Carlos/The Little Man Character Analysis

The titular “Man from the South,” the little man (whose name is later revealed to be Carlos) is initially presented as wealthy and mysterious, dressed in an all-white suit. The vacationing narrator suspects he is South American and around 70 years old. When one of the young sailors offers him a lighter for his cigar, Carlos seizes the opportunity to propose a strange, high stakes bet: 10 successful strikes of the lighter will win the sailor a Cadillac, but even one failure to spark will cost him a pinky finger. Carlos prepares for the wager in his hotel room, fastening string and nails to a table and producing a knife, hinting that he has done this before. However, before the bet can be settled, Carlos’s wife storms in, exposing him as a penniless scammer. She reveals that Carlos has severed 47 fingers, lost 11 different cars, and is so notorious that they fled their home country to avoid legal consequences.