Comment on the similarities between the tricksters of "The Umbrella Man" by Roald Dahl and "Dusk" by Saki.

You have chosen two excellent stories to compare, as both
focus on how some people are able to trick others into taking advantage of them in some
way. What is interesting about both the man who sells the umbrella in Dahl's story and
the young man in "Dusk" is the way that both have obviously carefully practised and
presented their story many times to come across as convincingly as possible. The old man
in Dahl's story, in spite of the natural mistrust that the mother has of strange men,
spins a very convincing story, and is able to act the part, appearing to be tired and
weak. In the same way, in "Dusk," the young man is able to give obvious proof of how
unfortunate he is when he sits down next to Gortsby:

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As if to emphasise 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.

Both have carefully
prepared and planned their "story," and both end up being successful in gaining money
from their "victims," though of course it is the young man in "Dusk" who forgets a vital
piece of proof to back up his story and is only able to trick Gortsby thanks to complete
chance. The umbrella man too lets his story be shown to be false because of the
sprightly way in which he walks away from the mother and daughter. Thus, in a sense,
although both confidence tricksters have prepared their "acts" well, they let themselves
down through either forgetting one vital piece of proof, or letting the act drop too
quickly.