"Man from the South"

    In the excerpt of the story "Man from the South", a young naval cadet initiates a seemingly harmless conversation with a man lounging by the hotel pool. As the two converse, the old man proposes a bet to the young american sailor who is immediately intrigued by the older man's proposition. In this story, the old man bets the young cadet that he would not be able light his cigarette lighter 10 consecutive times. The young man has agreed to the bet thinking it would hopefully win him an extra dollar or two until the old man completely ups the stakes; if he is successful with the lighter he would win the old man's cadillac, but if he were to lose, the man would chop off his pinky finger. Thankfully, this bet is interrupted by the old man's wife and it is then revealed that she is missing 3 fingers herself. 

    If the soldier was to have lost this bet, his daily occupations would have been altered drastically. The reader also has to keep in mind that this took place in the 1940's outside of the United States, assuming the sailor would have received adequate care for this injury and not developed any severe infections that would farther impact his routine, he still would have difficulties being able to complete his daily tasks. The pinky finger is essential to a functional grip and overall hand strength, as a sailor who spends months on end on a boat, he would have struggled to complete his everyday activities such as tying ropes or working on engines. One modification for this sailor could be the use of a textured glove that allow him to achieve a stronger grip with his injured hand; this glove would help the sailor to maintain his occupational performance and also to achieve role competence. 

                                               Retrieved from https://www.uvex-safety.com/blog/gloves-for-people-with-hand-deformities/

    As for the wife, it is assumed that she lost the majority of her fingers from making bets with her husband while trying to win over his assets so he would have no choice but to stop the betting. The wife was left with just a thumb and one finger on her hand, which must have seriously impacted her daily occupations and mental wellbeing. One occupation that would have been completely disrupted is preparing meals. Cooking involves using knives, pots and pans, spatulas, etc. and without a functional grip performing these tasks would have been extremely difficult if not impossible. A possible modification for the wife would be the use of a finger splint brace that has a velcro strap or tie of some sort in order to hold objects such as spatula or fork in place.