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The Debt by Edith Wharton

            Edith Wharton's short story, "The Debt" from her book "Tales of Men and Ghosts", does a great job proving the moral through the title of the story. The story begins with the narrator talking about a man by the name of Galen Dredge. A young man by the name of Archie Lanfear brings home his friend Galen Dredge for a visit during the summer. One day Archie took Galen by Buzzard's Bay, a place where Archie's father, Professor Lanfear worked at in an attempt to introduce him to his father. Galen admired the place by the look of astonishment on his face especially with the fact that there was a biological station nearby that interested Galen. Upon meeting professor Lanfear, Galen looked at him with much respect. Professor Lanfear seeing the boy's enthusiasm took him down to the biological station and from then on the story began to unfold.
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             Professor Lanfear saw something in Galen that many others did not and took him in. Years pass and Galen continues his zoological studies under Professor Lanfear. After finishing some courses he was taking he went to Germany to further his studies and came back a totally different and intellectual man. Professor Lanfear later on encounters problems with money as well as failing health. With Professor Lanfear having little time to live, he had to pick a successor that followed his views and continued his research. Professor Lanfear chose Galen Dredge to be his successor and following the professor's death, Galen was appointed to the chair of Experimental Evolution. After being appointed, Galen went on to lecture his course on his studies and presented views that were different of Professor Lanfear's. Archie Lanfear hearing this became infuriated that Galen swayed away from his father's studies.
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             Archie eventually comes into contact with Galen and starts to question him. Archie, being infuriated, begins to tell Galen how he feels he is going behind his father's back for not conducting his father's research from where he left off with.


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