Exemplum Essay, Research Paper
The Immigrant and the Car Salesman There was once a boy named Petros who
immigrated to the United States from Greece. His family was very poor, so they
came on a ship, and took a train to Chicago, where they thought they could find
work. When Petros turned eighteen, he decided to move to Lynn, MA, where he
settled in the Greek community. He began to work hard and saved all of the money
he earned. He married, and, together with his wife, opened a small produce
store. The business prospered, and Petros soon became a wealthy man. He was a
very simple man and dressed humbly, always wearing his old hat when he went out.
After a few years, Petros decided that he wanted a car, and he went to a
Cadillac dealership. The owner of this dealership was aware that Petros was a
rich man and knew about his successful business. He asked Petros what he wanted
to buy, and Petros left the dealership with a new Cadillac. Over the years,
Petros came to buy many different cars from the dealership. Many years later,
when Petros was an old man, and his daughter had taken over the produce store,
he put on his old hat and decided to go back to the Cadillac dealership. When he
arrived at the dealership, a new salesman came out to help him. Petros asked him
the price of one of the new models in the showroom. The salesman looked at the
old man, with his foreign accent, and wearing his old, beat-up hat, and told him
that it was very expensive and that he would show him a different one that was
much more affordable. Petros told him that he still wanted it. The salesman
insisted that the car was much too expensive and that it was not the right car
for Petros. At that moment, the owner of the dealership came out of his office
to go to lunch and, recognizing Petros, greeted him warmly. He asked him what he
wanted to buy. Petros told him that he wanted the new Cadillac in the showroom,
but that the salesman had tried to show him a different one because he didn’t
think he could afford the new one. The owner angrily fired the salesman, and
Petros drove away in his new car. So we see that "Las apariencias engaсan."
In English, appearances are deceiving.