In this story by Miguel De Unamuno a man dying of thirst in a desert is saved when he stumbles upon an oasis in which there is a mysterious train station. He boards a seemingly empty, waiting train and is whisked off to a magnificent, deserted, fully functioning city of the future. The city’s machines and infrastructure continue to operate with no apparent human involvement. His curiosity turns to horror when he realizes the machines are sentient and concerned about his psychological and emotional state. Themes include human extinction, the ascendency of sentient machines, loneliness, paranoia, mental instability. More…
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Soldier’s Home
This story by Ernest Hemingway about an American soldier’s difficulty “fitting in” after returning from World War 1 is a wonderful example of the author’s Iceberg Theory, with much of the protagonist’s background hidden from readers. Upon return, the soldier finds himself alienated from his culture, community, friends, and family. He falls into depression and lethargy, obsessed with watching local girls go by, but avoiding contact with them. This may be due to an earlier failed relationship, or his distaste for his pious, controlling mother. Themes include PTSD, alienation, cultural and social change, fear of involvement and commitment. More…
The Prince Who Wasn’t Hungry
The message of this story by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey can be found in the very first line: Once upon a time there was a little Prince who had very little to do, and so he thought a great deal about eating. As he grew up, the whole palace had to work hard to meet his demand for increasingly rare dishes. Nothing satisfied him, and eventually he stopped eating. In frustration, he set out alone one day to find the best food in the world. He discovered that it isn’t the food that counts, but what you do to earn it. More…
The Greatest Gift
This story by Philip Van Doren Stern was the inspiration for the classic Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life. A depressed man standing on a bridge contemplating suicide confides to a stranger who joins him that he wishes he had never been born. His wish is mysteriously granted and he learns that, without his existence, his loved ones and the whole community would have suffered greatly. As he begs to be returned to his old self, he learns that God’s greatest gift of all is the gift of life. The major theme: every life has meaning and value. More…
The Address
Major themes of this story by Marga Minco are trust, betrayal, connection, and letting go. A young Jewish woman, the only member of her family to survive World War 2, visits a ‘friend’ of her mother’s with whom she had entrusted family valuables for safekeeping during the war. Her purpose is to ‘see, touch and remember’ the items, and perhaps to reclaim some to decorate her small rented room. The woman initially rebuffs her, and when she later returns and is admitted by the woman’s daughter, she sees her family’s prize possessions displayed and in daily use around the house. More…