No.49 Fluke (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Literature): Revision Note
Exam code: 0475 & 0992
Fluke analysis
In the exam, you will be asked to answer one question from two options. Both questions will be on a different text from the selection of ten texts in Stories of Ourselves Volume 2.
Because there are so many text options, make sure you read through the exam instructions carefully, and look for the questions on Stories of Ourselves.
The following guide to Fluke by Romesh Gunesekera contains:
Plot summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives
Writer’s methods
Key quotations
Plot summary of Fluke
The story begins with a description of Mr Weerakoon, a smartly dressed businessman with a “modern” computer case. He has an air of confidence and energy as he climbs into the back of a taxi. The narrator, Vasantha, the taxi driver, listens to Mr Weerakoon talk about his work. He is on his way to an important marketing meeting.
At the conference venue, Mr Weerakoon asks Vasantha to bring his bags to a meeting room signposted “Marketing: The Secret of Success”. The meeting room has a view of a “pool”, “coconut trees”, and the “sea”. But Mr Weerakoon has trouble with the overhead projector. Although Vasantha is not a “computer man”, he thinks he can help. He explains that the human body has a “magnetism”, and that machines “respond to their touch”. It works, and Mr Weerakoon suggests the taxi driver stay to get a few tips on marketing.
As Vasantha listens to Mr Weerakoon discuss “stuff about bell curves and market segmentation”, he decides it all seems over-complicated “hot air”. He remembers how simple it was to set up his small transport business once he retired at 55.
At lunchtime Mr Weerakoon invites Vasantha for lunch on the “terrace”. There, Vasantha strikes up a conversation with a man who used to fight in the Sri Lankan civil war. The man, Lucky, tells Vasantha about his new venture using disused naval ships to take tourists whale-watching and gambling. When he starts to talk about politics, Vasantha excuses himself to get dessert. Mr Weerakoon stops him: he has lost his phone, a “Brand-new Nokia”. Vasantha is certain it is in the taxi, so he goes to look for it.
He finds the phone but, before he takes it back, he opens it with a pin number he says most people use. He decides to go on the terrace to close his eyes. There he contemplates the way the sea air can make one forget their troubles. He wants to tell Mr Weerakoon that marketing is easy, but the most important thing to know is how to deal with a small mistake, such as not having a secure phone. The ambiguous ending implies that “common sense” and peace of mind is the best way to achieve success.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
In order to answer the question in Section B of the CIE Literature in English Poetry and Prose Paper 1, it is best to have a thorough knowledge of the story’s plot. You will need to be able to support your points with references from the story, and consider how themes and characters develop (or not).
Themes, ideas and perspectives in Fluke
For top marks, you need to form a critical understanding of the text’s themes and ideas. This is best when it includes personal judgements and evaluations of the themes, ideas, and perspectives of the text. Here are some of the key ideas you will need to understand in Romesh Gunesekera’s Fluke.
What are the key themes in Fluke?
Theme | Analysis |
|---|---|
Individual identity |
|
The natural world |
|
Reality and illusion |
|
Writer's methods in Fluke
How does Gunesekera present his ideas and perspectives?
In the short story Fluke by Romesh Gunesekera, the thoughts of an elderly taxi driver reflect the changing nature of a war-torn Sri Lanka, and the meaning of success in a modern world.
Technique | Analysis |
|---|---|
First-person narrator |
|
Symbolism |
|
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Examiners recommend you form a personal and evaluative response in answer to the question. They suggest you use your introductory paragraph to introduce an argument or thesis statement that presents your own interpretation of the writer’s ideas and perspectives.
It is best not to simply provide biographical and historical information about the writer in your introduction paragraph. Instead, use this to showcase your interpretation of the story. For example, you could write, “Gunesekera sets his short story Fluke in war-torn Sri Lanka to present an elderly man’s perspective on a changing world”.
Fluke key quotations
The mark scheme for the CIE IGCSE Literature in English Paper 1, Section B asks you to use your knowledge of the story in the question to inform your interpretation. To do this, you should refer to the text through references and quotations. You will not be required to remember direct quotations, though. Summarising, paraphrasing, referencing single words, and referring to plot events are all considered valid evidence.
The best way to revise quotations is in connection to a theme. Below you will find explanations and analysis of some key quotations from Romesh Gunesekera’s Fluke, arranged by the following themes:
Individual identity
The natural world
Reality and illusion
Individual identity
“I do whatever my customer wants me to do. That's the key. It is no big secret” — Vasantha
Meaning and context
Vasantha, the taxi driver, has a simple approach to his business
He says he does what he is told by his customers
Analysis
Vasantha’s blunt, short sentences present him as a practical man with a set of fundamental values about how to live his life and run his business
He is presented as independent and self-assured
“Whatever your foibles, your wanton misdeeds, you can dream of new ventures and be a success if you can sleep easy. It can't be that difficult” — Vasantha
Meaning and context
When Vasantha is closing his eyes on the terrace, he thinks about his many problems and reflects on people’s weaknesses and mistakes
Vasantha considers the idea of worry, stress, and, perhaps, guilt
He decides that if you can “sleep easy” there is always hope for the future and a chance for new plans
Analysis
Implicitly, Gunesekera shows how Vasantha faces a moral dilemma:
He has seen Mr Weerakoon’s “secrets” on his phone and reflects on whether he should make use of this information, offer him advice, or do nothing
Vasantha reflects on human nature and concludes that peace of mind is the best way to achieve real success
The natural world
“Someone once told me that the human body has magnetism in it, and with some people the flow is such that machines respond to their touch” — Vasantha
Meaning and context
When Mr Weerakoon has problems with the projector, Vasantha helps him
He says that humans have the power to use magnetic energy on machines
Analysis
Gunesekera highlights ideas about spirituality and individual success
He refers to energy throughout his story:
At first it is the bustling energy of Mr Weerakoon
This is later shown to be nervous energy
Vasantha’s “good chi” refers to the flow of energy that connects humans to all other things, a magnetic energy that brings peace and good fortune
“I wondered what the whales out there in their sea lanes knew of us and our schemes” — Vasantha
Meaning and context
When Vasantha sits outside to reflect, he thinks about the whales
He has just heard that Lucky plans to use naval ships to take tourists whale watching, and he wonders if the whales know
Analysis
Gunesekera’s narrator is witty:
His wry comment highlights the lack of involvement of whales, and, thus, the natural world, in human plans
The word “schemes” suggests the plans are devious, and, perhaps, exploitative
Reality and illusion
“Like he is bursting with energy, which I imagine impresses his clients who are in need of gurus with vitality” — Narrator
Meaning and context
Vasantha, the narrator, describes his passenger, Mr Weerakoon, as someone full of “energy” and life
He thinks this is sure to make him appear like he knows what he is talking about:
He thus appears like a “guru”, a Hindu spiritual leader
Analysis
Gunesekera creates a humorous take on modern life by showing Vasantha’s cynical perspective on a modern world:
The entrepreneur, Mr Weerakoon, is compared to someone exploding with restlessness
The narrator mocks him using a religious reference to “gurus”, and implies that his show of confidence does not translate to real expertise
“These days it is so hard to spot a fake” — Vasantha
Meaning and context
When Vasantha sees a “bird” in the conference centre, he has to check to make sure it is a statue, not a real bird
He thinks so many things are “fake” copies in the modern world
Analysis
Gunesekera’s short sentence presents a resigned and disappointed narrator
He implies that the modern world is made up of illusions, and that something genuine is hard to find
Sources
Wilmer, M (ed.), 2018, Stories of Ourselves: Cambridge Assessment International Education Anthology of Stories in English Volume 2, Cambridge University Press.
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