The short story ‘The Royal Flush’ by Lori Pollock is structured around the experience of a Western girl who is volunteering in Bangladesh. The story revolves around the conflict between diverse cultures and the way the protagonist, Lindsey, perceives this. It also begins in media res, in the middle of a dialogue between her father, Lindsey and the server: ‘Your chicken. It’s locally sourced? The server seemed to consider Lindsey’s question before leaning in. ‘It’s a Chantecler’ (line. 1-2)
What is known directly about Lindsey is that her mother has died (line. 26-27), that she is a flexitarian (line. 16) and that she is a student going on a volunteering project in Bangladesh. However, through the story Lindsey’s personality and traits are revealed through actions, attitude and conversations.
The opening dialogue between Lindsey and her father at the restaurant suggests that Lindsey is keen on promoting a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. She is concerned about what type of meat the restaurant serves and about what her father eats ‘ ‘How’s your class going?’ Lindsey had signed up her father for ‘More to Meals than Meat’ after she’d seen it advertised in the post office the last time she’d been home. She was worried he’d get scurvy’ (line. 20-21)
Lindsey is an idealist, which is drawn from the fact that she goes to volunteer in an international development project. However, Lindsey’s desires and ideals are not matched by reality. She is disappointed that she will not go to the project of her choice: ”once Dr. Hassan had underlined the connections between hygiene and justice, Lindsey overcame her disappointment at not being selected for the women’s project in Tanzania, happy, in any case, to be helping those less fortunate than herself.’ (line. 35-37)
However, Lindsey is also an ‘adaptable’ (line. 85) person and is convinced by J.P. that her work is valuable. As a result, she does her best and even feels proud at the end of the project that she has brought her contribution to promoting sustainable development: ‘The project proceeded admirably, especially once Lindsey learned to pace herself in the tyrannical heat after the embarrassment of fainting on the second day.’ (line. 95-96);
The rising action is marked by tension points created by the conflict between Lindsey’s expectations about the project and the reality she experiences. First, she discovers that she needs to take a rickshaw to the project site, which is against her principles: ‘ ‘Rickshaw? I’m not comfortable with’ with another human being pulling me like an animal ‘ ‘ ‘ (line. 42-43)
Then, Lindsey’s expectations about her job are contradicted when she finds out that she will have to install eco-toilets: ‘The truth dawned on Lindsey. ‘You brought me here to install toilets?’ she said, forgetting she’d volunteered.’ (line. 63-64)
However, Lindsey learns to accept and appreciate her work. She also befriends some of the locals specifically the women and children living at the place she works: ‘She was also starting to communicate with the various inhabitants of the Royal.’ (line. 86); ‘The project proceeded admirably, especially once Lindsey learned to pace herself in the tyrannical heat…’ (line. 95)
Before returning to her home country, Lindsey decides to throw a small party for the residents. They appear to be excited, and one of her new friends cooks some food for the celebration. However, the climax is reached just as the party is about to start: the landlord turns up with his family, and the residents go back into their homes and stay away: ‘But one by one they too disappeared at the insistent calls of their mothers. The celebration came and went without much ado.’ (ll. 152-159)
In the falling action, Lindsey expresses her disappointment about the failure of the party to her teaching assistant, J.P.: ‘ ‘I don’t understand. Why didn’t they come to my party? They seemed interested, excited even, but then no one showed up.’ ‘J.P. kept his eyes on the ground. ‘Tough to say, and you might not know the whole story. Different customs ‘ ‘ (‘line. 160-163)
The eco-toilets are symbolic of Western lifestyle. Lindsey went to Bangladesh with high hopes about having an impact as a volunteer. However, her assignment was to install toilets. At the end, the people she was hoping to help do not care about her efforts. Quite the contrary, her efforts are flushed down the toilet, since the people move away because the housing at the Royal has become expensive due to the new toilets.
The story includes numerous elements that can be considered symbolic or representative of Asian and Western culture, particularly the food and clothes Lindsey offers to the local women as gifts, and the food she cooks with the women: ‘organic teas, impossibly small bottles of maple syrup, and shiny barrettes’ (ll. 91-92); ‘The familiar odour of onions and garlic and ginger frying in ghee wafted out of Priya’s open door followed closely by cumin, coriander, and cardamom.’ (line. 113-114)
The chicken is symbolic for different attitudes to food. In Canada, Lindsey has a detached relationship with food. She eats in a restaurant and only asks the waiter if the chicken is locally sourced without having any possibility of verifying it. In Bangladesh, she sees the chicken being caught, killed, and cooked which suggests a more visceral relationship with food, different from the Western approach to food.
The first contrast introduced in the short story is between Lindsey’s attitudes. While a few months before she refused to eat meat, and claimed to be a vegetarian, she is in the present a flexitarian, a person who occasionally eats meat: 'I thought you were a vegetarian,' Lindsey’s dad observed once they were alone. 'You wouldn’t touch the turkey last Christmas. Eating meat was irresponsible and immoral, you said.''I am vegetarian, Dad. I just eat meat from time to time.' (line. 12-14)
Furthermore, Lindsey’s attitude towards the provenance of meat in Canada changes in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh she approves of a chicken being slaughtered in front of her and claims this is what it means to respect meat: ‘ ‘There’s nothing wrong with eating a little animal protein now and then, as long as the chicken was free to peck and play or the cow was properly pastured.’ ‘ (line. 16-18); ‘Bismillahi Allahu Akbar, he sang as he brought the blade down on the bird’s neck. Here was a culture that respected its meat, where the chicken was cherished, not to mention local.’ (line. 126-127)
The title, ‘The Royal Flush’, is an expression used in poker to describe the highest ranked poker hand. This might lead readers to assume the story is somehow connected to the game of poker. However, the author uses this expression as a wordplay and metaphor. The title is a symbol for the protagonist being deceived by appearances in Bangladesh, much like the game of poker is a game of deceit. She expects to be involved in promoting a sustainability project which turns out to mean installing eco-toilets. She expects the residents to show up at her goodbye party, but they do not.
The title is also a wordplay hence the name of the place where Lindsay works is the Royal Commemorative Estates, and the word ‘flush’ could be interpreted as an allusion to the eco-toilets.