This very short story describes the feelings of a teacher on the last day of a school year. It is clear from the story that the teacher cares greatly for his students. Grades have been sent home and the long holiday is about to begin. For the teacher, it is an especially memorable day. As well as being the end of the school year, he is leaving teaching and moving on to a different career. Last Day at School was written by Italian teacher-turned-journalist Giovanni Mosca, and presumably talks about his own feelings on leaving teaching in 1936. More…
Broken Chain
The major lesson of this story from Gary Soto is that what someone is like on the inside is more important than his or her looks. An insecure seventh-grader is obsessed with his appearance (teeth, V-cut abs, hairstyle and clothes). His outlook on relationships changes when an act of kindness results in a bike-riding “date” with a girl. When his bicycle chain breaks, it looks like the date will be a disaster. Fortunately, his older brother comes to the rescue and the boy experiences his first touch of “love”. Themes: identity vs. appearance, sibling rivalry (jealousy) / brotherly love, courage. More…
Lullaby
Although this story by Leslie Marmon Silko takes place over a single evening, some of the events described span three generations. An aging Native American woman searching for her alcoholic husband reminisces about her life. Although her childhood memories are pleasant, her adult memories are full of loss and tragedy. Her husband has been exploited by a “white rancher” and, having lost at least three children to natural causes and one to war, her last two were removed by “white doctors”. Themes: memories, tradition and change, language barriers, racism, oppression and exploitation, motherhood, death and loss. More…
In a Grove
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa‘s In a Grove, published in 1922, is based on a classical Japanese tale first documented in the 12th century. It comprises seven accounts, including three confessions, relating to the death of a young Samurai. There are differences between each account, and none of the confessions are totally convincing. The story shares similarities with Ambrose Bierce’s Moonlit Road, published fifteen years earlier. Both stories feature unreliable narrators (including the spirit of the victim speaking through a medium) and leave readers to draw their own conclusions about the crime and identity of the killer. Who do you think did it? More…
A Horse in the Moon
This story by Luigi Pirandello opens with a wedding feast in which guests are concerned for the innocent, vivacious Italian bride. Although wealthy, the Sicilian groom appears physically and mentally ill. After seeing the guests off, the groom tries to hurry his new wife inside. She objects and, while heading towards the nearby village, they come across a dying horse. On seeing his reaction, she realizes the marriage was a mistake. A medical episode and vision he has as the moon rises behind the horse solves the problem for her. Themes include naivety, marriage, madness, suffering, compassion, death, culture clash. More…