Names/Nombres

Names/Nombres: Short story by Julia AlvarezThis is a personal essay reflecting incidents in the life of author Julia Alvarez. On the one hand, it examines the important relationship between name and identity in Hispanic culture. On the other, it highlights the desire for migrants, especially children, to ‘fit in’ with an anglicized name that is easily pronounced. Finally, we have her mother’s wisdom in saying that it doesn’t matter, quoting the English idiom A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. In the final paragraph, the girl wonders what name she will go by when she is well-known. We now know the answer!

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The Shawl / Rosa

The Shawl / Rosa: Short stories by Cynthia OzickToday we are featuring two award-winning stories from Cynthia Ozick. The first, The Shawl, is set in Second World War Poland and deals with the horrors of the holocaust as experienced a young mother (Rosa), her infant child (Magda), and fourteen-year-old-niece (Stella). The second story, Rosa, is a sequel to the first. Set in the USA over thirty years later, it demonstrates the devastating long-term effects of the women’s war-time experiences.

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The Pedestrian

The Pedestrian: Short story by Ray BradburyThis is our second Ray Bradbury story that questions the social effects of television (the first being The Veldt). Set in 2053, almost everyone stays indoors all night watching TV. Leonard Mead doesn’t. He enjoys going out for a long walk every evening. This is so unusual that the only police car patrolling the empty streets arrests him for his “regressive tendencies”. Fortunately, Bradbury’s predictions about TV were wrong. However, something far more dangerous may be replacing it: social networking on mobile devices! Themes include social dysfunction, dehumanization through technology, conformity vs. individualism, surveillance and control, isolation, disconnection from nature.

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Victoria and Her Kimono

Victoria and Her Kimono: Short story by M. ShanmughalingamThis story by M. Shanmughalingam is in two parts. The first is a humorous description of pre-World War 2 goings-on at one of Kuala Lumpur’s most prestigious secondary schools. Told from the point of view of an “old school” disciplinarian English teacher, it has a Monty Python-like ring to it. The second deals with the brutality and privation associated with Japanese occupation and how, thanks to a home-made kimono and a few words of Japanese, the Tigress of Asia (the teacher’s wife) saves his life. Themes include colonialism, the power of language, suffering, courage, resilience.

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In the Withaak’s Shade

In the Withaak's Shade: Short story by Herman BosmanLike a number of Herman Bosman‘s Oom Schalk Lourens stories, In the Withaak’s Shade is a satire of the life of Bushveld Afrikaners embellished in the form of a “tall tale”. It tells of a farmer’s unlikely encounter with a leopard as he was lying down under a withaak tree while busily searching for some lost cattle. Several of Bosman’s common themes (storytelling and the indolence, independence and mateship of the Boer landowners) are obvious. Two others (the mass hysteria that follows the reported sighting, and destruction of wildlife) are not.

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Sweat

Sweat: Short story by Zora Neale HurstonAt its simplest, this story by Zora Neale Hurston is about a cheating, abusive husband who got what was coming to him. Everyone in Delia’s poor black community seems to know about her brutal mistreatment at the hands of husband Sykes. However, nobody offers to help. She finally reaches breaking point, and threatens to go to the “white folks” if he touches her again. Sykes wants Delia’s house and devises a plan to kill her but, in an ironic twist, she manages to turn the tables. Themes: oppression, good vs. evil, hard work vs. laziness, domestic abuse, adultery, courage, greed.

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A Joke

A Joke: Short story by Anton ChekhovIn this story by Anton Chekhov, a young man plays a trick on a terrified lady-friend by whispering a ghostly I love you as they speed down a mountain on a toboggan. Unsure of what she heard, the woman asks the man to repeat the ride over and over. Each time they do so, he whispers the same words. Soon it becomes an obsession and every day she wants to go up the mountain to listen for the words. Her reaction when she thinks she has the answer is a surprise. Themes include fear, innocence, playful deception, confusion, obsession, regret.

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Bloodchild

Bloodchild: Short story by Octavia E. ButlerOctavia Butler described this as her “pregnant man” story. A colony of humans fleeing some kind of trouble takes shelter on a planet inhabited by giant, insect-like beings. The insects (Tlics) develop a symbiotic relationship with the humans (Terrans). In exchange for protection, adolescent boys are allocated to Tlic families, where they must incubate a Tlic mother’s eggs. The eggs are implanted in their abdomen, necessitating a rather gruesome but usually successful delivery process. Understandably, the Terran protagonist who has just reached maturity is having second thoughts about this. Themes: exploitation vs. interdependence, gender roles, fear, sacrifice vs. jealousy, love.

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