In this story by Peter Carey, a bitter old man looks back on a time when he desperately tried to prevent his attractive lover from making herself ugly in a genetic lottery known as “The Chance”. The lottery, in which winners could alter their age or body shape, was run by alien invaders. Physical beauty was a social liability at the time and, as a member of a revolutionary movement intent on overthrowing the aliens, she was prepared to sacrifice her looks to remain anonymous. Themes include alcohol and drug abuse, love, chance, perceptions of beauty, courage, sacrifice. More…
A Day’s Wait
The message of this story from Ernest Hemingway is the importance of two-way parent-child communication. A doctor attributes a boy’s high temperature to influenza and prescribes medicine. Over the course of the day, the boy remains “detached” and begins to act strangely. He is sure the doctor and his father are hiding something more serious from him. Had the father taken the time to make sure his son fully understood what the doctor said, or the son raised his concerns immediately, both would have been spared a lot of anxiety. Themes: father-son relationships, innocence, misunderstanding, fear, masculinity, stoicism. More…
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
This F. Scott Fitzgerald story recounts the life of a man who grows “younger” by getting “older”. Themes include identity, social standing, and self-centeredness. The major theme, identity, is explored in the context of chronological age dictating expected behavior (e.g. “young” Benjamin obliges his father by constantly breaking things, whereas his “old” body would rather be smoking cigars). The people around Benjamin care more about protecting their reputations against gossip and scandal than they do about his condition. Finally, Benjamin proves himself as heartless as they are by hiding the problem and luring an unsuspecting woman into a doomed marriage. More…
The Time Machine
In this story by Dino Buzzati, a scientist builds a luxurious walled city in which a machine slows down time. Animals and plants grow and age half as quickly as those outside, allowing occupants to live for two centuries. Residency is expensive and, once inside, it is impossible to leave as the effects of normal time will be fatal. Life in the city proves not to be the utopia residents expected, and ends in disaster when something happens to the machine. Themes include self-preservation, alienation, monotony, the dangers of relying on technology and toying with the basic laws of nature. More…
Don’t Cry
In this moving story by Mary Gaitskill, a grief and guilt stricken woman accompanies a friend to adopt a child in Ethiopia. Because the friend had chosen to adopt independently rather than through an agency, they are initially stonewalled by bureaucrats and find official orphanages closed to them. They gain the necessary approvals after a poverty-stricken mother unselfishly gives up her malnourished two-year-old son, only to find themselves temporarily caught up in a violent civil uprising. The protagonist gains almost as much from the trip as her friend. Themes include love, grief, betrayal, healing, sexuality, determination, poverty, violence. More…