The short story is the Tax-Gatherer by Neil Gunn. Short story writers cannot afford to waste time on unnecessary detail. Using the short story The Tax-Gatherer, I will show how the choice of significant detail used increases my understanding of theme. The theme of the Tax-Gatherer revolves around two main areas being a person victimised by an unfeeling bureaucracy and the underdog against more powerful forces this is done mainly through characterisation, dialogue and symbolism.
There are few characters in The Tax-Gatherer of which only one is given a real name and not a job title or social group.
The main subject of The Tax-Gatherer is concerning the underdog which is Martha Williamson; this is done partly through the use of characterisation. The first chance we are given to build a picture of the woman is from the surroundings in which she lives. The home is in a state of disrepair with overgrown weeds and desperate attention towards the state of the house itself is also needed. This leads us to think that Mrs Williamson lives in deprivation possibly due to ill health or old age. When the woman comes into view "she clung to the edge of the door in a manner inhumanely pathetic" this combined with her pale complexion and soft eyes makes the reader begin to think that the woman is weak, inadequate, possibly malnutrition setting in and a general sense of vulnerability can be observed. When Martha Williamson is questioned about the possibility of court she still clings to the door as if supporting her frail body from collapse or supporting herself from the cruel blow that she suspects the tax-gatherer will deliver. This makes her seem very pathetic and defenceless compared to the tax-gatherer. It is through this use of characterisation that we begin to see the weak underdog against more powerful forces.
The dialogue of Martha Williamson is the other half of showing the woman against an unfeeling bureaucracy.