The Cactus Short Story Summary

Even the smallest and insignificant lies could ruin a relationship. "Lies will always be bitter in the end, no matter how sweet you made it at the beginning." (Dhantin Praspani) In the short story "The Cactus" the main characters were Trysdale and his girlfriend. Trysdale had an egoism and vanity of himself. His girlfriend was a sweet young lady that loved Trysdale. In the story, it talked about the night that Trysdale decided to propose to his girlfriend, she asked him if he knew Spanish. Trysdale being a very conceited man decides to lie to his girlfriend by telling her that he did know Spanish, when he really did not know Spanish at all. Trysdale thought it was something that his girlfriend would like so he thought saying yes to her was sweet. He used her trust and took her for granted, because he thought she would marry her no matter what. After Trysdale proposes to her, she says she would answer him the next day on a note. Trysdale waited anxiously the next day, that same day he received a cactus. With no note on it, but had a name tag that Trysdale did not even bother to look at and did not care what the name of the cactus was. He even waited a little longer until it was dark and he realized that his girlfriend had not send him an answer. After he did not get an answer, he thought his girlfriend did not want to marry him. After two days he sees her again and waits for an explanation. His girlfriend was also waiting for explanation, Trysdale did not even deserve for her