The major themes of this Edith Wharton story are friendship, rivalry, jealousy, deception and passion. A notable feature is the gradual build-up of animosity between the main characters. Two American widows, lifelong friends, meet up in Rome. The pair have been measuring themselves against each other for most of their lives. The comparisons extend to their daughters, one of whom is more outgoing and vivacious than the other. In an effort to hurt the mother of this girl, the other reveals a cruel secret from the past. In the shattering conclusion, an even crueler secret is thrown back at her. More…
Cell One
Some websites describe Nnamabia, the young protagonist in this story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, using terms such as ‘a wayward, rebellious son’. This is treating him too kindly. At the beginning of the story, Nnamabia is an entitled, spoiled, manipulative brat… too weak-willed to resist imitating the petty thefts of his peers, yet so cowardly that the only person he is game enough to steal from is his mother. Although he did not deserve the punishment he received at the hands of the so-called Nigerian justice system, he learnt some important lessons and came out of it a man. More…
The Babus of Nayanjore
Major themes of this Rabindranath Tagore story are class, identity and hubris. Despite living in poverty, the last male descendent of a once wealthy Indian noble family maintains his aristocratic bearing. Most in the community humor the old man, treating him with kindness and respect. However his neighbor, the well-educated, excessively proud son of a working class man who became rich through hard work, looks down on him. The neighbor plays a cruel trick that backfires, finding himself part of the old man’s family and greatly boosting his self-esteem. Other themes include tradition, social change, extravagance vs. frugality, dignity, respect. More…
The Blind Men and the Elephant
This children’s story from James Baldwin is based on a religious parable from India. Six blind men come across an elephant for the first time. Although they have often heard about elephants, they have never been close to one. They ask the elephant’s carer if they could try to ‘see’ what it looks like by using their sense of touch. At the end of the story, the blind men are arguing fiercely. Each of them has put their hands on a different part of the elephant’s body. Each of them believes that only he knows what the elephant looks like. More…
The Subliminal Man
This 1963 story from J. G. Ballard envisions a dystopian future where people’s lives are conditioned by subliminal messages disseminated through advertising billboards and the mass media. The hidden messages, which appear to be officially sanctioned ‘to stimulate the economy’, compel people to buy things they don’t need or replace perfectly good recent purchases. Ominously, the major products involved are linked to powerful monopolies. The story is a biting satire of (then) modern advertising and its contribution to the post-war consumerism and rising household debt levels of the 1950s. Themes: conspiracy, technology, advertising, consumerism, debt, dehumanization (loss of free will). More…