorse as he hurries to catch up with the young man. He is lending him the money he needs because he wants to feel better about himself. He wants to change, to atone, to be more humane, to be more Christian.

Then when he passes by the bench where he had been sitting and encounters the elderly gentleman looking for the cake of soap, Gortsby realizes he has been a sucker. That is the point of Saki's story. Saki is a Tory and a reactionary. As such, he feels that people should take care of themselves and that if they can't, then they should perish. This is a dog-eat-dog world in which the species is improved through survival of the fittest. That is the lesson Saki is teaching through the painful learning experience of his viewpoint character Norman Gortsby.

It seems possible that even the elderly gentleman is a con man who left the cake of soap by the bench intending to come back and use it as an excuse to start a conversatioin with Gortsby--but Gortsby had found the soap and had chased after the other con man. This would suggest that Saki's thesis is that you can't feel sorry for anybody and you can't trust anybody. Gortsby's experience dramatizes the reactionary message.