# An International Affair explained — School Stories

> Chapter companion for School Stories by P. G. Wodehouse.

## What happens

Mr. Oliver Ring of New York opens a branch of his 'Come-One Come-All Up-to-date Stores' in Wrykyn, threatening the local confectioner's shop, Cook's, which has long been a beloved school institution. Dunstable and Linton, loyal to Cook's, devise a plan to discredit Ring's by making themselves and several other boys ill after eating buckwheat cakes there, leading the headmaster to put the store out of bounds.

## Themes in this chapter

### Friendship and Loyalty

Dunstable and Linton's loyalty to Cook's and their collaborative scheme to protect it from the new competition.

### Trickery and Cunning

Dunstable's plan to feign illness after eating buckwheat cakes to make Ring's appear unwholesome, a clever deception to protect Cook's.

### Authority and Rebellion

The boys' manipulation of the situation leads the headmaster to ban Ring's, showing a subtle rebellion against the new commercial order.

## Character check-ins

### Dunstable

Loyal to Cook's, devises a scheme to make Ring's Stores appear unwholesome by eating buckwheat cakes and feigning illness.

### J. Linton

Dunstable's friend and chemistry enthusiast; participates in the plan to discredit Ring's Stores.

### Mr. Oliver Ring

American entrepreneur who opens a branch of his chain store in Wrykyn, threatening local businesses.

### Merrett

Mentioned as one of the boys who patronizes Ring's instead of Cook's.

### The Headmaster

After the illness incident, puts Ring's Stores out of bounds.

### The Doctor

School doctor who diagnoses the boys' illness as likely caused by the food from Ring's.

## Key lines

> Cook's is the one school institution which nobody forgets who has been to Wrykyn.

Cook's is the most memorable school institution for anyone who has attended Wrykyn.

_Highlights the sentimental value of Cook's to the school community._

> It's a cinch, a lead-pipe cinch.

It's an absolutely certain and easy success.

_Mr. Ring's confident American slang about his business venture._

> The thing was a public disaster. It resembled the advent of a fox in a fowl-run.

The opening of Ring's Stores was a calamity for local tradesmen, like a fox entering a henhouse.

_Metaphor for the disruptive impact of the new store on established businesses._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/school_stories_se/chapters/an-international-affair
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/school_stories_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/school_stories_se/chapters