Errol Shaw

Color, Friendship and the Absence of Ignorance Errol Shaw

The story takes place in the beautiful city of Paris. Stalin, a writer and traveler, uses his stay to explore the city and make use of his visit by connecting with friends while working on his writing project. Stalin uses his 3 month stay in Paris to enjoy the festivities and nightlife with 2 great friends, Alex and Frederick, with whom he spends time with consistently during his stay. Alex, Frederick and Stalin all portray to have very similar qualities in one another. Each has their own professions as teachers, artist and writers. They are all young adults in their late 20's and early 30's. However, it is a special bond that they make as friends that help them enjoy and make the most out of life whenever they are in each others company. In spite of their professions, they all relate well to one another. They can all cook well; have great taste in art, nice homes and value friendships. Alex and Frederick show Stalin a great time in Paris. These individuals both have their own places in Paris and they find pleasure in spending time with Stalin who is an African American from the United States. These 3 people constantly go out to drink on a daily basis. All of them use their time to enjoy the lavish restaurants and festivities around the city. They also visit each others Pub in the city and gear themselves for a fun and adventurous trip. Conflict starts to arise in the story as Stalin figures out that the world and life he is living is too good to be true. Stalin finds out that Alex and Frederick may perhaps be gay and probes them for information regarding their lifestyle. Oddly enough, Alex and Frederick were gay but it did not interfere with Stalin enjoying their company. Stalin meets a beautiful woman named Isabelle who happens to be Alex's good friend. Stalin finds her extremely attractive and feels she could be the person that he would want to marry. Alex aggressively told Stalin that it is okay for you and Isabelle to be friends but nothing should ever go beyon