It is hard to believe this and our other featured Frank Stockton story (The Lady or the Tiger) were written over 130 years ago. Both have a crisp, modern feel and enough ghoulish humor to satisfy most young readers. This story, which takes the form of a fairytale, involves a friendship between a griffin and hard-working priest. The worried villagers suggest that their visitor dines on the children at an orphanage in the next town, but the griffin thinks the priest is the only one in the area worth eating. Themes: vanity, bravery, dedication, friendship, fear, sacrifice. More…
Boys and Girls
The major themes of this story by Alice Munro are coming of age and gender roles. Set on a Canadian fox farm, a young tomboy prefers to spend her time outdoors with her father rather than indoors helping her mother. When she overhears her mother talking about how happy she will be when the girl is older and can help more around the house, she feels betrayed. Her outlook slowly changes as she gets older, culminating in a rebellious act that her father dismisses with the words She’s only a girl. Other themes: family relationships, loss of innocence, self-awareness. More…
The Fun They Had
This story by Isaac Asimov is set in the year 2155. A boy shows a friend something strange he found hidden away in his family attic. Neither of them has seen one before… it is a book! First, they discuss how wasteful paper books were compared to electronic books of their day. The book is about school, and they go on to compare home schooling of the future with “going to school” in the past. Themes include technological progress, human connection (computer-driven vs. classroom learning), paper-based vs. electronic reading, memories, longing for aspects of the past. More…
Liberty
On a superficial level, the speckled dog in Julia Alvarez’s Liberty symbolizes the freedom the protagonist’s family are looking forward to in America, and the freedom the girl hopes to find in her own country when she returns. On another level, it could symbolize the American consul: a seemingly ordinary person who causes trouble. Darker themes include implied American involvement in covert actions against her country’s government, the surveillance and atmosphere of fear that builds throughout, and the fact that the family’s freedom requires a sacrifice… turning their beloved dog loose to fend for itself. More…
The Bound Man
This Kafkaesque story by Ilse Aichinger opens with a man waking up to find himself bleeding and bound from head to toe. The ropes are loose enough to allow some movement, but cannot be untied. With difficulty, he manages to stand and “walk” to a nearby village where a circus owner hires him as a performer. He not only becomes famous, but insists on wearing the same bonds night and day for the whole season. In an ambiguous conclusion, an act of compassion ends his career. Themes include insecurity, turning adversity into opportunity, freedom vs. restriction, loneliness, self-discovery, compassion. More…