This Ralph Ellison story opens with a poverty-stricken African-American man sitting in a theater waiting for the end-of-movie bingo game. He needs a win. His partner Laura is dying, and he has no money for medical treatment. The game begins and his numbers come up. When called onto the stage to spin a wheel of fortune to claim the prize, the hungry, alcohol affected man becomes delusional and creates a scene. Police intervene and, although the wheel stops on the jackpot number, he wins the game but not the money. Themes: identity (paranoia, alienation, desperation), prejudice, illusion, self-determination vs. fate. More…
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The Call of the Wild
Set during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, this story by Jack London chronicles the devolution of a domesticated dog into the leader of a pack of wild wolves. A huge St. Bernard-Scotch Shepherd cross, is dog-napped to meet the demand for sled-dogs. Transported to the Yukon, he soon learns the law of club and fang and the meaning of the maxim survival of the fittest. The story is not for the faint-hearted. True to the times, it includes many examples of human and animal brutality, suffering, folly and death. Themes include greed, survival, violence, mastery, instinct, regression, community, pride, loyalty. More…
The Most Dangerous Game
Although written almost a hundred years ago, this seemingly timeless adventure story from Richard Connell is still widely taught in schools. In addition to being an exciting, suspenseful read, one of the reasons for this is the continuing passionate debate about the ethics of hunting for sport. Rainsford the hunter has no regard for the rights or feelings of the animals he kills; Rainsford the hunted clearly thinks otherwise. Note the play on words in the title. Both the ‘game’ Zoroff plays and the ‘game’ he hunts are dangerous. Themes: trophy-hunting, man’s inhumanity to man, violence and cruelty, survival, revenge. More…
Mr Miacca
Mr. Miacca is an English folktale of the ‘bogeyman’ type, where adults tell stories of imaginary beings to frighten young children into being good. In the story, a boy does something wrong and finds himself about to be cooked for Mr. Miacca’s dinner. He gets away by tricking Mrs. Miacca. The forgetful boy makes the same mistake, and again finds himself on Mr. Miacca’s dinner menu. This time Mr. Miacca watches over the boy himself, and decides to cut off the lad’s leg (which he throws in the cooking pot) to make sure he doesn’t run away. More…
On the Bridge
In this coming of age story by Todd Strasser, a young teen learns the importance of being himself. As the boy (Seth) and the “cool” friend he looks up to (Adam) stand smoking on a highway bridge, Adam brags about his toughness and experience with older girls. When Adam throws his cigarette onto the windshield of a passing car, the three occupants confront the boys. Adam points to Seth as the culprit, and stands by as Seth is brutally beaten. Seth finally sees Adam for what he is: a boastful fake. Themes include friendship, social acceptance, bravado, betrayal, violence, enlightenment. More…