Morley Callaghan’s short story, “The Little Business Man,” reveals that the importance of friendship and loyalty cannot be measured. However their value must be recognized, that is the main quality of humans. The title refers to two clandestine meanings, for example, Luke learns the view and importance of a business man when he takes an audacious move presenting a business plan to his uncle. Luke is supposed to learn from his uncle, but Uncle Henry is an unfit father figure for the boy because Uncle Henry is callous, and is a very stolid character, for instance, he said to Luke “The time comes where you have to get rid of any old dog. We have to be practical about it. I will get you pup, son. A smart little dog that will be worth the keep…”. This quote demonstrates Uncle Henry’s true nature, he has no real love for the dog and believes everything can be fixed with a dollar value. Near the end of the story Luke’s indomitable nature safes Dan from the river, the dog represents happiness, therefore, he feels that if Dan dies so will his happiness.
Luke starts to realize that he and his Uncle Henry do not share the same values for the dog, for instance, Uncle Henry sees no value in a dog that cannot keep watch or go hunting; whereas, Luke sees a friendship and happiness. Luke approaches Uncle Henry with a practical proposition which outsmarts him, for example, Luke explains to Uncle Henry “I know Dan is not worth his keep to you. I guess he is not worth anything to anyone but me. So I will pay you seventy-five cents a week for his keep”. This business deal shows how much Luke has grown up. Values must be recognized and the story, “The little Business Man,” reveals how Luke sees great virtues in the old dog; this difference reveals the idea that countless traits such as loyalty and companionship cannot be measured.
